Marshall Nichols, 5-star UNLV commit
- Thread starter bcvegaspt
- Start date
What I’ve always found odd … and I know Bull doesn’t like hearing anything about the Kicking game … is that scholarships aren’t “wasted” on these kids. A lot of times they walk on.
Yet they certainly impact games more than that undersized, slow 18th string CB who may not see a down until his 4th year.
I don’t know, if I can secure a great kicker/punter with a schollie, I’ll skimp elsewhere. Flipping the field consistently and nailing long game winners has some importance to me.
But I must be seeing it wrong because schollies aren’t always the norm. HC knows more than I do, so … I’m missing something.
A great punter is a real weapon no doubt. A good kicker is probably more important. Matt Araiza got drafted and will make big bucks. I agree with you.
The link “SEC Transfer” called him a 5-star and the 8th best punter.
So, yeah, a 5-star.
Comes in handy on those 3 and outs from the 25 when you only gain 5 yards.
Assuming you get decent downfield coverage.
Or my high school teammate, Joe Kristosik?
I’m pretty sure that he was highly touted out of UNLV.
I’m pretty sure that he was highly touted out of UNLV.
Special teams used to be as significant and important as offense and defense. Rules in the name of safety have mitigated that somewhat, but a good kicker and punter still can play a significant role in the outcome of the game. Never mind using a schollie in the kicking game as long as it is on someone that is better than average kicker/punter.
If we could grab a Garritano kicker and a Parvin punter and it cost us a scholarship each, myself, I’d say in a second. Spend those schollies on those two. (Or Kristosik).
I have seen the difference it has made in games when the other team has a kicker that can kick the ball a long ways to get out of a mess, or when they can coffin corner the ball every time, and without question UNLV would have won 2-3 more games last season if we had a better kicking game.
That San Diego St. punter this past year was a great example of that. If you can get 70-80 yard punts on occasion, as opposed to 30-35 yard punts, that's literally a game changer. Instead of being backed up on your own side, you can complete change the field and back up the other team. Pretty demoralizing honestly.
Seems like we’ve had coaches that view special teams as a necessary evil, they just flop out there whatever they have and go with it.
With Jrob, I do think we were decent with it. We could return kicks, the kicking game was good, even Estandia for FG/PAT blocks. It was a unit that didn’t seem ignored as we see it today.
And don’t get me wrong, I do think there have been times where we’ve had decent kickers regardless of overall focus of special teams.
To me, it’s 1/3rd of the game, I don’t know how a coach might take it so lightly. I realize time/resources are an issue, but I’d skimp with the end of depth at positions that are able to be duplicated by certain players rather than skimp on special teams.
Exactly. Especially if you're not a dominant team like Ohio State, Alabama, etc, where you can control the game on both offense and defense. If you're suspect in either offense or defense, the special teams is even that much more critical. It makes it really hard on your defense if you get the ball to start the game at your own 20. Go 3 and out, then punt the ball 35 yards. The opponent gets the ball near midfield, and has a very short path to get points early.
The “Hidden Yardage” when it comes to the punting/return game is often overlooked IMO. It doesn’t show up in total yardage, but if you are getting say 10 yards less per kick than the other team that can end up being 100 yards or more in difference which adds up. Coaches often overlook special teams in general mostly because rules don’t allow for as many big returns and kickoffs are usually touchbacks, but Frank Beamer at VT showed that you can get an extra win or two per year with dominant special teams even with the current rules in place.
Even though these games don’t happen anymore, I often think of ND vs Michigan in the early 90s (I think) where ND beat Michigan 24-19 on the strength of 2 Raghib Ismail kickoff returns. Michigan mostly owned the line of scrimmage otherwise.
Even though these games don’t happen anymore, I often think of ND vs Michigan in the early 90s (I think) where ND beat Michigan 24-19 on the strength of 2 Raghib Ismail kickoff returns. Michigan mostly owned the line of scrimmage otherwise.
They are devils who cost the Vikings a Super Bowl berth with a wide-left miss against the Falcons while I watched from the stands!
Seahawks drafted a punter named Dickson (Aussie kid) out of Texas in the 5th round. He was the MVP of a bowl game. Everybody laughed at the pick, was all pro rookie year. He is an absolute weapon on flipping the field. Will hit 60-yard punts with back spin like a golf ball and pin teams inside their own 5-10 yard line.
6:47 Andy McDonAld sighting
That was so fkn awful. I remember it being painfully bad, but just seeing those highlights - talking about giving a game away and setting a shitty tone for the season. That was game one of that season.
I think you might have been there Scrub. I knew the manager at the PT’s on Silverado Ranch. He gave us a sweetheart deal, something like $10 bucks, you get an armband, you get two drinks, buffet style food for the duration, I just had to promise him I’d get 50+ into the bar. And we did that easily. People were excited, we just came off a bowl win the year before and JT was being hyped as a Heisman candidate (lol).
Man, so many chances to salt that one away and they just flat out choked it. It wasn’t Arkansas coming up with great plays. Both teams gifted each other all game long but UNLV was more generous. Such a rotten feeling when that game ended. Two people that showed, a coworker and her husband, were big Arkansas fans. I remember him apologizing after the game for how they had won.
A lot of people have Jrob crap and he was as conservative as hell, but he built a team that could compete and they were pretty strong at the lines and with linebackers, even the secondary. Offensively we were pretty weak and ultra predictable.
Was definitely there at PT’s watching the game with you, Ronnie and Jeremyjde (RIP) and auntie tut.
Andy McDonald is forever ingrained in my mind. That’s just one of those plays that you remember for the rest of your life in your 20’s.
That was an awful feeling. I actually felt that in my stomach at the time.
Hopefully these new kids forge new and better memories in a new stadium.
Andy McDonald is forever ingrained in my mind. That’s just one of those plays that you remember for the rest of your life in your 20’s.
That was an awful feeling. I actually felt that in my stomach at the time.
Hopefully these new kids forge new and better memories in a new stadium.
This is when the Jason Thomas injury really started to show.
Could be wrong but didn't he flub two pitches on the option in that game?
Looking back and remembering how unpopular J Rob was with the folks in our section.
"Hey diddle diddle, right up the middle!" and "C'mon Robinson, get a different play!" plus other, ruder stuff was common.
The folks in front of us, and us, were among the few that supported him.
I have stories.
"Hey diddle diddle, right up the middle!" and "C'mon Robinson, get a different play!" plus other, ruder stuff was common.
The folks in front of us, and us, were among the few that supported him.
I have stories.
I think I remember him spitting on an opposing player..
hindsightbeing 20/20, Mel Kiper was way off about him.
I remember the 4th and short and Thomas didn’t break the plane.
His defense was pretty solid. Offense was student body left/right/ draw play on 3.rd..
As Thomas struggles passing increased the offense became more stagnant. Even in his breakout year Thomas wasn't super accurate, but he was at least capable of keeping defenses honest.
Oddly enough, he was probably about 10-15 years early. He would have been pretty effective in the type of zone read offenses that you see so much of now..
I think he spit on a player in the LV Bowl game vs Arkansas about 9 months earlier.
Even before the injury, his biggest asset was probably his ability to use his legs, to make something out of nothing. His arm was never accurate. After the shoulder injury, he had zero zip. Even in that clip, both interceptions were Pop Warner level, those were worse than wounded ducks. Quintrell Thomas or Omari Pearson would have picked those off.
But they were a sound team. Looking back, they had some nice players especially given that we are UNLV.
Obviously, the kicking game sucked.
I also remember that game, it was super hyped. I went to a lot of practices back then. I interviewed a running back, I thinking it was Jabari and he gave a quote that I was asked to take out of the story, the school thought it was locker room material. I took it out after it was published. I didn’t think the quote was anything too heavy but I was just a couple years into this site, didn’t really know the ropes of the media too well (I couldn’t handle the role well anyway, just wasn’t me) … can’t remember the exact quote but it was something along the lines of UNLV going into the Arkansas game with the mindset of acting like savages. Savages was the trigger in whatever the quote was.
