Have followed Iowa recruiting for about 15+ years and this is the first K/P recruit I’ve ever had the “Iowa’s gotta get this kid” vibe for.
Drew Miller, Mediapolis IA, #1 ‘24 kicker nationally
- Thread starter DavidGraeberBullSheetJobs
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I've seen him play and the dude has a cannon but let's not get carried away. Good kid and good family from what I know.
@MepoDawg# is he playing soccer this spring? If so good luck against BND!
My son kicked (FB) for his last two years and never truly regained his soccer form. Was still all state in both but it definitely has an impact. Good decision.
Do people really get injured in soccer? I mean really injured, not the pretend to play dead when you mess up injured.
Go look in a mirror, count to 4.9 and then punch yourself in the mouth for opening it. You suck.
It's kinda cool to see the D1 talent that has come out of small town Mediapolis.
Jesse Ertz was a good QB for Kansas State, when healthy.
Jesse Ertz was a good QB for Kansas State, when healthy.
Reggie routinely kicked the ball thru the uprights on kickoffs with room to spare, he had the strongest leg anyone had ever seen. He outkicked his coverage a lot, so his net wasn't always great, and they had to use Tom Nichols (?) for pooch kicks, but Reggie could launch a punt literally 70-80 yards in the air
I also recall he lost his career 50 yd/punt average on his LAST college kick! I was pretty pissed at the time
However, the greatest college punter ever is SDSUs Matt Araiza, who just graduated (?but may still be eligible?). Read up on him--he's amazing and, I must admit, even better than Tory, and probably Reggie, too
I also recall he lost his career 50 yd/punt average on his LAST college kick! I was pretty pissed at the time
However, the greatest college punter ever is SDSUs Matt Araiza, who just graduated (?but may still be eligible?). Read up on him--he's amazing and, I must admit, even better than Tory, and probably Reggie, too
No kicker or punter I have ever seen at Iowa is even close to the leg of Reggie Roby.
Opponent's might have started at the twenty but there probably weren't many big returns against Iowa in the Roby years.
Opponent's might have started at the twenty but there probably weren't many big returns against Iowa in the Roby years.
The last recruit like that as a specialist was Kaeding. As an Iowa City kid we had to get him. Then he turned into an all american and Groza winner for us.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
We were giving up significantly more punt returns and return yards in the Roby years than now. And, it got worse during his career. The return yards listed below are for the team and not specifically Reggie. While we were using two punters in his era, he had the majority of the punts and it seems unlikely that the "pooch" punts were giving up big returns.
In 1979, Roby had 35 of the Hawkeyes 51 punts. There were 20 returned for 147 yards (7.4 yds per). Hawkeyes returned 20 for 65 yards. In 1980, Roby had 41 punts and Olenjniczak 24. We had 29 punts returned against us for 279 yards (9.6 yds). By comparison, the Hawkeyes returned 23 for 131 yards. In 1981, Roby had 44 punts, Nichol 11, and Oly 1. We had 32 returned against us for 316 (9.9 yds); the Hawkeye returned 28 for 220. In 1982, Roby 56 and Nichol 9. We gave up 445 yards on 34 returns (13.1 yds); Hawks got 60 yards on 23 returns.
In 2020 (short season), Taylor had 40 punts; six were returned for 31 yards (5.2). Hawkeyes returned 23 for 223 yards. In 2021, Taylor had 80(!) punts; there were 18 returned for 69 yards (3.8). Hawkeyes returned 39 for 300 yards. Taylor has significantly fewer punts returned and for significantly fewer yards per.
Someone could try to make the argument that overall punt teams are better at covering kicks 40 years later. But, I don't know. Our own recent punt return yards are very comparable to what we were giving up under Roby, and our punt coverage yards are comparable to what are opponents were doing back then.
If the Staff believes He can be a difference maker in STs with Iowa's style of play He needs an offer if one hasn't been offered, JMO .
Very surprised at those numbers. Proof the fish do get bigger with each passing year.
It is also true that we have far better athletes in punt coverage today, and probably a much better special teams coach than we had in the early Fry seasons. Probably better athletes on coverage than the sainted John Hayden Fray ever had in kick/punt coverage.
Very true, not sure about rule changes through the years as well.
However, there have also been rule changes that make the Taylor-Roby comparison apples-oranges.
And when limited by Keith Duncan to kickoff-only duty, Shudak compares pretty favorably to Roby on the kickoff side of things.
Let's just say it helps to have good punting and kicking when you rely heavily on your defense for successful seasons.
I have inside information that he has been awarded a sixth star.
This young man reminds me of Reggie Roby and Nate Kaeding, but with an even higher ceiling.
is there any other football team that makes its punters and kickers put the whole team on their shoulders so often?
Got to be a Hawkeye!
This young man reminds me of Reggie Roby and Nate Kaeding, but with an even higher ceiling.
is there any other football team that makes its punters and kickers put the whole team on their shoulders so often?
Got to be a Hawkeye!
The rule changes in the college game do make it harder to both block and return punts. The rugby style punts, when properly executed, are very hard to return.
I will readily acknowledge that the kicking has gotten a lot better. I showed the stats from Tom Nichol's career, who was a very good kicker at Iowa. He made 61% of the kicks. It's highly unlikely that any FG kicker today would be allowed to take 70 FG attempts making just 61% of the kicks. Doesn't mean he was a bad kicker, just things have changed.
Roby punted for 16 years in the NFL, averaging more than 43 yards per punt. Was a great in college and in the NFL. He would have been great in any era. Things such as recency bias and love for the past (and overstating how good an older player was) both exist. With that said, I'm old enough to see Roby in person and in the NFL and Taylor today, and Roby is the greatest punter Iowa has had. Period. End of story.
The ball had a different sound coming off his foot. Pre game warm ups were impressive.
I hope Iowa offers, with Iowa's style of play STs are kind of a big deal.
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The Iowa Hawkeye Moon Family Kicker sounds dope….amirite?
Wish you guys well, Sounds like they need ”student loans” for parents during the recruiting process!
That's quite a list! What's he looking for in a school? Academics? A ring? Early PT? Close to home? Far from home? Urban? Rural? Size? Nothing west of Ames (technically Baylor is but...). Why no schools out west? How many has he visited on his own? Or are you guys accompanying him? Just curious. about it all. TIA.
I saw UGA got a commitment from a K so maybe that starts the dominoes to follow. Enjoy the adventure.
My bad, treated it like drafts can go. The first person in a position group gets drafted and it starts a bit of a run on the group. The first P/K gets a scholly and FOMO starts for the schools.
Kind of crazy how Hayden chased down Reggie and what he felt it meant to the program. My how times have changed.
From A High Porch Picnic....
“The night before the signing date, we took our whole coaching staff to Waterloo to show Roby how much we wanted him,” Fry said. “I don’t know if that was the deciding factor, but the next day he signed with us.
“I was never so happy to sign a punter. Getting Reggie helped us convince Iowa kids that playing for the Hawkeyes was a thing to do. And he helped give us one of the best kicking games in college for the next four years.”
I had a class with Reggie. One of the nicest players I ever met. Huge guy with huge legs, very humble and soft-spoken.Kind of crazy how Hayden chased down Reggie and what he felt it meant to the program. My how times have changed.
From A High Porch Picnic....
“The night before the signing date, we took our whole coaching staff to Waterloo to show Roby how much we wanted him,” Fry said. “I don’t know if that was the deciding factor, but the next day he signed with us.
“I was never so happy to sign a punter. Getting Reggie helped us convince Iowa kids that playing for the Hawkeyes was a thing to do. And he helped give us one of the best kicking games in college for the next four years.”
Congrats to your son Mepo. You have to be a pretty proud papa. As a hawk fan hoping he comes to Iowa but if he doesn’t good luck to him wherever he decides to go. Hope he has a great college career.
He will find a good school. My wish is that it is Iowa.
Iowa highlights special teams and kickers more than almost any team in the country. We have continuity and stability at the position coach. Every reason to stay in Iowa.
Reggie was simply the Bomb.
Reggie was simply the Bomb.
