North Carolina State University Athletics
Kicking Up A Storm
8/29/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 29, 2001
By Tony Haynes
On a typical day of practice, Austin Herbert and the other NC State kickers spend the majority of their time away from the rest of their teammates. While the coaches and about 100 other players prepare for the upcoming season on side-by-side practice fields, the kickers go about their business on the adjacent field surrounded by Paul Derr Track.
Kickers have a curious existence. At times, it's as if they're not even a part of the team. Then all of a sudden, they're thrust into a pressure-packed situation where everything rides on their ability to boot a funky looking ball through a pair of uprights.
But whether he spends a lot of time practicing with the rest of his teammates or not, Herbert will certainly be one of the most important members of the 2001 Wolfpack football team. His success--or failure--as the fulltime kicker and punter will go a long way in determining just what kind of season NC State will have.
Last year as a freshman, Herbert handled punts and kickoffs. This season, he'll add the field goal and extra point duties to an already full plate.
"It's what I did all through high school," said Herbert, who attracted recruiters from all over the country during his last season at Cary Senior High. "All through recruiting I was asked what I preferred to do, and I said that I preferred to do everything. I can't say it's simple because this is division one college football. You've got to work as hard as you can for everything."
After getting his `feet wet' early in his freshman season a year ago, Herbert's strong right leg started to pay dividends for a Wolfpack team that relied heavily on the kicking game. As the 2000 campaign progressed, Herbert's punting became more consistent and his kickoffs sailed higher and deeper.
"We're working a lot on fundamentals this year," Herbert said. "Last year I was just trying to do the best job I could while relying on my natural ability. By the end of the season at the bowl game, I felt like I was punting the ball really well. I tried to carry that over into spring ball. This year I've had more time to work on my fundamentals with the coaches."
Strength training has also been a big part of Herbert's regimen. With such a heavy load to handle, the 6-0, 204 pound sophomore is doing everything he can to avoid wearing down his valuable right leg.
"I was careful with my reps during two-a-days, but it's not really something that I have to be too careful about," he said. "During the off-season, I tried not to go more than three or four days without kicking to make sure I kept the pop in my leg and to keep the drops good on my punts."
During it's amazing run to an 8-4 season in head coach Chuck Amato's first year, NC State excelled in the kicking game. As the season wore on, the Pack's punt and kick off coverage units steadily improved, while it's big-play punt and kick block squad turned several games around. Herbert says it's great to play for a coach who places so much emphasis on the kicking game.
"It makes feel real good when coach Amato emphasizes the kicking game in every meeting that we have," Herbert said. "It make me feel more comfortable knowing that they really recognize that it's one-third of the game. Last year it really showed when we won a couple of games because of the kicking game."
Although he averaged 37.7 on 59 punts in his first year, Herbert averaged more than 40 yards per kick over NC State's last four games. And thanks to his booming kickoffs, the average starting field position for Wolfpack opponents was the 24-yard line. Herbert's 14 touchbacks on kickoffs were nine more than the team had the previous year.
This season, he hopes to improve those numbers while also becoming a reliable field goal kicker.
"As far as field goal kicking is concerned, I've always had a hard time keeping my head down," Herbert said. "I've been working real hard on it and have gotten a lot better. I did a real good job of it in the spring game. That's one of those fundamental things I've been working on."
If he's successful, Herbert will become the first player in NC State history to handle all of the kicking duties.
