With the kicker positions still up in the air, three Bruins compete for the top spot
By Daily Bruin Staff
Aug. 29, 2011 2:16 a.m.
As far as valuable assets go, Jeff Locke’s left leg might be up there alongside Kevin Prince’s right knee.
Locke has been one of the best punters in the nation for two years running ““ making the Bruins a threat to change field position no matter where the offense stalls ““ and he doubles as the kickoff specialist.
That’s already a pretty full workload, but another serving could get heaped on the redshirt junior’s plate come Saturday: place-kicking duties.
Gone is the sure leg of Kai Forbath, named the best kicker in the country in 2009, and in comes a question mark at the position for the first time in years. Even before Forbath, the Bruins boasted NFL-caliber kicker Justin Medlock.
Redshirt freshman Kip Smith was tabbed as Forbath’s successor the minute he signed with UCLA, but the No. 1 kicking recruit in the country in 2010 has been inconsistent dating back to spring camp. The same goes for redshirt freshman walk-on Joe Roberts, the only other kicker on the roster.
UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel knew the transition out of the Forbath era wouldn’t be easy, but it wasn’t supposed to be this hard, so he threw Locke into the equation.
“Instead of letting Kip and Joe take all the reps, they wanted me to jump in and make it a competition again,” Locke said. “Competition does bring out the best in everybody, and we’ve all been kicking a little better since I came into the mix.”
It’s a competition that Locke says he wants to win, but increasing his workload by 50 percent would increase the strain on his leg by much more than that. Locke handled the kicking trifecta in high school, but too much kicking led to injuries. Plus, he’s coming off an offseason surgery to repair the hip flexor above his left leg.
“We’d have to be smart with (Locke’s) reps, no question,” special teams coach Angus McClure said.
“I definitely learned from (my high school) experience,” Locke said. “Even now, I’m cutting my reps probably in half that I take in practice, and before the game I follow a strict pitch count, you could say, just to make sure I’m not over-kicking my leg.”
The best way for Locke to avoid over-kicking would be if Smith or Roberts could win the place-kicking job outright. Both are taking measures to make sure that’s the case. Smith is starting with a change in mechanics that has led to some improvement in the latter part of fall camp.
“I’ve changed my swing, and I’m more comfortable with it,” Smith said. “(Before) it wasn’t good form, wasn’t the right ball flight I was looking for.”
Regardless of who UCLA turns to, the Bruins could quickly find out exactly how spoiled they were with Forbath. Field-goal range will be redefined without a kicker who can boot it from 40 and even 50 yards out, and offensive playcalls could change as a result.
Locke will be active nonetheless, and McClure isn’t afraid to use him, or Smith, or even Roberts. Someone will have to put their best foot forward.
“We’re trying to put the puzzle together and use their talents in the areas that will help them have success,” McClure said.
“The more things you can do, the better. … I’m not going to hold someone back just because of other players or their future or anything like that.”
