Butch Jones was able to secure the punting position as Andrew Gantz announced he will be sticking with his plan to attend UT rather than accept the walk-on offer from tOSU. So it looks like we're down to 3 options at the position:
I. Drew Basil does both kicking AND punting OR
II. Frank E. moves to punter OR
III. A walk-on beats them both out
i sure hope the common assumption that we wont need to punt becomes reality i lean towards agreeing with that, but you'd have to be crazy to say that you REALLY dont care about the punter situation, especially as a NC contender. we might be able to get away with special teams shenanians in the b1g but i dont like those chances against an alabama or florida. I mean just think about the problems the punting game couldve presented if the 2012 buckeyes made it to the NCG.
I dont care how awesome your offense is, you need a good punter to help your defense when you do punt. It is a bummer that we missed out on two great options, anyone else left?
I punted in high school. Had a career long of 61. Mainly it rolled about 20 yards and I think the wind was at my back but I have a couple years of eligibility left if Urban is reading this. I should also note that high school was 10 years ago and I haven't punted since then.
It isn't like we are trying to replace an all-american punter. He was average, no disrespect intended. He worried me every time he came in, thinking a block was possible. If Epitropolous averaged 40+ in HS I am sure he could do just as well as the last guy if, probably, not better.
Just wondering, where are you getting this news from? I haven't seen anything yet. I know Kurelic posted something this morning concerning him, but you didn't mention any source in your post.
I used to live around the Centerville area and know some folks. No "inside source" or anything. It's a small town.
The 2012 National Champions.
Sorry for my cynicism, but "some folks" is not anything solid. I'll wait until it's confirmed locally or nationally, or he signs a letter of intent. Until then, his recruitment is still open.
Edit: Chung has now confirmed it, but I'm not sure how reputable he is in this situation. He seems to grab at a lot of rumors.
Michael Chung is the worst.
EDIT: He's so bad that I may retract my original post because he seems to be wrong more than half of the time.
The 2012 National Champions.
I mean, his source may be this forum post ಠ_ಠ
Sadly, you're probably right.
The 2012 National Champions.
I don't think we should rule out Sophomore K Kevin Niehoff. He punted in high school and he's got a pretty solid leg. I could see him beating out the other candidates.
Gantz averaged 30.6 yards per punt in 2011 and 34.9 ypp in 2012. Not really impressive but his specialty is kicking. Making 60 yarders in practice and regularly puts kickoffs into the end zone. fyi.
It's a punter..we'll figure it out.
If one of these guys can be consistent this year we'll be ok. My only worry is in a big game in a big spot when we need a big punt. The old saying that offense wins games but defense wins championships, well the punt is right up there with defense.
I'd like to see Frank E. He'd probably be the most athletic punter in the country and would present some options for fake punts. Also, that may help on kick coverage quite a bit. Ultimately, I just don't know if he'll ever break the 2-deep at WR, either. No disrespect to him, but too much talent ahead of him.
To win a title a team needs to excell at all phases of the game. Special Teams included. 1 bad punt in a crucial situation at any point in the season can literally ruin any title hopes. Great punters can have bad days and miscue sometimes, whats that say about a average/below average punter? Coach said it best, " I dont want to coach average", I hope he doesnt have too.
It will be option I
If you look at last year's NCAA punting stats, you'd be hard pressed to see that there's a huge correlation between a team's punting game (which includes the coverage units) and its success. The worst punting stats in all of FBS last year, and it wasn't even close, came from Florida State. Other good teams among the bottom 10 in the country included Texas A&M and Kansas State. For their part, the Buckeyes were only 109th out of 124 teams.
The team that had the best punting unit in the B1G? Illinois.
And the worst team at punting in 2011 was the eventual national champion.
This is probably a survivable problem, in other words.
The most "loud mouth, disrespect" poster on 11W.
Hopefully we don't punt this year. EVER.
Watched the 2009 high school championship game last week. Christian Bryant was the punter and kicker for Glenville. Hmm ... at least our punt coverage would have another big hitter? Rough this punter, I dare ya!
Of course the punter won't make a difference in a game where our opponent is overmatched, and there will be many such games in a season. However, in a difficult road game, or a game where the ball has bounced the wrong way a couple of times, or a bowl game where the teams are very evenly matched, punting can make a difference. For anyone who doubts this, think back to the Sugar Bowl against Arkansas. It was their punting game that kept the Buckeyes pinned deep in our own side of the field for the entire second half. It was our punting game that nearly gave the game away in the final minute. FrankE might fill in our need for a quality punter, but the apparently popular notion that any schmoe off the street is sufficient is just plain wrong.
I really think Frank E. can get the job done. He averaged about 40 yards in high school and that was when he wasn't completely focused on punting. Give him an off season to focus on it and I could see him in the 40-45 range which would be towards the top half of NCAA. Plus, nothing against him but I think it will be a struggle to see a lot of playing time at WR with the current receives on the roster along with the new recruits.