How Important is Having an Elite Kickoff Guy and Does Oklahoma State Have One?

Mike Gundy seems insistent that Oklahoma State needs a kicker in 2016 who can perform better than Ben Grogan did last year on kickoffs. And he’s certainly right that it would be beneficial (which I’ll show you in a second).

Kyle B. went to the spring game and made a note of just how good freshman Matt Ammendola’s leg looked on kickoffs. It was also apparent on field goals.

Matt Ammendola nails a 51-yard field goal to give Team Black a 10-7 lead! #okstate https://t.co/uGqw8wE3T7

— Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) April 16, 2016

“He’s shown signs of strength and being able to drive the ball,” said Gundy. “Obviously he’ll have to have a good summer. In August we need to find a player who can kick the ball to the end zone. At least get the ball to the goal line. That’s one position that’s fairly easy to recognize because you line ’em up and kick and whoever can kick it the farthest ends up being the kicker.”

The most Gundy explanation ever.

Why does OSU need to find a player that can “kick the ball to the end zone”? Consider OSU’s performance last year on kickoffs. The Cowboys ranked No. 101 in the country in touchbacks. Average starting field position for opponents on OSU kickoffs was roughly the 40-yard line. This ranked 90th in the country.[1. Shout out to ST coverage for making Grogan look better than he was.]

Opponents score 2.33 points per drive when they start on their own 40. Oklahoma State kicked off 94 times last season so that’s an expected average of 219 points over the course of a season.

Now let’s look at, say, Oregon. The average starting field position for the Ducks’ opponents on kickoffs was the 36-yard line. This ranked in the top 10. Expected points per drive: 2.14. Multiply that out over the 94 times OSU kicked off and you get 201 points or a difference of 18 points which is about 1.5 points a game.

All because of a kicker.

And it doesn’t stop there. Your special teams players (who also play defense) don’t have to work as hard when you get touchbacks (Oregon got them on 63 percent of its kicks). Your players don’t take as many hits. They can relax a little more when they know their guy is hitting GIA on the kick. With a team that has as many possessions as OSU has, that stuff adds up.

So yeah, it sounds silly but having a kicker who is top 10-15 in touchbacks and average starting field position is yet another key aspect in building a championship team. The good thing is it looks like Gundy has found his guy.