Though the ninth-longest rocket in KU history felt good coming off Tucker’s right foot, it didn’t impress the Jayhawk junior as much as his 19 punts that plopped inside the 20-yard line.

“Hang time is probably the biggest key. If I can hang it up where they fair catch or get tackled right away, that’s the biggest thing I can do,” said Tucker, a 6-foot-2, 205-pounder from Katy, Texas, who forced 15 fair catches.

“My goal is personally to try to pin other teams deep, let our defense do the job,” he added.

Tucker’s overall performance his sophomore season earned him honorable mention all-Big 12 honors in a vote of the league coaches.

He also was a Ray Guy award semifinalist and enters the 2006 campaign on the Ray Guy preseason watch list with Purdue’s Dave Brytus, Georgia’s Gordon Ely-Kelso, Baylor’s Daniel Sepulveda, Virginia Tech’s Nic Schmitt and Florida’s Eric Wilbur.

That list will be expanded a couple weeks into the season.

Coincidentally, Guy, a seven-time all-pro for the Oakland Raiders, is one of Tucker’s favorite punters. Tucker has attended Guy’s summer camp twice – once his senior year of high school and again this past June in Kansas City.

“I actually got to kick with him two days. He helped me out. He’s a nice guy, easy to talk to,” Tucker said. “There were probably 30 (punters) there. You go through different drills, work on technique, fundamentals. They gave us some DVDs. It’s a good camp. I think it helped me out.”

Tucker sees room for improvement this season.

“Consistency with all my punts, true hang time, distance and no shanks,” he said of immediate goals.

One thing that has helped Tucker become one of the league’s best punters could be his athleticism.

He lettered in football, basketball, track and soccer at Cinco Ranch High School. Tucker’s dad, David, played basketball at Oral Roberts from 1973-77.

“My whole family is athletic,” Tucker said. “My mom competed in track. My dad played basketball. Both parents are athletic.”

His dad’s alma mater will be playing KU in basketball on Nov. 15 at Allen Fieldhouse.

“He has mentioned that. He’s pretty excited for that game,” Tucker said of dad, who “tells me a little about his career. He was a little point guard.”

Tucker loves football so much he didn’t consider a hoops career, though he believes he probably could have landed a scholarship.

“No offers (but) I think I could have played somewhere small,” Tucker said. “I played post at 6-2. I played scrappy.”

He may wind up punting in the pros like Guy.

“I would love to play professional football, but I’m not near where I need to be for that,” he said.