It’s no secret that Ball State has become known to produce punters to the professional level.
After redshirting under Scott Kovanda in 2012, Kyle Schmidt will be the new face at punter for the Cardinals, hoping to keep the tradition of “Punter U.”
“It puts more pressure on me to step up and keep living up to that reputation,” Schmidt said. “It’s not so much intimidating, but it’s always in the back of my head.”
Specialists are a different breed of players than the skill position players or the linemen. Watching them at practice, they seem to wander around on the sidelines in a group, stopping every once in awhile to punt or kick a ball.
But they aren’t wasting their time during practice. There’s actually a method to their practice schedule.
Special teams coach Justin Lustig said a punter’s approach is similar to a pitcher in baseball. A pitcher will have a limited amount of pitches he will throw in practice. For a punter, he has a designated number of punts he will take during practice.
If they aren’t kicking with the team or on an individual session during practice, they’re doing stretching work outs with strength coach David Feeley.
“It’s not like they can be kicking the entire practice, so you have to get a little creative with what they do,” Lustig said.
When Kovanda was on roster, it was one less thing that Lustig had to worry about during practice. The Ray Guy finalist and All-Mid-American Conference selection was capable of being efficient with his practice time.
But with him gone, the team now must focus on getting a punter ready for the season.
“Anytime you replace a guy like Scott, it’s going to be difficult,” Lustig said. “[Schmidt] has big shoes to fill. He’s got to step up and put a lot of work in to get there.”
Schmidt isn’t worried about having to replace Kovanda. He said getting to study under him for a season was helpful, and was one of the best decisions he’s ever made.
“[Kovanda] is one of the best in the country,” he said. “It really helped a lot to take a year off and fix things.”
