The Bounce: Wildcat punter leads the nation
by John Moredich on Sep. 05, 2006, under SportsArizona game-winning field goal kicker Nick Folk didn’t want the punting duties, but like it or not, he got them.
Now he leads the nation in that category.
Folk replaced Kyle McQuown in the second quarter against BYU on Saturday and had four boots for 224 yards, a 56.0 average.
That is good enough to lead the nation, easily bettering the 50.4-yard average by Notre Dame’s Geoff Price, who is second.
And, oh, yeah, Folk nailed a 48-yard field goal with one second left to give the Wildcats a 16-13 victory over the Cougars.
“I went in there and did what I had to do,” Folk said. “I would rather practice field goals and kickoffs, but if I have to (punt) I will as long as it helps the team win games.”
Folk will not punt every day in practice. He doesn’t need to.
“Nick is a unique kicker where he can just go out there and punt,” UA coach Mike Stoops said. “He has such a strong leg and he is so big and athletic. We can put him in there in a heartbeat and get good production.”
The Wildcats are having McQuown punt in practice.
That approach doesn’t seem to hurt Folk’s effectiveness.
“It takes work to do it, but I have tried it for so long it has become a natural thing,” Folk said. “It is kind of like riding a bike. You never forget it. But if I wanted to be a perfectionist, I would have to practice it all the time.”
Folk took over the punting duties a year ago when Danny Baugher suffered a season-ending knee injury during the seventh week of the season.
Folk, who averaged 44.7 yards per punt in 2005, has said he didn’t want to practice both kicking motions, but will if asked.
He has been asked.
McQuown, a junior and a former Salpointe Catholic High punter, was replaced after punts of 42 and 46 yards, with both coming out of his own end zone.
Distance was not the problem; hang time was.
“The hang time on both of his kicks were under four seconds,” Stoops said. “One did not give us a chance to cover it.”
Turner close to being cleared, but is Long?
Arizona cornerback Mike Turner has been declared a partial qualifier and is waiting on one class for final clearance, Stoops said.
Offensive lineman Cory Elmore, out for nearly two weeks because of NCAA Clearinghouse issues, has been cleared to play but likely will redshirt this season.
There is no word on JC defensive end Gabe Long, a transfer who appears to be running out of time for clearance to play this year.
Cats await rare game against SEC opponent
Arizona will play just its seventh game against an SEC opponent when it travels to LSU on Saturday. The Wildcats are 1-4-1, with the lone victory coming against Auburn, 31-19 in 1976.
First pass was thrown 100 years ago today
ST. LOUIS – It was the pass that changed football forever. And no one caught it.
The first recorded legal forward pass in American football history marks its 100th anniversary today.
It took years for Saint Louis University football coach Eddie Cochems to get credit for calling the first pass play for a football program that was disbanded more than 50 years ago.
The play would go on to lift football’s grueling battle on ground to the air and create a faster and more exciting sport.
And the Saint Louis player who wrapped his big hands around the fat, rugby-shaped ball to throw what was called a “projectile pass” is remembered only in obscure sports trivia as Bradbury Robinson.
The pass was incomplete and the other team automatically got the ball, according to university archives.
“It was the coach who pushed to do the play. He was definitely looking to draw some attention to his school,” said Jerry Vickery, curator for the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in Springfield.
The Associated Press
