Hooray for Kickers!

I'll be honest. I was never a fan of kickers. Throughout both my high school and collegiate careers, I had little respect for the position. Sissies. Converted soccer players. Little-used weaklings who avoided contact. At least, thats what I used to think of them. And some of those stereotypes may be true to a point, I no longer take them for granted. Not after watching missed extra points and field goals cost both my Bethel team and my beloved Huskers precious wins that were within our grasp, only to be wrestled away by the ineptitude of someone's right foot.

The issue was never more apparent than last year's Husker squad, which watched potential wins against Texas and Auburn go down the toilet due to the fact that our kickers couldn't kick a field goal longer than 40 yards, which is inexcusable for a D-1 college football team, particularly a program like Nebraska's. Having to go for it on 4th down from your own 35 was depressing to watch, which is why there is a big buzz coming out of camp about true freshmen kicker Adi Kunalic, who is a mere 6 feet tall and 175 pounds but is being compared by some coaches to Sebastian Janikowski, the cannon-legged beast now with the Oakland Raiders. Reports coming out of practice say he is making some 60 yarders, and while he probably isn't capable of doing that consistently, the fact that we at least have a chance with the game on the line is contributing to a growing optimism about our special teams, which were anemic last year when one combines a horrible kicking game with a return unit that can best be described as dog feces. As much as the linebacker in me wants to ignore the special teams aspect, there is no avoiding the fact that it cost us several games last year.

The other big news of the weekend: the return of Zach Bowman, the oft-injured but extremely talented corner who has been busy rehabbing after injuring his patella tendon during spring practice. Bowman, last seen dominating in the 2005 Alamo Bowl against Michigan, is yet another integral part of our re-tooled secondary, and while it's a guarded feeling of joy that I feel about his return, the fact that he is already back in pads practicing is nothing short of a medical miracle. Even if he isn't ready for Wake or USC, if he can be back for the Big 12 slate, our chances of stopping playmakers like Adarius Bowman and Limas Sweed increase exponentially. With the addition of Larry Asante, the maturation of Tierre Green and Andre Jones, and the emergence of freshmen Anthony Blue and Prince Amukumara, the Husker secondary has seemingly gone from an overmatched, depleted unit to one of the deeper position groups that the Huskers have. Obviously, we have to wait to see them in game action before we drink all the Kool-Aid that the Husker press has been putting out, but as I've stated before, now is the time for optimism and hope, and this young group of speedsters gives me a good feeling about our potential for a stellar pass defense this year.