 TOLEDOROCKETS.NETYour source for information on Rocket Football! |
TOLEDOROCKETS.NETYour source for information on Rocket Football! |
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By Brian Nowicki Jason Robbins had one of the most successful seasons in terms of field goal percentage in school history last year. He was 13 of 13 with a long of 44 yards. He was also 54 of 55 on extra points and led the team in scoring with 93 points. He has graduated though and Toledo must find a replacement right away. There are a couple of players that will be battling for the job this summer. Junior kicker Michael Krispinsky, 5-10 and 182 pounds, did the kicking this spring and looked pretty good. The Ashland, OH native seems to have increased his kicking power from last year and he seemed pretty accurate as well. He handled the majority of the kickoffs in 2004, kicking off 63 times with 11 touchbacks. Last season he only kicked off 20 times, as Jason Robbins handled the bulk of the kickoffs. Joining Krispinsky in the battle this summer will be incoming freshman Alex Steigerwald. The coaching staff are really high on Steigerwald, a 5-11 and 170 pound kicker from Benedictine High School in Cleveland, OH. Scout.com said that Steigerwald has one of the strongest legs of any kicker prospect in the Midwest for the 2006 recruiting class. He can also punt, as he was named 1st Team All Ohio in 2004 as a punter. As a senior in 2005 he was 2nd Team All Ohio as a kicker. Many of his kickoffs reach the endzone as touchbacks as well. He had offers from Toledo, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The punting duties will be handled once again by junior Brett Kern, a 6-3 and 195 pound punter from Grand Island, NY. Last year he punted the ball 33 times, averaging 39.5 yards per punt. He booted nine punts inside the opponent's 20 yard line, but he also had four punts blocked. In 2004 he averaged 40.6 yards per punt. 12 of his 44 punts in 2004 were downed inside the opponent's 20 yard line. Likely to be the main punt return man again this season is Steve Odom. He returned 20 of UT's 22 punt returns last season, but only for 6.3 yards per return. He is the only returning player that returned a punt for Toledo last season. RB DaJuane Collins is likely to be a punt returner this fall for Toledo as he practiced punt returns a lot this spring. Others that returned punts in the spring were CB Nigel Morris and RB Richard Davis. Sophomore Richard Davis was the main kick returner for Toledo last year during his redshirt freshman season. He returned 17 kicks for 387 yards (22.8 yards per return) and one touchdown. He should be one of the key kick returners again this fall. Steve Odom returned 11 kicks last year, averaging 24.8 yards per return and he should be a key return man for Toledo again this fall. Davis and Odom are the only two returning players that returned kicks last year for Toledo. RB DaJuane Collins and CB Nigel Morris should help return kicks this fall as well, and we may even see RB Ray Williams back there on kick returns as well. Every year there seems to be a special teams "specialist" for the Rockets. When I say specialist I mean a hard-nosed kid that plays on punts and kickoffs and seems to make a lot of plays. A couple of years ago that player was outside linebacker Rodney Gamby. Last season it was freshman outside linebacker David Fatula, 5-9 and 189 pounds. Fatula walked onto the Rockets last year and made an immediate impact on special teams. He seemed to always be in the play, even if he didn't make the tackle. Expect him to make an impact on special teams once again this fall. Heading into this summer Steve Odom is pencilled into the #1 spot on punt returns, but don't be surprised if DaJuane Collins sees a lot of action back there and perhaps even takes over the starting punt return job at some point in the season. I also wouldn't be surprised to see Collins teamed up with Richard Davis on a majority of the kick return formations this fall, giving Odom a bit of a breather before the offense comes out onto the field. And Ray Williams, if given the opportunity, could become an excellent return man as well. One other note of interest is fixing the problems with blocking at the line on punts. Brett Kern had four punts blocked last year and a few others were almost blocked. Three of the four punts that were blocked were returned for touchdowns, and the Rockets can't have that happening again this year. If Kern is giving the time to punt the ball, he can be an All MAC punter with an average somewhere in the low to mid 40's range. With a brand new QB, the punting game might be very important early in the season. Have a question or comment for Brian? Email |