King Solomon’s Kicking Solution

jones

Austin Jones kicks arguably the most clutch FG of the last 10  years of TUFB.

Other than the quarterback dilemma, probably the toughest decision facing Geoff Collins in these weeks before the Notre Dame game is the kicking position.

Both Aaron Boumerhi and Austin Jones are, by all accounts, even this season.

One is a senior and one is a sophomore.

For the solution, Collins only needs to open the Bible and look for the story of King Solomon.  Two women claimed to be the mother of the same child and the King ordered the child be split in two so that the women could share him. One of the women objected, saying she’d rather see the child live with the other mother than be killed. Solomon saw that and declared her the real mother and awarded the child to her.

Collins should, in reality, split this baby this way: The senior, Jones, should get to kick this season and he should redshirt Boumerhi so he has him two years after that.

That’s the logical way to do it. All things being equal, the guy who put the blood sweat and tears into the program longer should be given the benefit of the doubt and Jones seems to be that guy. It was not Jones’ fault that he was the victim of a cheap shot at Memphis and probably should not lose his job because of it. Boumerhi is good, but I don’t see this as a Wally Pipp/Lou Gehrig-type situation where Pipp lost his job because of injury. Jones is not as bad as Pipp nor is Bourmerhi the Lou Gehrig of kickers.

Of course, if the reports are wrong out of camp and one is, err, kicking the crap out of the other than that guy should get the job and the other guy should be redshirted but, according to special teams’ coach Ed Foley, that’s not the case. Foley said that both are outstanding and both are doing well.

On the surface this is a tough decision.

King Solomon, though, would beg to differ.

Friday: The QB Dilemma

Advertisement

18 thoughts on “King Solomon’s Kicking Solution

  1. Mike, the other day I commented on Philly.com the exact same sentiments about the kicking situation – that if it’s an even competition, the senior Jones should get the nod and redshirt Boumerhi because Jones is an ace kicker in his own right. It would be great for the program’s future. But the only possible use of both of them would be who can consistently boom it into the endzone on kickoffs, if that’s necessary. If not, redshirt Boumerhi. Afterall, he was a great surprise last year but only because Jones got hurt.
    Speaking of many kickoffs not reaching the endzone, is that intentional so they have a chance to down it within the 20 yard line (but risking big runbacks), or aren’t the kickers legs strong enough? Just a thought.

    • Brandon McManus boomed 70 percent of his kicks into the end zone during his career; few guys in college football even reach 50 percent. I don’t think Boomer or Austin are inadequate in that area, but obviously there is only one Brandon McManus.

  2. The job should go to guy who can kick like a donkey, and tackle like Joe Julius .

  3. start Centeio vs ND.., all four have equal experience, zero; arm strength and accuracy are about equal or very close; who has enjoyed the best results so far this Summer/Fall?; and, who gives the team the best chance to win vs ND with the envisioned game plan?

    the kid has “IT”

    • I agree. If everyone is more or less equal go with the kid with swagger and an attitude. He’s so young he doesn’t even know that he should be scared. There’s nothing that gives a defense more fits than a running QB who is an adequate passer. Donovan McNabb is a perfect example. As soon as he was no longer able to run his career was effectively over.

      • I’ve heard great reports on him at the practices, but they are tempered by the fact that he’s running with the third team (and throwing against third-team DBs) almost exclusively. Collins was on the radio yesterday and said they have defined metrics that chart how each quarterback moves the offense and that will more or less determine who starts. He said all four will go with the first team on Saturday’s scrimmage at Franklin Field and that will largely determine the final decision. It’s show time. Too bad the scrimmage is closed to the general public in a 55K-seat stadium.

    • Not sure what this has to do regarding who will be the Owls kicker in 2017 ?

      • George: Since when must one stay on topic? Are there rules written somewhere that only you are privy to. Fact is that the Owls will be ok which ever one wins the kicker’s job. Who wins the kicking job is of minor interest especially because if the named starter falters the other kid is more than able to step in. Fact is that every post from here on in should be about the QB because that decision, and how the guy does once selected, will dictate how the season goes.

      • Bingo. George is the contrarian of the group.

      • @ John – I’m privy to it all. So going forward I’ll talk about my morning bowel movements .

        Can’t wait to hear everyone’s sorry excuses on 09/04. Don’t blame the QB . It’s a team sport.

      • It’s just as possible there will be no blame to go around on 9/4, only credit. At least I hope that’s how it plays out.

      • Keep dreaming !!!

  4. Well George, I guess the kicking game is in good hands, or rather feet, no matter who starts. But QB is on everyones mind because there’s little game experience between all 4 of them. I gave it my best shot to stay on the subject tho.
    I’m still trying to get some expert opinion about whether some kickoffs are intentionally kicked shy of the endzone so there’s a chance to down it within the 20 yard line – hint, hint.

    • Jonohio: I think coaches rather kick it in the end zone to avoid a run back of more than 25 yards. On the other hand, if you have a kicker that can kick it 45 yards high in the air that strategy isn’t a bad one either because it gives the kick off team time to get to the returner and cause fumbles. Problems arise when the kicker mishits the ball and kicks it low and short.

      • Even though the OP was on the kicking situation, it’s OK to stray off and onto QB situation. The coaching staff is keeping this close to the vest and it is the most important decision of camp. More on that in the Friday post.

  5. Pingback: Boomer: The One Who Got Away – Temple Football Forever

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s