Then and Now Part 7: the Kicking Game and Summary | Syracusefan.com

Then and Now Part 7: the Kicking Game and Summary

SWC75

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Then:
As a freshman, Andre Szmyt, (‘Schmidt’), kicked 30 of 34 field goals and all 61 extra points for 151 points, second in the country and won the Lou Groza award as the nation’s outstanding place kicker for our 10-3 team of 2018. The next year, a 5-7 team didn’t give him as many opportunities and he kicked 17 of 20 FG and actually missed an extra point, going 39/40 and scoring 90 points. In 2020, our dismal 1-10 team only got him 11 field goal attempts, of which he made 9. He kicked 23 of 24 extra points for 50 points, 101 less than he’s scored as a freshman. Then our special teams coordinator, Justin Lustig, left for Vanderbilt. Dino decided he didn’t need a coach specifically for special teams and Szmyt, who may have also gotten tired of the losing, missed 5 of 14 field goal attempts and 2 of 38 extra points for 63 points. He could have left for the NFL on that relatively sour note but Dino hired Bob Ligashesky to be our new special teams coach and Andre decided to stay, (using his COVID year), to see if he could regain the form he showed as a freshman.

Brady Denaburg is Szmyt’s likely replacement as place-kicker next year and he could be a good one. Cuse.com: “Was a perfect 44-of-44 on PAT attempts and 19-of-26 on field goal attempts as a senior ... Hit from 57 yards ... Connected on a 43-yard field goal attempt with 48 seconds remaining to send Merritt Island to the state championship ... Also played quarterback for team that went 13-2 ... Passed for 3,220 yards and 30 touchdowns.”


Now:
Andre had a strong final year, but not quite up to his freshman level: 20 for 26 on field goals, 40 for 40 on extra points for 100 points, (as a freshman he was 30 for 34 and 61 for 61 for 151 points). For his career he was 85 for 105 on field goals and 199 for 203 for 454 total points. That set the school’s career record for scoring points by 120! Andre was at his best when we used him the most. The two winning seasons were his most prolific but also his most accurate. He hit 50 of 60 field goals for the two winning teams (83.3%) and 35 of 45 (77.7%) for the three losers.

Schmidt did all the placekicking. Denaburg looked strong and athletic on the kickoffs, averaging 63.4 yards and getting 41 touchbacks in 63 kicks. Our opposition was 62.3 with 33 touchbacks in 61 kickoffs. Now we’ll get to see if Brady can split the uprights.

Then:
We’re known as “Punter U.” because we had so many good ones in recent years, (and we’ve had so many good ones because we’ve had to do it so often) but last year for the first time in years, we came up empty, averaging 37.3 yards per punt, the lowest in 31 years, (we’d been below 40 yards per punt only 4 times in that stretch). We’ve had guys who could boom it, could drop it in front of the goal line, hit the ‘coffin corner’ or do it on the run under pressure, making what was called an “Australian Rules” kick. Our previous punter, Sterling Hofrichter, could do all those things. With last year’s guys, we were just hoping it didn’t go off the side of their foot.

James Williams did the best and seemed to improve somewhat by the end of the season, finishing with an average of 38.4. Williams was that rarity, a big-time kicking recruit. Cuse.com: “Ranked among the top kickers in the country by (No. 2), the 247Sports.com composite index (No. 9) and ESPN (No. 10) … Rated five stars and the No. 4 punter and No. 13 placekicker in the 2020 class by Kohl’s Kicking…. As a senior captain, converted 52 out of 53 (.981) extra points and 4-of-5 (.800) field goals, while averaging 35.8 yards on 25 punts.” You become the #4 punting prospect in the country with a 35.8 average? Well, he got better by 2.6 yards. Maybe he can add another 2.6 yards this year, (41.0?)

Ian Hawkins, a walk-on who joined the team just before the start of the season, was given a shot when Williams became ill in mid-year and averaged 37.4. He’s a major in aerospace engineering but must figure out a way to make his punts go higher and farther.

Despite his Germanic name, Maximillian Von Marburg IS an Australian kicker, (not a James Bond villain – and Max Mang isn’t his henchman), so maybe he can do some of the things Hofrichter did. His hometown is Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. (A sister city to Walla Walla, Washington? His credentials: “Won the 2019 leading goal scorer award in the Riverina Football League’s under 17’s for the Turvey Park Bulldogs with 55 goals … Two-time sports captain at St Mary Mackillop Colleges … Helped his team claim the Riverina Football League championship in 2019” (Cuse.com). I’m sold!


Now:
Von Marburg won the competition and got off to a decent start but declined as the season wore on. Max Von Marburg - Football - Syracuse University Athletics (click on stats).
So the job’s still open and the search continues.


Then:
Aaron Bolinsky has become something of a legend here. As a freshman, he took over when Matt Keller was injured in the 2018 Clemson game and has been our long snapper ever since. I don’t remember one that went awry. He and Andre Szmyt have been joined at the hip, so to speak, (if they really were, he couldn’t be the long snapper), and both decided to use their COVID year to stick around one more year.

Freshman Ethan Stangle “ranked 15th in county and five stars by Kohls Kicking Camp” per Cuse.com. Nunes has a different number: “Kohl’s Kicking Camp rated him 13th in the country at his position while Rubio Long Snapping had him at 4 1⁄2 stars and 46th. He is everything a coach is looking for in their snapper and will be a huge commitment for Syracuse. Stangle is a snapper that has the ability to play this position for a very long time.” Just like Aaron Bolinsky.


Now:
Stangle will get his chance next year.


Then:
Kick returners
Seniors: none
Juniors: #85 DeMarcus Adams 6-0 176
Sophomores: #9 Courtney Jackson 5-11 179 (was 185), #2 Trebor Pena 6-0 177 (was 185)
Freshmen: #87 Donovan Brown 6-1 179

Basically, it’s the slot guys – players who can catch the ball, make moves and have the speed to take it the distance. Pena took a kickoff back two years ago, Jackson, (who took over for him when he was injured) took a punt back last year. Adams and Brown were track stars in high school so I added them in.


Now:
It was Pena and Jackson and Jackson has hit the portal, now It’s Pena. The other guys might get a shot.


Then:
We need to do four things: Find a quarterback who can consistently get the ball to our receivers, quickly rebuild the defensive line, find a punter and stay healthy. If we do those things, this could be a formidable team. We will have to be because we’ve got a formidable schedule.

Now:
Shrader did a much better job getting the ball to our receivers. The defensive line held up through injuries until some muscular teams decided to use their muscle on them. We thought we had a punter but not yet. We didn’t have much luck with injuries or post season defections from the roster or the coaching staff. Still we were formidable enough to win 7 games over a difficult schedule, including over Louisville, who had been blowing us out, a Big Ten West contender in Purdue and a ranked NC State team. We gave Clemson all they wanted and out-gained Minnesota 477-215, (27-14 in first downs) in a frustrating bowl game. By our recent standards, you’d have to call that a good year – that could have been better if we’d stayed healthy, probably similar to 2018. The question now is: can we do what didn’t do after 2018 – build on our success? Or do we have a season like that a couple of times a decade? And if that’s the case, how long do we go with the current coaching regime?
 
Nope. A claims representative for the Social Security Administration. But my supervisors used to complain that my note were way too long. ;)
Omg that's my job! Nothing like a detailed RPOC (Report of Contact) lol. BTW, job title recently changed to Claims Specialist.
 
Omg that's my job! Nothing like a detailed RPOC (Report of Contact) lol. BTW, job title recently changed to Claims Specialist.

We just called 'em RCs. And I would have ten pages of developmental notes on the electronic 250.
 
We just called 'em RCs. And I would have ten pages of developmental notes on the electronic 250.
Have a friend in my Field Office that still does the same thing. Will show him this.
 
you better be chronicling all these somewhere, as soon as my life slows down, I'm reading everything you write in detail. That will be a good day :)

A sincere "thanks" for all the efforts Steve (from N. Syracuse?)
 

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