Is it necessary to offer kickers Maybe not

JustabouteverycollegefootballprograminthecountrywouldlovetohaveMissouri'srecenttrackrecordwithplacekickers.

What'sthesecrettotheTigers'success?Theygenerallydon'tofferscholarshipstokickersdirectlyoutofhighschool.

"Forthemostpart,we'vebeenmoresuccessfulhavingguyscomeinandprovethemselvesovertimeandwinningthejob,"saidMissourioffensivecoordinatorDavidYost,whoalsoservesastheprogram'srecruitingcoordinatorandkickingcoach.

Thatplanhasproducedsomeremarkablesuccessstories.

JeffWolfertenrolledatMissouriasadiverandhadjustonegameofhighschoolkickingexperiencewhenhedecidedtowalkontotheTigers'footballprogram.Heendedhiscollegecareerin2008asMissouri'scareerscoringleader.

WolfertwassucceededbyGrantRessel,aformerall-Big12pickwhowentacombined43-of-46onfield-goalattemptsin2009and2010beforeslumpinglastyearandmissingmuchofthesecondhalfoftheseasonwithahipinjury.

Missouri'sstrategyisunusual,butit'shardlyunprecedented.

Atleast16ofthe121FBSnon-academiesdon'thaveakickerwhowasofferedascholarshipdirectlyoutofhighschoolorjuniorcollege.ThatlistincludessuchheavyweightprogramsasOklahomaandWisconsin.

EachofthelasttwoLouGrozaAwardwinners-TexasA&M'sRandyBullockin2011andOklahomaState'sDanBaileyin2010-beganhiscollegecareerwithoutafootballscholarship.Bullockwasathree-starrecruitwhoturneddownscholarshipoffersfromotherprogramstowalkonatTexasA&M.Otherformerwalk-onswhowentontowintheGrozaAwardincludeOregonState'sAlexisSerna(2005)andLouisville'sArtCarmody(2006).

Acrossthecountry,thereareplentyofexampleseachyearofscholarshipkickersgettingbeatenoutbywalk-onswhogoontohavebigseasons.

AfterkickingforNotreDameasatruefreshmanin2009,NickTauschgotbeatenoutbywalk-onDavidRuffer,whodidn'tmissafield-goalattemptthroughoutthe2010regularseason.PhiladelphiaEagleskickerAlexHenerybeganhisillustriousNebraskacareerasawalk-onbeforebeatingoutscholarshipkickerAdiKunalic.

[Related:Polishkicker'slongjourneytoAlabama]

"Asawalk-on,youdon'tgetawholelotof[attention]upfront,"Henerysaid."Youdon'tthinkyou'vearrived,soyoujustkeepworkingeachyear.Idon'tknowifitmakesadifferenceasawalk-on,butitwasjustmymindsetcomingin.You'rethereandyou'lldoeverythingfortheteamthatyoucanandhelpthemoutinanywaypossible."

Ofcourse,that'strueofwalk-onsateveryposition.Sowhyiskickertheonepositionwherewalk-onsseeminglyhavethebestshotofbeatingoutscholarshipplayers?

Foronething,thetransitionfromkickingoffateeinhighschooltokickingoffthegroundincollegesometimesprovesdifficult.

"Whenyouuseatee,itwillhidealotofyourmistakes,''saidChrisSailer,aformerAll-AmericakickeratUCLAwhonowrunstheChrisSailerKickingcamp."Youcanusepoortechnique,andbecauseyouhavethattee,itcorrectsyourerrorsforyouinasense.Butwhenyougotothegroundandusethatpoortechnique,thatballyouwerehitting55yardsisnowhittingyourlinemaninthebutt.''

Thatsaid,Sailerbelievesthatwasmoreofanissue10yearsagothanitisnow.Henotedthatmostoftoday'scollegekickingprospectsunderstandtheyneedtomaketheadjustmentandmakesuretheypracticekickingofftheground,whetherit'sathomeoratvariouscampsacrossthecountry.

Butthementalsideofkickingatthecollegelevelcontinuestomakeithardtopredictwhichprospectswillsucceed.VirginiaTechcoachFrankBeamercomparestheup-and-downlifeofakickertothatofagolfer.Sometimesthey'reon.Sometimesthey'renot.

"There'smoretoitthanjustphysicallybeingabletokick,"Beamersaid."Ithinkmentallybeingabletoperform[iscritical]becausethere'snothingtougher.There'snothingtougherthanafield-goalguygoingoutthereanddoingaveryexactthingandthenrunningbackoffthefield.''

That'sthedilemma.Howdoyouprepareforthechallengeofkickinginfrontof80,000peoplewithagameontheline?

Kickingprospectsgetatleastatasteofthatpressurewhentheycompeteagainsttheirpeersatcamps.And,ofcourse,theymayhavefacedpressuresituationsontheirhighschoolteams.Butthatdoesn'tnecessarilymeanthey'llmakeasmoothtransitiontoabiggerstage.

"It'shardtoseesometimeshowguysaregoingtodevelop,"NebraskacoachBoPelinisaid."Alotofthesekidsinhighschoolhaven'tbeencoached.They'rejustkindofgoingoutthereandkickingontheirown.Oncetheystarttogetcoachedandstarttogetinstruction,itallowsthemachancetodevelop.Nowthey'regoingtodevelopjustlikeatanyposition.''

Giveawalk-onayearortwotodevelop,andhejustmightbeatoutafreshmanonscholarshipwhoisstilladjustingtocollegelife.

"Whenawalk-onbeatsoutascholarshipplayer,it'susuallyanolderguywho'sbeentherelonger,who'sbeenabletopracticetwoorthreeyearsandhasbeenintheprogramalready,"Sailersaid."Thathappensallthetimebecausethey'rementallymorereadyandthey'vebeenthere,sotheyhavetheexperience.Thatdoeshappen.Seeinga[walk-on]freshmanbeatouta[scholarship]freshmanisprettyrare.''

Pelinisaidhetypicallylikestohaveatleasttwokickersonhisroster-onescholarshipplayerandonewalk-on.Hethenjustletsthecompetitionplayitselfoutduringthepreseason.

Missouritriesasimilarapproach,onlyitlikeshavingthreekickersincampanddoesn'tincludeascholarshipplayerinthemix.ThelastMissouriplacekickertoearnascholarshipdirectlyoutofhighschoolwasPlano(Texas)West'sMattCasaday,whosignedwiththeTigersin2005asacombinationkicker/punterbutneverreachedthetopofthedepthchartateitherposition.

ClickHeretoviewthisLink.Sincethen,theTigershaveofferedonlyperceivedcan't-missprospectssuchasformerHouston(Texas)ClearLakestandoutDustinHopkinsClickHeretoviewthisLink.,whosignedwithFloridaStateClickHeretoviewthisLink.asthenation'stop2009kickingrecruitandnowisrankedbynfldraftscout.comastheNo.1kickingprospectinthe2013draftclass.

Missourichangeditsrecruitingstrategyafteritsscholarshipkickersfrequentlygotbeatenoutbywalk-onsearlyinGaryPinkel'scoachingtenure.Ifawalk-onwinsthejobandproveshecanhandlethedemandsthatcomewithit,that'swhentheTigerswillawardhimascholarship.

"We'vescholarshippedtheseguysoncethey'veprovedthemselves,"Yostsaid."We'reaschoolwhereyoucancomeinanddoagoodjobandwe'lltakecareofyou.Ifyouwinthejob,we'renotgoingtosignsomebodyandseeifthatguy'sbetter.Ifyouwinthejobandshowusandwefeelyoucanbetheguyforhoweverlongyouhaveleft-twoyears,threeyearsoroneyear-ifyouearnthejobandwinit,we'renotgoingtogooutandtrytoscholarshipsomebody[else].We'regoingtotakecareoftheguywhoearneditandtookcareofus.''

AndtheTigerscertainlywon'tplayfavorites.

Thatmuchbecameobviousin2006whenWolfertwonMissouri'skickingjobbybeatingoutincumbentstarterAdamCrossett,whohappenstobeYost'sbrother-in-law.

"Itdidn'tmakeThanksgivingalotoffun,"Yostsaid,"butthebottomlineisitwasthebestthingfortheprogram.Thebestguy'sgoingtoplay."

InMissouri'scase,thebestguytypicallywasn'tofferedascholarshipstraightoutofhighschool.

SteveMegargeeisthenationalcollegecolumnistforRivals.com.Hecanbereachedatsmegargee@rivals.com,andyoucanclickheretofollowhimonTwitter.

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