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AFM Magazine


Dominate 4th Down

ETBU\'s punting philosophy
by: Ralph Harris
Head Coach, East Texas Baptist University
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Starting a program from scratch in 2000 brought enormous challenges for the coaching staff at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas. One key foundational element that allowed us to challenge the best teams on our schedule in such a short period of time was the commitment to be productive offensively on fourth down. Field position gained by effective punting has become a trademark of ETBU football.

Recruiting, training and utilizing a talented athlete are critical factors to success, as our punter, Scott Verhalen, was one of the highest priorities of that first season. Verhalen’s growth as one of the top punters at any level of college football gives us a true offensive weapon regardless of weather and field conditions.

I encourage you to elevate the effectiveness of the time you invest in fourth down offense, because winning the turnover ratio becomes even more critical. You are also less likely to take an unwise emotional gamble on fourth down when you are intimidating the opponent with your punter.

Kickers are traditionally stereotyped as non-football athletes. In the mid-80s I was on the staff at the University of Texas. During those years several athletes became NFL players. Among them was John Teltschik, probably the best pure athlete of them all. He was our punter. Coach Fred Akers had the wisdom to utilize him well. His year-round work ethic matched up with any athlete on those teams.

A Texas high school team I was fortunate enough to coach won a state championship in the late-70s. The best player on that team, Eric Dickerson, is now in the NFL Hall of Fame, but the next best was our punter, Scott Able, who also was the QB and MLB. Both punters, Teltschik and Able, were remarkable athletes who met all the requirements we look for in football players: explosive, aggressive, quick, competitive, good hands, mentally and physically tough. Put a player like that in on fourth down under pressure and you will enhance your chance to win the tight game.

Your punter must be flexible and well coordinated, and it also helps if he is tall with big feet. Teach a good athlete to drop the ball properly and you will probably become an effective coach for punters very quickly simply because he will begin to make solid contact with the ball most of the time.

During one of my extended times of unemployment in the field of coaching football, my brave wife, Kathy, allowed me to pursue another dream – professional golf. A flop as a player at that level, I experienced some success as a teaching professional and acquired my card as a member of the P.G.A. of America. In that arena I learned the physics of what makes a ball go far. Simply stated “the ball makes the ball go far.” Releasing the stored energy in the ball makes it go far. To do that, you must compress the ball. In order to compress the ball you must hit it solidly. By timing the release of the many compound levers in the body, the player can generate club-head speed. That speed, which is generated by good timing, allows the club to compress the ball if solid contact is made. Launching the ball at the optimal angle will keep it in the air as long as possible. I teach this better than I do it.

Drop a basketball. It bounces back off the floor. The floor did not come up and hit the ball. Take the air out of the ball and drop it. It hits the floor and stays there. When air (energy) compresses in the ball it bounces. The more you compress the air, the higher it bounces. To make a football go far, you must hit it solid while utilizing good timing of the many compound levers in the body (foot speed), allowing the foot to compress the air in the ball.

The optimum launch angle enhances hang time. Teach the punter to kick for height. Distance comes when he sees the ball begin to turn over rather than stall out. No punt return man likes a spiraling ball with a descent angle that is virtually straight down. The return man is comfortable when he can see the coverage while looking at the ball. With a steep angle of descent you do not need to kick out of bounds. We punt right back over the snapper. A steep angle of descent is the result of a steep launch angle. A punt with a steep launch angle that is kicked on time directly back over the snapper is difficult to block, difficult to catch, easier to cover and easier to down inside the ten.

Great athletes look effortless and smooth. So do the top punters. Amazing speed and power is generated with timing. Trying to hit the golf ball too hard causes tension and actually slows the club head down, and usually prevents solid contact as well. This causes the ball to be struck with a glancing blow at a reduced speed, resulting in a shorter and less accurate ball flight. Trying to “muscle” the ball is counter-productive for “crushing” a golf ball or a football. We were created to operate at our best when we are free of tension – mentally and physically.

A high number of quality reps during the week are a must for effective execution on game day. Simplicity of protection allows for a higher number of game-like reps. Monday is a big kicking day for us. We also kick in the middle of workout everyday. Fast players who can escape holding and tackle in the open field must be on the punt team. Net punting is the goal. On Mondays our speed players work exclusively on drills and execution directly related to the kicking game. Quarterbacks and offensive linemen get quality work independent of kicking segments. Our punter is our holder. The defensive linemen are only involved in field goal blocking. Monday is also a strength/conditioning day. On Monday, prior to viewing last week’s game with their position coach, everyone watches both camera angles of all kicking as a team. Respect for courage and execution of athletes on kicking teams is elevated or reduced quickly without a word from coaches. Another advantage we gain by using Mondays in this fashion is that the coordinators on offense and defense do not have to be set to introduce the game plan until Tuesday afternoon to the players. On Fridays, we script all substitution situations for offense, defense and kicking by “rehearsing” game-like situations, including our fourth down “trick” plays.

Developing a snapper is vital for the punter’s confidence under pressure. Time his snap every day. Time the snap-to-kick every day. Time the hang time every day. The punter will see many of his best results come on these “effortless” reps. Jari Kinnunen, our video coordinator, times and drills our specialists during offensive and defensive pre-practice position meetings each day, as well as during the first half of practice and the kicking segments in the middle of practice. Coach Kinnunen is available because he has trained student workers to set up and operate our two cameras during workouts. The dividends of having a coach, with a plan, along side our specialists during this time have proven to be huge. We certainly have an additional advantage because Coach Kinnunen not only has video editing skills, but also played DB and placekicked professionally in Europe.

Practice technique and execution. Do not be concerned about distance, it shows up on game day just like the high performance does for your other well prepared competitors.

About the author: Ralph Harris

In 2000, Ralph Harris came to East Texas Baptist University as the school’s first football coach in 50 years. Harris’ first opportunity as a head coach came in 1972, when he began a three-year stint at Dublin High School. But in 1975, Harris moved on to what would become perhaps his best run as a high school head coach when he accepted the head coaching position at Class 3A Sealy High School.

Harris coached the Tigers to the 1979 state championship, with a team led by a running back named Eric Dickerson. Dickerson, of course, would later go on to become an All-American at SMU as well as an NFL Hall of Famer with the Los Angeles Rams and the Indianapolis Colts.





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