ASU kickers key

to success in 2008
By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com

Special teams are very special to Appalachian State head coach Jerry Moore.

Moore, entering his 20th season at Appalachian State, knows that special teams can win or lose a game. A bad snap could lead to a blocked punt, and bad kick coverage could lead to an opponent’s scoring a touchdown.

Even a bad kick could lead to poor field position, and in a close game, bad field position could lead to a loss.

“I think special teams were a huge factor for us in the early part of last season,” Moore said. “Right off the bat we worked on blocking kicks.”

Of course, the biggest blocked kicks were made by Brian Quick and Corey Lynch when the Mountaineers beat Michigan. Quick returns to the Mountaineers as a redshirt freshman, while Lynch was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals.

It’s Neil Young’s job to make sure none of his kicks get blocked. The Mountaineers’ punter returns for his senior season looking to keep opponents pinned back or, on occasion, kick the Mountaineers out of a jam.

Young finds himself in the role of mentor to the Mountaineers’ younger kickers Jason Vitaris, a sophomore, freshman Sam Martin and backup punter Adam Kassouf.

“I am the lone senior on the special teams, so I’m trying to get the younger guys in line and making sure they know the routine,” Young said. “When we go to practice, we’ve gone over it enough that they shouldn’t be messing up because they know how it’s going to go.”

Young’s leg will be tested early in the season when the Mountaineers play LSU. Last year against Michigan, the Mountaineers punted just four times.

This year, the Tigers have plenty of speed returning the kicks.

“They have the fastest return man in the nation, so I have to make sure I kick the ball really high,” Young said. “Hang time is going to matter.”

Young got ready for this season by working with former Appalachian State All-American Harold Alexander, who also punted in the NFL. Young worked on basic fundamentals with Alexander.

“I spent a lot of time working on form and drops and stuff,” Young said. “That was my summer workout routine. It was a lot of lifting and running and punting.”

Young added that although he likes his job, he’d rather not do it if possible, like when the Mountaineers belted Western Carolina 79-35 last year.

“The Western game, I didn’t get into the game — no punts,” Young said. “That’s a good game for us. I’m glad when I don’t get in, because then the team’s doing well.”

Vitaris and Martin would like to get into the game, but mostly for kicking extra points and kickoffs.
Still, the two have been battling to replace Julian Rauch, the three-year starter who got a tryout with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Moore said Vitaris has been battling a groin pull, while Martin has a sore foot.

“It’s a little bit iffy,” Moore said. “We haven’t really concentrated on it like you might normally and their legs are a little tired. ...They’re kicking the ball okay and they’re punting it all right.”

Kickoffs are more of an issue this year since the ball has been moved back to the 30-yard line. Vitaris said Moore would like to see him kick the ball out of the end zone if possible. If it’s not possible, the Vitaris and Martin want to get the ball close to the goalline with some hang time to allow the coverage team to do its job.

“If we can’t quite get it to the end zone, what we’re trying to do is hit it high and to the corner and let our coverage guys some time to get down there and cover it and keep them to the 20 or the 25,” Vitaris said.

Vitaris, who actually played receiver when he first came to Appalachian State, moved to kicker in his freshman year. During a press conference before the season, Moore even hinted that Vitaris was a good enough athlete to play defensive back in an emergency.

So, that would mean that Vitaris would be willing and able to stick his nose in the action when it comes to making a tackle, right?

“I’m just going to try and trip him, to tell you the truth,” he said. “Just try to grab their shoestrings and hope they fall or something. I’m not a big guy, so I can’t wrap up or anything.”

Martin, who is from Peachtree, Ga., played just one year of prep football, but impressed coaches with his ability to kick the ball out of the end zone.

Martin realizes that replacing Rauch won’t be easy.

“It’s pretty big-time,” he said. “If it comes down to me kicking this year, those are some pretty powerful shoes to fill.”

One of the biggest kicks Rauch made was his 24-yarder that gave Appalachian State a 34-32 lead over Michigan with 26 seconds to go. Lynch’s block of a Jason Gingell attempt as time expired preserved the win.

Martin said he has never kicked a game-winning field goal such as Rauch’s, but he has kicked field goals that gave his team the lead that were preserved into victories. He said he would like the chance to kick a game-winner for the Mountaineers.

“Every kicker wants that moment,” Martin said. “I guess there are some out there that don’t want it to come down to that, but you’ve got to go into it thinking you’re going to make it, like Julian.”