Scott McClurgYeah, the kickers and punters do bench press.
They certainly build the chest, but that’s not all. The shoulders get worked, too. So do the back, the abdominals, the triceps, the biceps and, of course, about every muscle in their oh-so-valuable legs.
Don’t think kickers are the ones who have it made, the ones who sit on the side and boot footballs all afternoon while the big boys are pumping iron and killing each other.
Those days are done.
“Kicking takes more of your whole body than you think,” Kansas University sophomore Scott Webb said. “I do a couple of different leg things, a little different stuff on squat every once in a while. But mainly, I do what everyone else does.”
Is it obvious Webb and punter Kyle Tucker have hit the weights hard this offseason? If you were one of the 40,930 in attendance at last week’s game against Florida Atlantic, you probably noticed.
Webb repeatedly had kickoffs fly out of the end zone, and booted 43- and 32-yard field goals with ease.
Tucker, meanwhile, launched a punt 58 yards early in the contest, easily a career best. He averaged just 40 yards in six attempts, but several were strategic placings, not see-how-far-you-can-tattoo-it opportunities.
If anything was learned last week, it was that the offseason work made Webb and Tucker that much more valuable to KU’s team. Webb, for one, was flawless with kickoffs and perfect splitting the uprights, and it earned him special-teams player-of-the-week honors by the coaching staff.
“He’s had a great offseason in the weight room, and he’s much stronger than he was a year ago,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “That’s pretty obvious when you see him kick the ball. It’s got some distance to it, some height, and the kickoffs are strong, too.”
Getting big
Webb came to KU out of Tulsa (Okla.) Union High, a huge school that brought in thousands of fans per game for high school football. It was a perfect place to develop a kicker – lots of eyes looking down, lots of pressure on your shoulders from the time you’re 15 years old. Webb had to develop mental toughness, or he was toast.
Playing for an explosive Union offense that was always good, he converted 72 of 74 extra points his senior year, and also connected on 11 field goals.
“For a high school player, he had reasonably good strength,” Mangino said. “But the thing that was really good about him is he had a lot of accuracy. He was phenomenal in extra points.
“We knew he had to get stronger. But he’s very sound mechanically.”
A redshirt in 2003 paved way for KU’s need of him in 2004. Not full-time, though. Johnny Beck, who had a cannon for a leg but had trouble controlling it, was kept on kickoff and long field-goal duties. Webb, with his reliability, did extra points and short field goals.
It was best for the team at the time. But a stigma of Webb having a weak leg may have been assumed given his job description.
“I’m sure there is, but myself, I was happy to get out there and do my part,” Webb said. “I’d much rather be on the field than on the sidelines, so I was happy to do whatever I could.”
He hit all 29 of his PAT’s last year, including a school-record nine against Toledo. He also hit two field goals, but the bulk was basically left to Beck, a senior last year.
While Webb slithered his way onto the field, Tucker had slipped through the cracked door last year, as well, taking over starting punting duties early as a true freshman. He averaged 40.1 yards per boot, kicking eight longer than 50 and earning Freshman All-Big 12 honors by The Sporting News.
After the season, Webb and Tucker together dedicated themselves to offseason work under strength coach Chris Dawson.
“We’re pretty much workout buddies,” Webb said. “We worked out every day. We both work out at 7 a.m. the three days a week we work out now. We go out and kick together, too.”
What to do with them
Mangino had hinted earlier this year that Tucker could do kickoff and long field-goal duties this fall while Webb kept his same role. Tucker booted a 50-yard field goal in high school, and was just as heralded for his kicking abilities as his punting prowess.
“He came in with a heck of a leg,” Webb said. “He kept it up and he’s getting more consistent now.”
Webb, though, developed the consistency, too. And against Florida Atlantic, all the kicking duties were given to him.
“I was happy with Scott Webb and his kicking,” Mangino said. “He had many kickoffs in the end zone and a few through the end zone.”
A pleasing aspect of it was the accuracy. True to Webb’s reputation, it didn’t seem to be a bit of a problem, even though the leg strength improved signficantly.
“Accuracy depends on how you approach it, your steps and everything,” Webb said. “Accuracy is something you always work on.”
Tucker, meanwhile, had one shot as a kicker that ended up being some trickery. In the third quarter against FAU, Tucker lined up for what appeared to be a 47-yard field-goal attempt. Instead, the snap went directly to Tucker, who hurredly booted it toward the corner of the field.
The shanked shot went just 15 yards before going out of bounds. If not for the attempt at being sneaky, Tucker would’ve averaged 45 a boot last week.
Bottom line
It seems Mangino and Webb both agree that total-body weightlifting have made both Webb’s and Tucker’s legs noticeably stronger.
Webb booted a 65-yard field goal during practice on Monday, and said he’d feel confident in his chances well into the 50-yard range during a game.
“Depends on the day,” Webb said. “But in my mindset, I can hit anything.”
Tucker, meanwhile, has proved that his strength won’t waver as his leg starts to wear out. Take the spring game, when Tucker worked as punter for both sides, unleashed an agonizing 14 punts but still averaged 44.1 yards a kick. One went 62 yards.
See? Even the foot specialists can get better with time in the weight room.
“Coming out of high school, you’re never as big as you need to be,” Webb said. “Our strength staff has been amazing here. I’ve put on 15 to 20 pounds since I’ve been here, and I think it’s helped me a great deal on my distance and everything.”
