South Carolina Football 2000s All-Decade Team: Placekicker
by Gamecock Man on May 5, 2011 11:57 PM EDT
in South Carolina Gamecocks Football
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PrintIt's the off-season, and that means it's time to roll out some blogging projects that I've wanted to do for a while but have never had the time to get around to. One of those is an All-Decade Team. We'll be composing a list of our best players at each position over the course of 2001-2010, with the aim of indulging in a bit of nostalgia and helping the summer roll by a little faster. First up: Placekickers.
Carolina played four placekickers over the past ten years: Daniel Weaver (2001-2003), Josh Brown (2004-2005), Ryan Succop (2006-2008), and Spencer Lanning (2009-2010). Here are their respective statistics on field goals:
Weaver: 31-46 (67%, long of 43)
Brown: 20-27 (74%, long of 49)
Succop: 49-69 (71%, long of 55)
Lanning: 34-44 (77%, long of 51)
Weaver is fairly clearly the weakest of the bunch. His percentage and career long are the lowest. He had very little range, and Lou Holtz generally didn't trust him to try anything other than fairly close-range kicks. Brown was an upgrade who kicked for a higher percentage and could occasionally be counted on to nail a longer one. Lanning was also a very solid kicker who was surefooted from close range and also made a long one here and there.
Succup, though, is undoubtedly the best of this group. This shouldn't surprise anyone, considering that Succop has gone on to establish himself in the NFL. I was surprised at first to see that Succop kicked for a lower percentage than Brown and Lanning, but looking at the stats quickly reminded me that we were never afraid to let Succop kick one from long distance, and the much greater number he kicked from the 40-55 range explains his lower percentage.
Brown, though, is probably the owner of the most memorable kick of the bunch:
Gamecocks Beat Vols with Brown's 49 yd. FG (via uscfan720)
Succop's kick to break the tie at Clemson in 2006 was a great one, but there's something about Brown nailing his career long to take a one-point lead in Knoxville that just can't be beat for individual heroics.
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If I remember correctly
Succop had an abdominal tear (or some mid-section injury) his senior yeat that affected his FG’s and PA’s. Additionally, Succop did kick-offs, too … he nailed touchbacks more consistently than any college (and many pro) kickers that I can recall. In fact, I think our kick off coverage units got a bit soft relying on his big-time leg, to our subsequent detriment.
No doubt in my mind that Succop is the first team All Decade kicker. If you’re going to do second teams, then Lanning would be my pick for that.
They wore garnet helmets.
Yeah, I agree with all of that.
Succup had the ab strain in 2008, the year that hurt his career percentage. And like I said, most of his missed kicks were from far out. He’s the best, hands down.
Still love that kick by Brown, though. Dan Weaver’s kick to beat OSU in the Outback Bowl was pretty memorable, too.
Garnet and Black Attack: A Blog By and For Gamecocks Fans.
Are you planning on a first and second team?
or just a first team? Honorable mentions? Just curious more than anything.
They wore garnet helmets.
One thing that always bothered me about Lou Holtz...
was that e refused to give kickers scholarships. Statistically speaking, kickers usually account for more points that any other play on the team. Relying on walk-on kickers exclusively was a major hole in Holtz’s coaching philosophy. We couldn’t buy a decent field goal during the Holtz era. I think you have to give Weaver some credit for being a walk-on.
I like this series. Looking forward to the other installments.
Dum spiro spero - "While I breathe, I hope"
State motto of South Carolina
by The Feathered Warrior on May 6, 2011 11:42 AM EDT reply actions
Kickers definitely warrant a scholarship. If the difference between a scholarship kicker is the difference between Succop and Weaver...
Then I’ll give up the scholarship for the fourth-string DB for the kicker everyday. Holtz essentially never let Weaver try a kick from further than 45 yards out or so, whereas Succop, when healthy, was money from around 50. That’s a lot of points we lost out on in the Holtz era.
Garnet and Black Attack: A Blog By and For Gamecocks Fans.
by Gamecock Man on May 6, 2011 12:03 PM EDT up reply actions
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