Kickers: The best tandem in the nation?
(This is the 10th in a summer series looking at the Georgia football team by position.)
TODAY: KICKERS
- Returning “starters”: Redshirt junior punter Drew Butler, junior placekicker Blair Walsh, redshirt sophomore snapper Ty Frix. (Walsh also handles kickoffs. Butler is the holder on field goals and PATs.)
- Backups: Brandon Bogotay is the No. 2 placekicker, and Walsh is listed as the No. 2 punter. Walk-on Jamie Lindley is No. 3 on the depth chart at both placekicker and punter.
- Key fact: Butler won the Ray Guy Award as college football’s best punter last season, and Walsh was one of three finalists for the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s top placekicker. Enough said?
- Key stats: Butler averaged 48.1 yards on 56 punts last season, marking the first time since 1958 that UGA had the nation’s leading punter. He had 19 punts downed inside the 20. . . . Walsh made 20 of 22 field goals last season, the second best percentage in UGA history, including 4 of 5 from 50-plus yards. He also was 42-for-42 on extra points.
- Key question: Will both pick up where they left off last season? If so, no worries.
- Recent developments: Georgia’s kickoff philosophy has changed, with the much-criticized directional kickoffs yielding to more of an emphasis on deep kickoffs. This is a development welcomed by Walsh, who had an SEC-leading 17 touchbacks on 75 kickoffs last season –- and also welcomed by Bulldog Nation. Click here for more on that. . . . Frix -– a walk-on from Calhoun who took over as snapper on punts, field goals and extra points last season -– was rewarded for a job well done by being placed on scholarship.
- Outlook: Seems sort of silly in retrospect, but there actually were some concerns about both Butler and Walsh a year ago at this time. No more. They proved to be the best punter-placekicker tandem in the nation last year -– and have two seasons remaining at UGA. The kicking game is in good hands.
- Your turn: What say you about the kicking game?
Please click on the position for previous entries in this series:
OFFENSE
DEFENSE
TOMORROW: Kickoff and punt returners.
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122 comments Add your comment
The rest of us
June 28th, 2010
9:57 am
Yawn. Being the best kicker in the country is like being the skinniest kid in fat camp.
V Dog
June 28th, 2010
9:58 am
Walsh needs to just boom it, like Ok St., forget the directional kicking, Ok St kickers had a touchback 47% of kicks, and only kicked 1 out of bounds all year.
Kickoff Goals:
1) 35% of kicks touchbacks
2) 2 out of bounds kicks per season
3) Hang time best in SEC
JB
June 28th, 2010
9:59 am
I guess Iowa thought Tech was going to score with every possession ? LOL….. 39 yards rushing at the half was a “lock down”…….
Delbert D.
June 28th, 2010
10:02 am
The 2 guys from UCLA seem to be the only other pair worth mentioning. PK won the Groza Award, and P was a Ray Guy finalist. Both return this season.
V Dog
June 28th, 2010
10:02 am
Punter needs the 45-45.
45 yard average, 4.5 seconds hang time.
BAMA RULES
June 28th, 2010
10:14 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhHQSS1f6tM
Walton Time
June 28th, 2010
10:25 am
Butler’s punt to touchback ratio or net punt average was highest in nation. Only punted 2 into end zone. And had 17 inside 20.
Stevie Ray
June 28th, 2010
10:41 am
Butler averaged 48 a punt, had 34% downed inside the 20, and only 2 touchbacks. That’s a MONSTER year.
Stevie Ray
June 28th, 2010
10:59 am
Abandoning the directional kicking junk should be a big bump for Walsh. We’ll see 35% touchbacks, 67 yard average kick off distance, and none kicked out of bounds.
npgator
June 28th, 2010
11:06 am
That is good to have that kicking tandemn because your going to need them.
Berzerk8dawg
June 28th, 2010
11:15 am
keep it up special teams. I am very excited about Coach Belin doing Special Teams too. I know he knows what hes doing just looking at Vandy and they played great field position he will have better talent to work with so we have part of it down already with kicking just need to work on coverage and Tackling and I think Belin will be very good at that.
dawgfan
June 28th, 2010
11:21 am
Thanks for the tips That Guy. You may also be interested to know that its difficult to win a national title when you can’t win a freaking bowl game to save your life, lose to 6-5 teams at home, are completely owned by your biggest rival, and play in the ACC.
Those 13 quarters you were bragging about wouldn’t happened to have come during that brutal 4 game stretch against Vandy, Wake Forest, UNC, and UVA, would it? Wow. What an accomplishment. I’m surprised Tech didn’t get any #1 votes last year after such an impressive showing. Weren’t the voters impressed with Tech’s huge win over 8-5 Clemson in the All Crap Conference title game? Too bad the UPI isn’t around anymore. They surely would have given you the nod. Oh well. Just cry about it Techies. That’s what you’re best at anyway.
A Techie giving advice on winning national titles? That’s like going to a dentist for a brain tumor. Simply hilarious.
ugaclassof2004
June 28th, 2010
11:23 am
Without question, special teams should be the strength of this team especially now that idiot Fabris isn’t coaching this unit anymore( who for the record was just as bad as Martinez in my opinon). Blair Walsh has definitely improved his game, and Drew Butler is the best punter in the country. I was very dissapointed that Richt didn’t play Butler until last year. I saw Drew boom punts in high school, and in NO WAY was Brian Mimbs better than him! Drew could and should have started right out of high school. Yet another example of Richt being overly loyal to the seniors at the expense of putting his best players on the field and winning games.
Me
June 28th, 2010
12:03 pm
They are really gonna need that punter this year. He will be very active, might set a new attempts record too.
76-Dawg
June 28th, 2010
12:07 pm
I think CMR is a great coach and we are lucky to have someone here for the long haul. But, having said that CMR needs to learn from last years disaster year and not be so stubborn about abandoning something that doesn’t work. Directional kicking may be good for some teams but it’s crazy if you have a great kicker and don’t have fast enough players to cover that type kick. When UGA realizes that something isn’t working , they need to try something else. The next big decision that CMR has to address is who will replace BOBO if he can’t make decisions any better than last year and not to take 3 years to act on a change that everybody at UGA knows needs to be made, like he did keeping Willie Martinez 3 years too long.
harold
June 28th, 2010
12:09 pm
I WOULD AGREE THE KICKERS ARE AS GOOD AS ANY IN AMERICA. TOO BAD THE COACHES AND THE TEAMS AREN’T CHAMPIONSHIP CALIBUR LIKE ALABAMA AND FLORIDA!
POAD
June 28th, 2010
12:14 pm
Hopefully the Dawg Kickers well get many chances to do some great kicking. Punts from their own 5 yardline and 50+ yard field goals.
Ace
June 28th, 2010
12:26 pm
UGA is always great b/4 the season, then they become underacheivers. Break the top 25 this year ?
How2fish
June 28th, 2010
12:58 pm
Thanks to all the Bama,Bug and Gator fans for telling us we will need to have good kickers..newsflash morons your going to need them too..ours are just going to be better than yours. oh and bama rules yes we do in fact make fun of and call you rednecks..and we are right.
Pago Pago Dawg
June 28th, 2010
1:00 pm
I think we’re looking at another pre-season #1 for 2011.
Excited Dawg!
June 28th, 2010
1:11 pm
The Dawgs have one of the best punters in the U.S.!!!!!! YES!!!! He will be used often and will punt the ball really well! Yeah baby—no one will match the great Dawgs’ punter! He’s a beast!!!
LCDawg
June 28th, 2010
1:22 pm
Kick the ball deep on kick offs and put in as many starters as available. ST is 1/3 of the game per the coaches so they need to step up and treat it that way…no more walk on 150 lb. 5.2 40 yard dash guys please.
reality
June 28th, 2010
1:25 pm
That poor punter better be good. he will get alot of practice this year.
reality
June 28th, 2010
1:28 pm
Pago Pago…only if you win the Weedwacker bowl this year…
Dawg Backer
June 28th, 2010
1:34 pm
First of all, Butler is the real deal. He helped our defense a lot last year and will again this year.
Second, we are overlooking the snapper. The kid is all of 200 lbs. No other SEC team has anyone that small. But except for 1 snap, he is on target and quick in getting the ball back there. That helps both kicker and punter more than you know.
Third, our return game will be good again.
Fourth, Walsh has been money on his FG’s. His problem is he simply does not get the height he needs. UCLA, NEB, to name a couple, are as accurate, and get the ball NFL high. That is why we directionally kicked off last year. If Walsh did not get a touchback, his flatter ball gave return guys a BIG advantage over the return defense. Not taking anything away from Walsh, but our coaching staff did not just decide to directionally kick for fun, there was a concern about consistency ( I think 8-9 OB kickoffs the past 2 years) and flat, poor hangtime kicks, which led to long returns at critical times. Maybe 2 years under his belt will help this year.
Go Dawgs
David Granger
June 28th, 2010
1:37 pm
It is an awfully good tandem. I hope we FINALLY get a decent defensive scheme for our kickoff coverage, and stop allowing long returns every game.
BirdDog
June 28th, 2010
1:37 pm
Stellar!
oledawg
June 28th, 2010
1:53 pm
BirdDog- What do you think this is, a Brandon movie?
Chris S
June 28th, 2010
2:00 pm
With all due respect to Drew Butler, it’s a bad sign when the punter is the best player on the team.
AltamahaDawg
June 28th, 2010
2:16 pm
So they are going to abandon the the directional kicks that they didn’t really do last year, to start kicking it deep, applauded by the guy who was already kicking it deeper than anybody by far in the conference last year? Well, that aught to be an easy transition.
Sid
June 28th, 2010
2:17 pm
Hi Tim-
Do you know the depth chart or roster for punt returner?
I’m think AJ Green, Branden Smith, Washaun Ealey & Logan Gray–judging from last year and G-Day?
I wonder if Cuff or Boykin will return punts?
Directional Kickoff
June 28th, 2010
2:27 pm
I am going to miss you Bulldogs this year. Please don’t leave me in the playbook. Remember all the good times that we had together. I mean really, booting it out of bounds to give the opposition a start on the 40 yard line really is a good way to go. Anyway, good luck trying to do things the “conventional” way. You are going to miss me!!!!!!
Fair Catch
June 28th, 2010
2:30 pm
What’s up old Directional? Looks like we are going to be stuck in the playbook this year. BYOB buddy, it might be a long season. Special smecial teams. Nothing good about trying to catch the ball and run. They will hit you, hard. Go ahead let’s see those hands on the air, waving like you just don’t care!
gdawginkalamazoo
June 28th, 2010
2:32 pm
I hope they keep it up. Georgia has always been blessed with great kickers. Now Butler as a great punter. And we have these guys for two more years? Good thing kickers and punters can’t leave early.
AltamahaDawg
June 28th, 2010
2:46 pm
Dalton, 11th in the league in OOB KO? Technically they were tied for 5th place. ^ otehr team in the league had 4 or more. The average was 3.25. Not sure that really speaks to some major philosophical differences. You also assume that the kid can’t just make a mistake and shank one?
And whomever credited the damage on the big runback from LSU must not have been watching the game to think that was a result of a “directional” kick.
AltamahaDawg
June 28th, 2010
2:50 pm
what the heck was that?…..”6 other teams had 4 or more.”
B-ham Dawg
June 28th, 2010
2:59 pm
Ever heard of A.J. Green Chris S. (dumbass)
Flushed out of the pocket
June 28th, 2010
3:04 pm
UGA is sure going to need those punters and kickers with boo boo’s inconsistent offense. Yep settling for 3’s instead of 7’s while punting the the ball on the many 3 and outs will keep UGA barely competitive against the weak sisters of the SEC.. Sorry but those kickers wont matter much when UGA receives its annual beat down from both Tenn. and the mighty Gators…..
Tech Buzz
June 28th, 2010
3:18 pm
Florida’s punter is big time—much better than uga’s punter. Field goals? How many big games did UGA’s kicker win for them?
UGA is in for a long year if the 2 best players on their team are the punter and kicker. Look for another big Tech win in Athens.
gdawginkalamazoo
June 28th, 2010
3:19 pm
“A total stat like that could mean that our kicker was just kicking off a lot because the other teams kept scoring”
Scoring what safties? I missed something I think. If WE score WE kickoff. If the other team scores THEY kickoff. I think. Unless it is still Monday.
Joe Don't Go Squad
June 28th, 2010
3:26 pm
http://joe_dont_go.WebStarts.com/index.html
Dawggonefan2
June 28th, 2010
3:36 pm
Brandon Boykin WILL return punts… end of story! He’s one of if not the best return man in UGA History… All of this Cuff & Smith and Green talk about returning punts is absurd… stop being idiots and recognize you have and SEC record holder sitting right in front of you in Boykin. I swear he is sooooo underrated on this team… Can’t wait to see how much he will be missed once he leaves next year. Dumb fans like some of you make it all the more easy for him.
AltamahaDawg
June 28th, 2010
3:43 pm
Tech Buzz, your kicker must have some sort of magic powers or at the least, a lot more authority over your coaches to dictate how the game plays out than ours did. Are you asking how many times Walsh had the game winner on the line and missed it? We don’t know the answer, you appearantly do..how many?
And what a stunning development to have a tech fan telling us about the Florida team. Please tell us more.
Jeff
June 28th, 2010
3:44 pm
Georgia needs to pull the trigger on a kicker that has been tested during their High School career! Strength is a non factor unless the PK cannot consistantly split the up rights from 40 yards in. If that was the case he wouldn’t be recruitied by UGA.
Blair is an oddity kicking off and handling place kicking duties! Both Blair and Drew could leave after next season for the NFL then Coach Richt will be scrambling to find kickers. Waiting until 2012 is not a wise decision. As explained to me by Rex Robinson, the kicker is an after thought!
Georgia already misssed out on Will Monday who verbally committed to Duke and now the young man from Calhoun (2012) being offerred by Alabama. Honestly, I feel the recruiting of kickers is tainted at best! Going back to the comment about the kicker from Calhoun hitting bombs at Alabama; Georgia camp he didn’t perform nearly as well!
Recruiting a kicker should be performance based as well as camp evaluation. A good example is the PlaceKicker from Camden County, Matt Ehasz – played varsity football as freshman, PK in (2) 5 A Georgia State Championships (41 yard FG in 2009), PAT’s 54 – 57 from 1 inch block. Kickers do not attempt 57 PAT’s in their varsity career. 11 – 13 FG’s (Long 45 yards vs Lowndes 10 – 7 play off win). He is battled tested but he did not have an exceptional camp, not nearly.
I feel they need to pull the trigger and do it in 2011!
AltamahaDawg
June 28th, 2010
3:58 pm
Is anybody else wondering who DID look good at our camp?
How2fish
June 28th, 2010
3:59 pm
Jeff UGA has had some of the best kickers in the nation for over the last decade..exactly how much input do they really need? Don’t fret the Calhoun kid just got a offer from Bama….he’s not locked up yet and I’m not sure how many kickers leave college early for the NFL can’t remember a one off the top of my head.
.
chazzo
June 28th, 2010
4:09 pm
Scouting the kickers just isn’t necessary. They’re good. The UF jerks won’t even debate that.
AltamahaDawg
June 28th, 2010
4:12 pm
The only afterthough is to even worry about it given Richt’s outstanding track record in this area.
longdog
June 28th, 2010
4:54 pm
Stevie Wonder says we got the best kicking tandem he has ever seen Now go figure
RamblinWreck2011
June 28th, 2010
5:10 pm
Damn, I wish we had these guys. Especially after all of the kicking blunders last year. Y’all have one of the best tandems in the country, if not the best. Best of luck to these players except the Saturday after Thanksgiving.