Erudite?
Illinois Football Recruiting Thread
Won a couple of games is a bit of a stretch. It was not like he was hitting a 60 yarder at the horn. Luke and the offense got him into some comfortable distances and he did his job.
Yes but how many walk off field goals did he have last year? That is not easy for a college kicker. That’s exactly why he got paid a ton. The thing that hurts his nfl future is leg strength
The roster doesn’t say GIES on it.
The donation was for the stadium.
He made a great kick to beat USC. The bowl game was a chip shot.
Go back and look at the last 2 years. He played a big role in a lot of wins. With our style of play having a clutch kicker is huge. With bb we haven’t blown out many teams
Yep. Some of the better teams in the country have been done in by lack of a consistent FG kicker. It’s why Texas A&M paid so much. That said, I trust our staff to continue to fill that position with a kicker they can trust.
TAMU has taken 3 players from us: Olano, McCollum, and top 100 recruit Victor Singleton when he was committed here.
If it continues in that manner, won't be long until they're atop our SEC hate list (not that they could care less).
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I remember Cal's team two years ago -- Mendoza's final year there.
Fairly certain their kicker cost them 3 or 4 games, with missed "chip shots" just like that.
With as many close games we play, a guy as dependable as Olano is a treasure. It just sucks to lose that over cash.
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and 69 others
“Timeout South Carolina”
I agree Olano did a great job for us
I wish we could have him this year and maybe even one more next year
But I’m not worried at all about our FG kicking game going forward .
maybe I should be ?
He did what was best for him . Chasing a huge payday can’t be held against him
I think worry is reasonable. None of the kickers on our roster, have previously held FG kicking job elsewhere full time.
There's just lots of unknown there. Right in line with the defense.
We play a ton of close games so a good field kicker is a must. We replaced Olano with the former backup who barely got any chances when he was last with us. Last year for Washington he attempted 0 FG.
FG kicking is much easier to practice than other positions, so real game experience with 22 on the field matters less.
Less concerned about actual game reps, rather why hasn't he been given the opportunity?
A
Yeah because kicking field goals in practice is the same as doing it when the games on the line with a full stadium. Everyone looks good when theirs no pressure.
Yeah because kicking field goals in practice is the same as doing it when the games on the line with a full stadium. Everyone looks good when theirs no pressure.
you are really referring to the mental aspect of FG kicking . I’m sure there are some things coaches can do to help prepare a guy for that , much like free throw shooting , but a guy has to totally rely on muscle memory to be good at it all game/season long . that comes thru repetition with the snapper & holder , with occasional 11 on 11 work.
I really wish Olano stayed - but I just have faith in the next man up . In general , our program has had mostly pretty good fg kickers over the years & just don’t anticipate that changing
Do you think Ohio states kicker was shanking field goals in practice like that? When the bright lights are on it’s a lot harder. What can a coach do to get a player ready to make a game winning field goal on national tv. Not to mention the 70,000 screaming fans in the stadium.
When kicking on air everyone is looking good. This is p4 football we are talking about not freshman football.
I’m just saying practicing kicking is relatively simple compared to drills and scrimmage for QB, WR, DB, and even linemen, whose performance is intertwined with that of many other players, particularly the opposing team. Crowd noise and emotional pressure compete with muscle memory for the kicker but his job is otherwise very one-dimensional.
This is why soccer players can much more readily become kickers than other positions. We need a “leg sniper” with good range who’s calm under pressure. This requires a lot of time at the range and the right emotional disposition.
If it was that easy to find a good kicker why would Texas A&M spend a ton of money to get Olano. Kicking a field goal with pressure and an opposing team trying to block it is a lot different than kicking on air in practice. It’s also not easy to sit on the side line for a couple hours then go in a game to nail a game winning field goal
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Good kickers are pretty easy to find. Great ones like Orlando are much less common. Programs like A&M spend a ton of money to get the very best at every position. It sounds like Brett has picked up another very good kicker, but unlikely as great as Olano.
I’m not saying kicking easy, only that it’s relatively simple, as in not nearly as complex as playing other positions in football, basketball, baseball, or soccer.
It’s an imperfect analogy, but a FG kicker is analogous to a sniper. He needs to invest in a lot of range time and must have steady nerves. He can practice his “shooting” specialty w/o interacting much w/ the rest of the team except his “spotter”. That doesn’t mean some aren’t better at longer distances and under more pressure, only that it’s a uniquely narrow, deep specialty.
We won a lot of games by very small margins. Having a kicker like Olano is a very big part of that success. Last year Alabama’s kicker only made 69.6%. If it was that easy to find a good kicker how is bama using that kid
Not doubting you but it certainly feels like the Ohio States, Michigans, Bamas, A&Ms, Texas Tech, and many more are buying big time rosters in both football and basketball and massively outspending us in total combined roster NIL...