 "Photo: Kerry Lentz")
Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach has a pretty simple breakdown of the dynamics that surround the placekicker position.
"One of the few things that doesn't change is the dimension of the field and the football," Leach said. "There's no difference between doing it in junior high and high school and college and the NFL. It kind of remains the same. There's a ball, there's air, there's a foot and you kick it."
As easy as Leach makes it sound, for some reason, Tech's kicking game has continued its inconsistencies.
Freshman kicker Donnie Carona lost his starting job to senior walk-on Cory Fowler after Carona missed an extra point in overtime against Nebraska and clanked another off the left upright before it fell through.
Prior to the game against the Cornhuskers, Carona already was on a short leash.
"Quite honestly, I think Donnie is gonna be fine," Leach said. "He needs to relax. It's not like anything has changed. The guy in high school would be more than satisfactory. As a matter of fact he might lead the league around here. So all he's gotta do is be the guy in high school."
Against Texas A&M on Saturday, Fowler, a walk-on from The Woodlands, replaced Carona only to have two extra points blocked - one was returned for A&M's only two points in the second half.
With Fowler going four-for-six against the Aggies in extra points and making his only field goal attempt, Tech is now 37-for-43 on extra points and four-for-eight on field goals.
Only four other teams in the Big 12 Conference have missed an extra point, and the most misses other than Tech have come from Baylor with three.
After looking at film of Tech's 43-25 win against Texas A&M on Saturday, Leach said Fowler will not be placekicker anymore, but at the same time, he did not announce Carona as the returning starter.
"(Fowler's kicks) were struck way low; we almost missed another one besides," Leach said. "We hit the middle of the ball."
Bypassing the extra-point attempts all together and going for two point conversions is an idea Leach said he still has not ruled out.
Freshman Jared Flannel, a special teams member from Brazoria, said coaches have started trying to correct the low trajectory issues that Carona and Fowler have showed this year.
"As a matter of fact last night they started doing something a little different, with the dummies you know," Flannel said. "They had some tall people stand up and make them like get the ball up instead of more line drives. They should be all right, they'll be fine. They were looking pretty good last night."
However, Flannel is not afraid to address the fact that if problems continue, they could end up costing Tech a game like they almost did against the Cornhuskers.
"It's something you have gotta take serious, especially on special teams," he said. "Against Nebraska, the one that hit the pole and went in, if he doesn't make that we lose the game; so yeah it's real serious."
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