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Ed Orgeron Is Opening Up The Competition At Kickoff

by Staff Reporter

September 5, 201724 Comments

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

LSU head coach Ed Orgeron will be opening up the competition at the kickoff position, he announced on Tuesday.

quote:
"We want out kickoff's into the endzone.. our kickoffs were not where they were supposed to be," Orgeron said.

"We are going open the compeition for who is going to kickoff this week. We are going to make some changes there."

"Kickoff coverage, lane assignments. We are going to make some changes on the personel we have on kickoffs. We were not happy with the kickoffs and we were not happy with the assignemnts. We are going to improve in that area and we dont want to have any pentalites in that area."

Freshman Connor Culp handled kickoffs Saturday vs. BYU but could be replaced by senior Cameron Gamble.

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24 Comments

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eugene1928LSU•80 months

Gamble?? He's had 3 yrs of futility including too many Kickoffs out of bounds. Maybe as a senior he's better, I hope.

Lexman1•80 months

I know. Not Gamble again. Too many kickoffs out of bounds resulting in penalties. I just can't understand a college player who can't kick the ball out of the end zone. This is a recurring problem and, as O said, will be fixed!

drdoct•80 months

Surely he knows Gamble can't do it already. It wouldn't surprise me if he holds open tryouts open to the public (LSU students) in exchange for some scholly money.

Chinese Bandit•80 months

I think Gamble was told to kick towards the sideline which is why he went OB all the time...if told to pound it straight down the middle into the endzone I would think he could have more success but he isn't accurate so trying to corner kick was a mistake on Miles/BDP part.

Show 1 last reply in this conversation

atltiger6487•80 months

how hard would it be to go find a soccer play on campus with a big leg and get him to kick the shite out of the ball off a tee. It can't be that hard to find guys that can do that relatively simple task.

Modest•80 months

THIS! why do D3 programs have guys that can do this? How can we not attract a big leg? Unbelievable.

Laman1978•80 months

They have at least a game to try Gamble out again.

MasonTiger•80 months

At least we know he wants them in the endzone, just like the fans.

drdoct•80 months

Finally!

evangelfan•80 months

How is the staff into the first game before realizing they can't kickoff??? Luckily, this is a relatively easy fix.

gctigerfan•80 months

I'm just glad he is trying to fix it. Miles would have let it go till it hurt them in a game.

DeafVallyBatnR•80 months

Somebody at LSU can kick into the end zone. I mean anyone. He should have open tryouts

JETigER•80 months

This reminds me. What is the kicker who kicked the ball out of bounds bama 2014 game doing today?

Azkiger•80 months

Let it go man, let it go.

Barrister•80 months

I was going to not comment on this, but I am an idiot. I make this comment not to argue with anyone or to defend any of our kickers ( even though they are all great guys) but to give you guys some context on what everyone is wanting. Everyone wants a KO specialist who kicks it OUT OF THE ENDZONE or to the BACK OF THE ENDZONE every single time. Guys, that is a 75 yard kick. Yes, we see some guys that have that leg and can do that with their "A" ball....but that is not their average. Do you know how many kickers each year coming out of HS can average a 75 yard ball in the elite camps? A true 75 yard average. Less than 10....seriously. A 70 yard guys plants it in the middle of the end zone. Now this is usually good enough to avoid a return. How many of those are out there? True 70 yard averages? Probably your next 10. My point is simply this....the key to any good kicker is repeatability. To know what a guy will do when you call on him. Kicking is very precise...the sweet spot on a ball is about a 1 inch square. The slightest deviation in contact gives a multitude of different results. Kickers are like golfers....they can get into swing funks. We have 3 guys on roster than each have the leg to get touchbacks. The strongest leg is Gamble, but candidly, Les and BDP screwed his muscle memory up so bad it ain't even funny. Culp's short kicks against BYU surprised me, but it is likely a small swing flaw that the special teams coach can help him with......oh wait, we do not have one. Kickers are just given balls and told to go kick while everyone else gets real coaching. Jack has done it and can do it, as well. However, none of these guys are 75 yard average guys.....nor are they 70 yard average guys. They will hit some close and a few longer, but they will hit several short. Now, to CEO credit, he does have an offer out to a kid from class of 2019 who charts a solid 68 yard average. Currently ranked in Top 5 of al HS kickers. He is gonna get strong the next couple years. He will be a solid 70+ yard guy. I hope we get him, but OK has their sights on him also.

Lexman1•80 months

Very good points, Barrister. I watched the replay yesterday and I was surprised to find that several of Culp's kickoffs did, in fact, go into the end zone. The ones that didn't were inside the 5 yard line. I guess O is upset that all were returnable, though none were costly. The last kickoff of the game was about 5 yards deep into the end zone and downed by BYU. So overall, not to shabby, overall. Please don't bring back Gamble!

ForeverEllisHugh•80 months

I don't get why everyone wants it in the end zone. What happens more often: A. Return past the 50 B. Fumble/stopped short of the 25 because of coverage or penalty. It's B, and it's not even close. Drop it as close to the goal line as possible

Da Joker•80 months

Les, is that you?

magicman0001•80 months

Actually, most of the time when running out of the endzone they don't make it past the 22. THis isn't a personal observation, this is evidence based on stats. I'd rather the deep endzone kick that usually results in the knee based on this evidence. Why take chances?

loweralabamatrojan•80 months

If this is your "must fix" after game one, your team's in a good place, IMHO.

HubbaBubba•80 months

I watched Gamble play in high school at Flower Mound. I saw many of his 70+ yard kicks like here LINK . The coaches weren't trying to get him to kick it to five yards from the sideline like Miles did. I get it, though, that this is a tactic in football, and it needs to be practiced, but even in the pros it happens. Good of O to reach out to a senior and give him a chance at redemption.

Twenty 49•80 months

The LA Tech kicker was putting them in the end zone repeatedly last week. It is possible. Glad to see O not happy with kick coverage too. They managed to do okay, but BYU came close to breaking out on a couple. It did not look good. Of course, comments on that were shouted down during the game, but O saw the film. He's not gonna Peveto this deal and keep doing the same stupid things. Glad to see him attempt improvement when needed.

eddieray•80 months

I don't understand. You ha e these guys at practice every day. You don't know who your best kickoff guy is yet?