You guys know me – I’m always interested in stories of how Georgia kickers go about self-correcting flaws in their games. Today, it’s Collin Barber’s turn.
Barber is just trying to win back his starting job entering his junior season.
That begins, he said, not with his leg, but with his drop.
“I don’t care how strong your leg is, if you have a bad drop the ball is not going to go how you want it to,” Barber said.
… Barber, from Cartersville, worked on drills this offseason with his personal kicking coach, Marc Nolan of Roswell, to make sure the ball was where it needed to be on the drop.
“Right over my right foot and nose a little bit down instead of just kind of tossing it up and swinging at it,” Barber said.
Barber said he’s taking a “jab step,” now before he catches the ball to punt it.
“It’s shortening my steps and my get-off time,” Barber said.
Okay, again it’s with the outside kicking help. But what’s interesting about Barber’s story is that Richt seems to be on top of what he’s been doing.
“The operation time is a big deal,” Richt said. “The snap to the catch to the kick. There’s a certain time that you’re looking for and if you’re too slow in your operation time, it doesn’t matter how good you block, you’re probably going to be vulnerable to having your punts blocked. I would say Collin and Adam have done a tremendous job of getting their times down to where they’re very quick, almost two step punting instead of three step punting.”
Now if they can just get the punt coverage team to focus on protection.
Get The Picture 
Didn’t Blair Walsh struggle because he was trying to go too quick?
Seems like there’s a sweet spot. At least that’s what my wife tells me.
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“G”, not “sweet” spot. Get back at it, and take your time about it.
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She might not know exactly what she wants, but she Damn sure knows when she ain’t getting it!
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Tempo is important and stay away from a “quick release”.
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And be sure to avoid that backside rush.
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Get out of here, hippie, with your mythical creatures.
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You young performers really prick my sense of humor. You’ll know the sweet spot when you taste it.
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If they can get the operation time down, then the protection doesn’t need to be as tight. And in turn, more guys will be getting down the field faster.
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To get a good drop, you have to catch it.
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Why doesn’t Mark Richt hire an assistant coach for punt drops?!
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Because he doesn’t care about winning. I mean, at least it SEEMS, like, in my head, errr, ummmm…
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Charlie Sheen for “Winning” asst coach!
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He tries, that’s for sure. But IDK that he, or anybody else, noticed Barber’s erratic drop. Unless it’s one of the new guys, we really don’t have anybody that knows much about kicking.
Barber’s drop was way too sloppy, he released the ball too soon, and other little things. That was obvious last year. Similarly, we didn’t notice Blair Walsh’s obvious tempo issue his senior year when he got a case of the quicks, and stabbed at the ball. That cost us dearly. Morgan struggled his freshmen year with a technical issue but finally figured it out himself (I think) in the offseason
I love Richt, but It’s a good thing these kicking coaches are around. I wish we would find a great kicking guy, and bring him in every offseason to consult. Or even during the season, with film, if that is legal.
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“obvious” is a pretty strong word. Will you be sure to point out the obvious for us this year, in case I miss it?
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I guess it is pretty strong. I don’t mean to be arrogant or full of myself, because I’m not. But that’s what it was, and I don’t think it’s too strong. It should have been noticed, IMO.
When Walsh went bad his senior year, I noticed what it was and pointed it out to my brother, a golf professional. He saw it too, and agreed. So I started writing about it in late September on the board where I posted, but it didn’t do any good (I tell you, it was tough watching Walsh struggle the rest of the way .. that was a long year for him – and us).
As a longtime student of the golf swing, it wasn’t hard to see. But to my amazement, Walsh went all the way through the rest of the season, through Bowl season, and all the way to Minnesota the next summer before his new coach took one look and correctly diagnosed the problem. And voila. Just like that, Walsh was once again a world-class kicker.
I’ve punted enough myself to know a bad drop when I see one. None of this stuff is rocket science, or as complicated as it can sound. I always regret writing about this topic, and wish I hadn’t this time. People get the wrong idea.
My point is, always, I wish we’d do something to address our kicking issues, whatever may be within the rules. There’s nothing wrong with our coaches admitting they lack expertise in kicking and getting the help they need. Few coaches know anything much about kicking and/or punting mechanics.
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Amazing how we keep getting better at things we don’t even notice(except for Ivey). Not having heard a damn thing about the ST practice and reading what was happening with Isaih in yesterday’s practice, I’m inclined to believe that we have a secret weapon or two to try out against Clemson. If they work, that ought to keep Spurrier busy in his thoughts because he don’t got the time to install a remedy.
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