Longer kicks the goal for Arizona senior Bondzio
by John Moredich on Oct. 18, 2008, under Sports
'He has an explosive and very lively foot. He is as good as I've been around. He is also a good leader.'
Jeff Hammerschmidt,
Arizona special teams coach, on place-kicker Jason Bondzio (right)
The final seconds are ticking down against California . . . Arizona is trailing by two . . . a 50-plus yard field goal is needed for the Wildcats to win.
UA place-kicker Jason Bondzio will take that scenario.
“I want to be there in pressure situations,” the senior said.
Arizona might need the strong leg of Bondzio if the game is on the line against No. 25 California at Arizona Stadium when the teams meet at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Bondzio is more than ready to make a mark on the program.
The distance doesn’t matter. He admits if the wind is right, he can hit from 55 or 56 yards out.
“Ever since the spring I knew I had the leg strength,” he said. “I was telling coach ‘lets kick more of the longer field goals.’ I want to make sure that coach has the confidence even if it is not just the end of a game or the half that I can kick the longer field goals. I would like to be given the chance.”
There seems little doubting Bondzio can get the job done inside of 50.
Bondzio was perfect on all three of his field goals last week, drilling kicks of 19, 22 and 23 yards in a 24-23 loss at Stanford.
Bondzio has connected on 8 of 9 tries this season after making 21 of 26 attempts a year ago as a first-year starter.
“He has an explosive and very lively foot,” special teams coach Jeff Hammerschmidt said. “He is as good as I’ve been around. He is also a good leader. I’ve been around a lot of flaky guys, but he is solid. He is confidence and he wants to do more.”
Not much was expected of Bondzio in 2007, who did not have a field goal try in either 2005 or 2006 after redshirting in 2004.
He made 13 of 15 field goals in his career at Humble (Texas) High School and missed just one of 127 extra point attempts.
Those were good numbers, but he was following in the footsteps of Nick Folk, who became an instant star with the Dallas Cowboys.
Bondzio responded by becoming the first place-kicker in school history to score 100 points in a season, connecting on 8 of 9 attempts beyond 40 yards.
“It surprised me a little bit, but I set such a high standard for myself that you can never be satisfied,” Bondzio said. “You always have to improve on everything. Overall it was a good season, but I want more.”
What caught everybody’s attention is Bondzio’s kickoff strength. There were 22 touchbacks among his 71 kicks last year. He has put 13 of 44 kicks into the end zone through six games in 2008.
Bondzio now wants to stretch his distance on field goals.
The lone miss was from 45 yards against Toledo. He did tie a career-high with a 49-yard kick against Washington.
Arizona coach Mike Stoops admits he would consider using Bondzio from 55 yards or so.
He gave him a chance to try for a 59-yarder last year against Washington State. It had the distance but went wide right.
Max Zendejas, Lee Pistor and Jon Prasuhn share the school record for a field goal at 57 yards.
“I want to get it,” Bondzio said. “Hopefully I get it before the year is over.”
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CALIFORNIA (4-1, 2-0) AT UA (4-2, 2-1), 7 P.M. SATURDAY; TV: FSNA; RADIO: 1290 AM, 107.5. LINE: CAL BY 2.5
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BONDZIO BONANZA
Kicker Jason Bondzio has made 8 of 9 field goal attempts this season:
Game Made Missed
Idaho none none
Toledo 20, 26 45
New Mexico none none
UCLA 41 none
Washington 29, 49 none
Stanford 19, 22, 23 none
