UT Kicker / Punter Mount Rushmore:

Discussion in 'On The Field' started by WorsterMan, Aug 3, 2020.

  1. WorsterMan

    WorsterMan SEC here we come!!

    Hey, it's still semi-off season and we are starved for topics to kibitz about!

    So, without an exhaustive search of stats, accuracy and other stuff, here are my 4 (not necessarily in order) from memory (kind of unfair to limit the list to 4):

    1. Russell Exrleben - kicker and punter
    2. Jeff Ward - kicker
    3. Justin Tucker - kicker
    4. Michael Dickson - punter

    Runner ups / honorable mention: Phil Dawson - kicker, Bill Bradley - punter, Alex Waits - punter, Raul Allegre - kicker, Dusty Mangum - kicker, Richmond McGee - kicker.

    I probably left someone off that deserves mention.....

    Potential to be added in the future to 1 of the 2 lists: Cameron Dicker....

    Edit: add honorable mention: Kris Stockton, Happy Feller, Billy Schott.
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2020
  2. SabreHorn

    SabreHorn 10,000+ Posts

    Consideration for their names if nothing else :

    Happy Feller
    Billy "Sure" Schott

    I didn't see enough of Ernie Koy, JR
     
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  3. George Bailey

    George Bailey No beans in my chili, thank you



    Phil Dawson.

    Next question.
     
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  4. Creek

    Creek 1,000+ Posts

    it’s Justin Tucker for kicker. Erxleben for Punter.
    Don’t see how it could be anybody else but I’m young lol.
     
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  5. WorsterMan

    WorsterMan SEC here we come!!

    Happy Feller - kicker fer shure - should have been on my list of honorable mention.
     
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2020
  6. Horns11

    Horns11 10,000+ Posts

    Tucker wasn't a 4-year regular like Dawson was. And while the kick to beat A&M was definitely one for the ages, Dawson made as many tough, high-profile kicks throughout his career. He got hurt in 1997, but that season was shot anyhow.

    Kris Stockton is another. Man was solid and won games like OK State and A&M, in addition to punting duty for him.

    Other than the Chuck Strong years, we've been fairly blessed at K/P for a while.
     
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  7. LAGA4

    LAGA4 500+ Posts

    Erxleben - Punter for sure. Life decisions not so good.

    You just had to see his punts in person to believe them. Incredible punter.

    Edit: Dicko is right there.
     
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  8. DrRad

    DrRad 250+ Posts

    If I recall correctly (I was a student in the 60s) Koys was not the regular punter to start, The regular got hurt, they had tryouts, none impressed and they turned to Koy.
     
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  9. SabreHorn

    SabreHorn 10,000+ Posts

    I remember Ernie Koy, Jr being the punter until he was injured on a roughing call, which I believe broke his leg.
     
  10. FWHORN

    FWHORN 10,000+ Posts

    Just those I saw in person for my kicker/punter Rushmore:

    Dawson, Mangum, Dickson and Stockton.
     
  11. BevoJoe

    BevoJoe 10,000+ Posts

    I was lucky enough to be in the stands for Russell Erxleben's record 67 yard FG (against Rice as I recall) and Phil Dawson's 50 yarder into the wind as time ran out to beat Virginia. Lot of really great plays over the years. Those two by place kickers are my two standout favs.
     
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  12. Pomspoms

    Pomspoms 5,000+ Posts

    I remember thinking when Dawson was kicking that field goal he had no chance of making it. He was kicking against a strong wind. I was delightfully surprised.
     
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  13. Austin_Bill

    Austin_Bill 2,500+ Posts

    I'll take Dawson and Big Dick, wait, what...
     
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  14. LAGA4

    LAGA4 500+ Posts

    Avatar checks out.
     
  15. Statalyzer

    Statalyzer 10,000+ Posts

    We've made a ridiculously disproportionate number of our last-minute game-winning or game-tying kicks going back 25-30 years now. Although there was the Nick Rose extra point against California. :(
     
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  16. Horns11

    Horns11 10,000+ Posts

    And Domingue missed two FGs against Cal in Berkeley. I'm very much a "buck stops here" guy with head coaches when it comes to ST miscues, because you get results on the field based on how much they care about ST behind the scenes. Chuck was more of a "let's find a returner who can wow people" instead of "let's find a K who can get the job done" kind of guy.
     
  17. Sangre Naranjada

    Sangre Naranjada 10,000+ Posts

    Dickson is so easily the best punter to ever come through UT it isn't funny. Erxleben could kick the snot out of the ball, but nobody I have ever seen is close to Dickson's ability to control distance, and more importantly, make the ball bounce off the turf in the direction of his choosing.

    And Dickson could boom punts for big distance when called for too.
     
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  18. WorsterMan

    WorsterMan SEC here we come!!

    Agree. I think Dickson is the best punter I've seen in my lifetime.
     
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    Last edited: Aug 4, 2020
  19. DrRad

    DrRad 250+ Posts

    Now that I think about it (this is like 55 yrs ago) you are probably correct. I do remember they asked for tryouts from the student body, but settled on a rostered player.
     
  20. SabreHorn

    SabreHorn 10,000+ Posts

    Rad,

    DKR actually put an ad in The Daily Texan for a punter, but that was in early 70s. Steve Adger from Houston won the job.
     
  21. mchammer

    mchammer 10,000+ Posts

    Nick Rose era was the equalizer.
     
  22. Sangre Naranjada

    Sangre Naranjada 10,000+ Posts

    Nick will never be displaced from the All-Bad Haircut team. So he has that going for him.
     
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    Last edited: Aug 4, 2020
  23. Statalyzer

    Statalyzer 10,000+ Posts

    Late 4th quarter field goals from 1995 onward ... I went through all our schedules at All-Time Results to find any FG attempts in the final 2 minutes or OT that changed the tie/lead status or extended a lead in a meaningful way but I'm not completely sure I didn't miss one or two.

    1995 Virginia: Dawson 0:00 MADE from 50, changed 14-16 deficit to 17-16 win
    1996 Oklahoma: Dawson 1OT MADE from 43, changed 24-24 tie to 27-24 lead
    1998 OK State: Stockton 0:03 MADE from 29, changed 34-34 tie to 37-34 lead
    1998 Texas A&M: Stockton 0:05 MADE from 24, changed 23-24 deficit to 26-24 lead
    1999 Rice: Stockton 0:14 MADE from 30, extended 15-13 lead to 18-13 lead
    1999 Iowa State: Stockton 0:00 MADE from 18, changed 41-41 tie to 44-41 win
    2002 K-State: Mangum 1:32 MADE from 27, changed 14-14 tie to 17-14 lead
    2004 Michigan: Mangum 0:00 MADE from 37, changed 35-37 deficit to 38-37 win
    2006 Nebraska: Bailey 0:23 MADE from 22, changed 19-20 deficit to 22-20 lead
    2007 Oklahoma St: Bailey 0:00 MADE from 40, changed 35-35 tie to 38-35 win
    2009 Nebraska: Lawrence 0:00 MADE from 46, changed 10-12 deficit to 13-12 win
    2011 Texas A&M: Tucker 0:00 MADE from 40, changed 24-25 deficit to 27-25 win
    2013 West Virginia: Fera 0:13 MADE from 24, changed 37-40 deficit to 40-40 tie
    2014 Iowa State: Rose 0:03 MADE from 21, changed 45-45 tie to 48-45 lead
    2016 Baylor: Domingue 0:46 MADE from 39, changed 32-34 deficit to 35-34 lead
    2018 Oklahoma: Dicker 0:09 MADE from 40, changed 45-45 tie to 48-45 lead
    2019 Kansas: Dicker 0:00 MADE from 33, changed 47-48 deficit to 50-48 win
    2019 K-State: Dicker 0:00 MADE from 26, changed 24-24 tie to 27-24 win

    And we won all of those games except the 1996 Oklahoma game where they scored a TD in overtime to beat our FG. And while a lot of these were from relatively close range, the odds to make all of them have to be pretty low.

    In the meantime there were several key misses of FGs in similar situations by opponents. 2002 Kansas State where we blocked it. 2003 Texas Tech where they missed a long one on the final play of the game after Mock's heroics. 2007 Oklahoma State where they missed from 32 before Bailey hit from 40. 2007 Oklahoma where they had a chance to extend the lead from 7 to 10 in the final minute but shanked it.

    The closest thing I can find to when a late-game kick failed for Texas in this time span and might have cost us a win was in 2012 when we lost to West Virginia 45-48 and Fera missed a 41 yard kick with 5 minutes left and the score 38-41. We exchanged touchdowns on the next 2 drives and they recovered an onside kick to seal the win.
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2020
  24. SabreHorn

    SabreHorn 10,000+ Posts

    1986 our kicker (???) missed in Lubbock a FG that would have won the game.
     
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  25. dukesteer

    dukesteer 5,000+ Posts

    As a kicker the choice is really tough. So many good ones. So many clutch kicks. But it would be tough to choose against Dawson. Of course, based in his career after Texas, the choice would have to be Tucker.

    Punter: I would go with Dickson for the reasons given by others. They guy has to be in the discussion as one of the greatest of all time. His last year he was a consistent game-changer.

    Now, for hang time, it might get interesting. I don’t think I ever saw — or have seen since — anyone get the altitude that Bradley could. It seemed like he would reach top of the light stanchions on a regular basis. It was a sight to see.
     
  26. Austin_Bill

    Austin_Bill 2,500+ Posts

    Are we Kicker U?
     
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  27. Statalyzer

    Statalyzer 10,000+ Posts

    For what it's worth: Weird stat - Justin Tucker has scored exactly 141 points in each of his last 4 NFL seasons.

    2016: 38 FG, 27 XP
    2017: 34 FG, 39 XP
    2018: 35 FG, 38 XP
    2019: 28 FG, 59 XP
     
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  28. Horn87

    Horn87 1,000+ Posts

    Jeff Ward?
     
  29. Horns11

    Horns11 10,000+ Posts

    1998 OK State: Stockton 0:03 MADE from 29, changed 34-34 tie to 37-34 lead

    Albeit off the upright and through, but still counts, right? It was muddy.

    Stockton's horrible punting against Stanford in 2000 arguably cost the game, repeatedly giving Stanford good field position (or even getting the one blocked for a TD). But he was quite solid at K for the majority of his career.
     
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  30. Statalyzer

    Statalyzer 10,000+ Posts

    Thanks, Horns11, I just edited the list accordingly.
     

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