Few things done on a gridiron are generally considered graceful, but kickers, as they are the first to admit, are different.
Not unlike baseball catchers or goalies on the pitch or ice, they don’t necessarily line up with the rest of their teammates during practice. Instead, kickers hover around an unused corner, arcing perfectly placed kicks from sideline to sideline, hitting the same mark, time and time again.
Ohio fans saw a couple of oddities during the Bobcats’ win against Penn State Saturday. Two, to be exact.
Redshirt senior kicker Matt Weller, Ohio’s starter, missed a pair of field goal attempts.
The 39- and 44-yard miscues were out of character for Weller, who is only six points away from breaking Ohio’s all-time points record.
He was, however, on the mark from 22 yards out, a range in which he was perfect last season.
Weller made nine out of 10 kicks in the 30-39 yard bracket in 2011, and he missed eight of his 14 attempts from 40 yards or farther.
“I don’t think we’re going to see there’s going to have to be a huge problem for him to correct,” said Ohio Coach Frank Solich. “He’s a really intelligent player, so you really don’t coach him too much. He does a lot of coaching himself.”
The Bobcats think the misses can be marked as an aberration. Little has changed in Weller’s approach, but the conditions around him have.
Redshirt freshman long snapper Miles Chapman will continue to spearhead the kicking operation this season, while redshirt junior wide receiver Matt Waters is in charge of setting the ball steady for Weller.
Ohio special teams coach Brian Haines said no matter how many reps the new kicking team puts in, there are going to be some growing pains, which were evidenced Saturday. Some kickers have unique preferences and tendencies they cater to. Weller, the 2011 Mid-American Conference special teams player of the year, is no different.
“There’s no room for gray,” Haines said about the kicking operation. “It’s black and white, and it’s how Matt wants it. That’s going to be the way we’re going to do it.”
The idiosyncrasies are not terribly distinct, though. Weller said his style does not vary much from other kickers, from his approach to the ball and the slant at which he prefers to kick it.
“The things people do differently are for the same reasons,” Weller said, noting his only superstition is putting his right shoe on first before games.
Regardless, Waters said setting up for a veteran who knows exactly what he is looking for in a holder is both a blessing and a reason to put more practice into his craft.
“I ask him what he wants — certain leans and how he wants the laces away from his foot and where he wants it spotted — and as long as I get it down the way he wants, I should be able to keep him pretty happy,” he said.
jr992810@ohiou.edu
