Nebraska kickers stay steady, battle for full time spot

[HuskerTrucker]

(UWIRE) LINCOLN, Neb.—This spring was supposed to be about change, a time of renewal and adjustment with the influx of a new coaching staff.

 

Nebraska’s defense is starting from scratch, and its offense is looking for a comfort zone.

 

The kickers, however, already have one. While many teammates around them attempt to forget about last season—which brought along a 5-7 record and the firing of coach Bill Callahan—NU’s special teams players are actually trying to reminisce.

 

Alex Henery made eight field goals in eight attempts during his freshman season in 2007, and fellow freshman Adi Kunalic booted 28 touchbacks in 66 attempts.

 

Now those second-year legs are in a fight for a starting job, and the owners are using last year as reference.

 

"I wasn’t perfect," Henery said. "I feel like I could do more, but I was happy with my first year."

 

Perfection is certainly nothing to fret about. While his team struggled, Henery kept kicking, and he kept nailing field goals, sealing his place as the starter earlier in the season.

 

Kunalic had a similar story. He became a crowd favorite in September by launching footballs into the end zone.

 

The memories were good ones, he said. Yet they weren’t ideal.

 

"I liked what I did last year," Kunalic said. "But toward the end of the season, I wasn’t kicking well because my leg started getting really tired because we were kicking a lot during the week. I just had no energy towards the end."

 

Enter NU coach Bo Pelini and his new staff, which arrived late last fall to fix a broken team. But the kickers weren’t exactly hurting, and the change didn’t bother them much.

 

Heck, it didn’t even affect them much.

 

"Kickers are pretty much on their own," Henery said.

 

To be sure, certain techniques have been tweaked and practice strategies adjusted. Instead of swinging during practice, NU’s kickers finish their work before the first whistle blows. Then they rest during workouts and boot field goals during scrimmages.

 

Last year, Kunalic said he would kick 10 to 15 field goals on the outdoor field before running inside to the Hawks Championship Center and booting a bunch more.

 

"My leg would be dead by the end of the weekend," Kunalic said. "So I think next year it’s going to be a lot better because we’re doing all our kicking beforehand."

 

The kickers, in a sense, have traded tension for ease—and the adjustment has certainly been welcomed.

 

But other than that, not much has changed. Kunalic has stayed with his usual technique, the one where he approaches the football from a sharper angle than most. It worked last year, he said, so it’ll work this year.

 

Henery has stuck with his old ways, too. He’s just swinging a little harder, he said, and his distance is improving.

 

The consistency has made for a bit of spring drama. Both players are battling for the right to kick field goals full time. No one has taken control so far.

 

"I had no preconceived notions coming in of who the better guy was," said NU defensive ends coach John Papuchis, who also oversees the special teams. "The best guy’s going to win the job."

 

The two players chart their accuracy and distance, and the coaches keep tally of the better man each day.

 

Then again, that’s nothing new. Not much is different for NU’s kickers this year.

 

That’s just the way they like it.

 

"There’s not really a difference," Henery said. "Just get our work in, and don’t overkick and tear our legs up."

 

 

I don't think we have to worry about the kicking game for a while....