With the summer months here, it’s time to start taking a closer look at the Penn State football team. After all, it will be just three months before the 2010 Nittany Lions take the field. In today’s edition of Morelli OnLion, we’ll take a closer look at the Penn State punting situation. There’s also some news regarding a start time for the Alabama game.
But let’s start with the punting situation.
You know the old saying, desperate times call for desperate measures? Welcome to the Penn State punting situation.
The departure of Jeremy Boone to graduation left the Nittany Lions high and dry when it came to having someone boot the football in 2010. It was assumed that Anthony Fera would assume the punting duties, but that was before he got into some problems with alcohol and wound up in coach Joe Paterno’s doghouse.
The Nittany Lions’ options were limited. With Fera chained to the doghouse, the Lion coaching staff looked to Russell Nye, a State College Area High School graduate and former Temple Owl. However, they needed another body to compete with Nye.
Enter wide receiver Graham Zug.
Zug was called on in the Blue-White Game to try his foot at the punting duties and he was solid, but hardly spectacular. He attempted three punts, averaging 35.7 yard per kick with a long of 42. Nye had the better day statistically, averaging 51.3 yards per kick with a long of 69.
While he wasn’t happy with his numbers, Zug realizes that he was shaking off four years of rust.
“I punted in high school, but that was four years ago,” said Zug, who handled punting duties at Manheim Central. “It’s something that takes a little time to get back. I’ve been working on it hard. Coach (Larry) Johnson has really been working on it with me. If I have to do it, I’ll be prepared.”
According to Zug, the idea of punting came from him messing around with footballs in practice one day.
“It was kinda funny. I would just kick the ball every once and awhile at practice. I hit some really good ones, some of the coaches saw it. They were like, ‘did you just kick that?’ I was like, ‘yeah.’ They told me to kick another and I hit a really good one,” Zug said.
Make no mistake about it, Zug is part of the race to be Penn State’s starting punter. And he talks like someone who really wants the job.
“If it’s gonna help the team out, definitely, I want to do it. Anything to help the team out. I think everyone on the team would want to do it if they knew it would help the team,” Zug said.
There’s a lot more to punting than meets the eye. It’s not just kicking the pigskin as far as you can.
According to Zug, he’s been working closely with coach Johnson to get the most out of his leg.
“My technique in high school was a little different than what coach Johnson has me doing. He’s the coach and he knows what he’s talking about. Once I get his technique down, that will help tremendously. Hopefully, I can just be consistent,” Zug said.
To work on his hang time, Zug said that he spent the spring focusing on his technique.
“Right now, I’m working on dropping the ball from a higher position so I can get more hang time and get some more distance. Just exploding through the ball when I kick it,” Zug said.
While fans may have been caught off guard by seeing No. 5 out there booting the ball at the Blue-White Game, his teammates were not surprised at all.
“It’s not weird at all. In the bowl game last year, we had a set where Graham was punting,” said fellow wideout Brett Brackett. “We know he can punt the ball. He can be really really consistent. He really is a good punter. I think we’ll be fine.”
In addition to Nye and Zug, the Nittany Lions recently added punter Alex Butterworth to the roster. Butterworth is a three-time all-state selection in Indiana who played for a relatively small school, Heritage Christian. Last season, he averaged 38.8 yards per punt.
With a young quarterback, the Nittany Lions will need a solid punter to win the battle of field position. No one knows that better than coach Joe Paterno.
“You know, that’s something … that’s a concern of mine, because if I talk to you about being a good defensive team, so much of it depends on field position, and without the punter … now, we’re trying Zug as a punter, and Zug has looked pretty good,” Paterno said.
As the Lions look for a new punter, watching all of this from the sidelines is the recently-departed Boone, who is a tough act to follow.
“I’ve been talking to Jeremy. He’s giving me some good advice,” Zug said.
That advice?
“I told him, ‘you don’t have to hit a beautiful 50-yard ball every time,’” Boone said.
But when you’re trying to win the starting punting job, it certainly doesn’t hurt.
Bama game to kick at 7
Penn State’s clash with Alabama will begin at 7 p.m. on Sept. 11. The game will be televised by ESPN.
It is the first meeting between the schools in 20 seasons. The Crimson Tide are coming off a 14-0 campaign under coach Nick Saban and will likely be ranked at or near the top of the preseason polls when they’re announced. The game will be a tough test for the Nittany Lions, who are coming off another 11-2 season. The game with Alabama is one of four non-conference games the Lions have to start the season.
It is one of three primetime games for Penn State. It will also face Iowa at 8 p.m. on Oct. 2 and Michigan at 8 p.m. on Oct. 30.
Chris Morelli is an award-winning writer/editor who lives in Centre County and covers Penn State athletics. He is also a regular on “Sports Central,” which airs on ESPN Radio in Altoona and State College. E-mail him at morellionlion@gmail.com.