North Carolina kicker Camden Lewis commits to the Gophers

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The Gophers have received a commitment from Cornelius, NC kicker Camden Lewis. He chose Minnesota over an offer from East Carolina. He is rated as a five-star kicker, according to Kohl’s kicking. Minnesota hosted Lewis multiple times and he took a campus visit to Georgia in late April.

As you can see below, Lewis has a big leg with a current long in the 50-yard range. He hit a 51-yard try last season and also made an impact on kickoffs. He also had a 38.1 average as a punter during his junior season. He also holds a 4.3 GPA in the classroom, according to Kohl's kicking.

Lewis joins top-ranked long snapper Brady Weeks in the Class of 2019. With kicker Emmit Carpenter and long snapper Payton Jordahl graduating at the end of this season, special teams coordinator Rob Wenger is preparing for the future. The Gophers now have two of the top-rated specialists in the country for the Class of 2019. It is very important to play complementary football in all three phases, so prioritizing and landing two of these players is key.

<iframe src='//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/6668234/5a5a7fcbf55f880eb8552cdf' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

love the line drive kickoffs out of the end zon
 

The Gophers have received a commitment from Cornelius, NC kicker Camden Lewis. He chose Minnesota over an offer from East Carolina. He is rated as a five-star kicker, according to Kohl’s kicking. Minnesota hosted Lewis multiple times and he took a campus visit to Georgia in late April.

As you can see below, Lewis has a big leg with a current long in the 50-yard range. He hit a 51-yard try last season and also made an impact on kickoffs. He also had a 38.1 average as a punter during his junior season. He also holds a 4.3 GPA in the classroom, according to Kohl's kicking.

Lewis joins top-ranked long snapper Brady Weeks in the Class of 2019. With kicker Emmit Carpenter and long snapper Payton Jordahl graduating at the end of this season, special teams coordinator Rob Wenger is preparing for the future. The Gophers now have two of the top-rated specialists in the country for the Class of 2019. It is very important to play complementary football in all three phases, so prioritizing and landing two of these players is key.

<iframe src='//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/6668234/5a5a7fcbf55f880eb8552cdf' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen></iframe>


5 star kicker baby. Thats Elite
 

I take it this is another scholarship player?

I'm not a big fan of giving two scholarships to incoming specialists.

Either way, he looks to have a huge leg.
 

Does this mean that Grant Ryerse sticks to punting?
 


The Gophers have received a commitment from Cornelius, NC kicker Camden Lewis. He chose Minnesota over an offer from East Carolina. He is rated as a five-star kicker, according to Kohl’s kicking. Minnesota hosted Lewis multiple times and he took a campus visit to Georgia in late April.

As you can see below, Lewis has a big leg with a current long in the 50-yard range. He hit a 51-yard try last season and also made an impact on kickoffs. He also had a 38.1 average as a punter during his junior season. He also holds a 4.3 GPA in the classroom, according to Kohl's kicking.

Lewis joins top-ranked long snapper Brady Weeks in the Class of 2019. With kicker Emmit Carpenter and long snapper Payton Jordahl graduating at the end of this season, special teams coordinator Rob Wenger is preparing for the future. The Gophers now have two of the top-rated specialists in the country for the Class of 2019. It is very important to play complementary football in all three phases, so prioritizing and landing two of these players is key.

If he is rated as a five-star Kohl's kicker, how does that translate to a composite star rating?
 

I take it this is another scholarship player?

I'm not a big fan of giving two scholarships to incoming specialists.

Either way, he looks to have a huge leg.

I agree. I'd much rather easily flip the top 2 NDSU recruits and take a chance on them if nothing else.
 

Does this mean that Grant Ryerse sticks to punting?

I would imagine, but I have never really understood this as I thought we gave Ryerse a scholarship to kick.
 

Grant Ryerse committed to Jerry Kill early on June 8 2016 (3-Star 0.8154). I thought he was being touted as a can't miss kicker at the time.

Giving shcolarships to kickers is risky. But, if you hit it you hit big.
 



I agree. I'd much rather easily flip the top 2 NDSU recruits and take a chance on them if nothing else.

is this possible? why does NDSU have better recruits than the U. what the fleck is goin on around here?
 

is this possible? why does NDSU have better recruits than the U. what the fleck is goin on around here?

Maybe some of those guys can't handle the "hits" they take week after week in Big 10 football.
 


I take it this is another scholarship player?

I'm not a big fan of giving two scholarships to incoming specialists.

Either way, he looks to have a huge leg.

I'm a huge fan. Kickers flat out win games. The FG is the most complicated part of football, and we take it for granted.

Kicking is the most overlooked part of the game. Ask Bobby Bowden. Repeatedly.
 



Can never have too many excellent kickers. (at least until you get to 3... then it's a bit much).
 

We've got our long snapper, and our kicker, but who's going to be our next "Holder of the Year"?
 

is this possible? why does NDSU have better recruits than the U. what the fleck is goin on around here?

Very few, almost an statistically insignificant number of recruits have picked NDSU over a Big 10 offer.
 

I'm a huge fan. Kickers flat out win games. The FG is the most complicated part of football, and we take it for granted.

Kicking is the most overlooked part of the game. Ask Bobby Bowden. Repeatedly.

I'm not denying any of this, I am just saying that we can and have been able to bring in really good specialists without offering them scholarships out of HS (Mortell, Carpenter, Jordahl, etc.). Santoso was good for us, but was he really much better than Carpenter? Mortell?
 


I'm not denying any of this, I am just saying that we can and have been able to bring in really good specialists without offering them scholarships out of HS (Mortell, Carpenter, Jordahl, etc.). Santoso was good for us, but was he really much better than Carpenter? Mortell?

From Daily Gopher: "You don’t see a lot of programs offering scholarships to kickers or long snappers, so for me, the fact that Fleck has been willing to do so for not one but both positions tells me that his reputation for attention to detail is accurate. He doesn’t seem like a coach willing to leave to chance something as seemingly mundane as a long snap. I like that about him."

I can't agree more. We have fistfuls of guys that leave every year and open up scholarships at other positions, so this is not a waste. This is a good use one. Same with the long snapper.
 

From Daily Gopher: "You don’t see a lot of programs offering scholarships to kickers or long snappers, so for me, the fact that Fleck has been willing to do so for not one but both positions tells me that his reputation for attention to detail is accurate. He doesn’t seem like a coach willing to leave to chance something as seemingly mundane as a long snap. I like that about him."

I can't agree more. We have fistfuls of guys that leave every year and open up scholarships at other positions, so this is not a waste. This is a good use one. Same with the long snapper.

Not offering scholarships, is a different strategy, but it certainly isn't a lack of attention to detail.
 

From Daily Gopher: "You don’t see a lot of programs offering scholarships to kickers or long snappers, so for me, the fact that Fleck has been willing to do so for not one but both positions tells me that his reputation for attention to detail is accurate. He doesn’t seem like a coach willing to leave to chance something as seemingly mundane as a long snap. I like that about him."

I can't agree more. We have fistfuls of guys that leave every year and open up scholarships at other positions, so this is not a waste. This is a good use one. Same with the long snapper.

Agreed. And a good kicking game completely changes your game-play strategies on offense in the opponent's end of the field, whether it be early in the game or later on. Getting 3 points instead of a missed 35-yard FG sure makes a big difference not only on the scoreboard, but in momentum and overall confidence and mindset of the team. I'm all for giving high-quality specialists a scholly.
 


Grant Ryerse committed to Jerry Kill early on June 8 2016 (3-Star 0.8154). I thought he was being touted as a can't miss kicker at the time.

Giving scholarships to kickers is risky. But, if you hit it you hit big.

True, plus Grant is still just a RS Freshman next year. He has 4 years to justify using a scholly on him. The Jury is very much still out on him. He could open a lot of eyes this year, I must admit I am not familiar with the depth chart for our punter.
 

The Daily Gopher article alluded to PJ Fleck's attention to detail. He sees something that kicking and long snapping might need a little help. So, he went out and grab a couple of top rated position players.

It's healthy competition for Ryerse. You never know. He has five years to compete and develop. Things can happen like injuries or a kicking drought. So, it is good to have more options.
 

The reason why we should worry about the kicking game - it accounts for about 25% on average of overall scoring. This is not even considering other special team components like field position, etc...

Another interesting byline - is the Gopher have only been able to outscore the opponents in three out of the last eight seasons. Why is that? Maybe developing a passing game may open up scoring. RUTM offense alone doe not get very far in the B1G.

Gophers Kicking Scoring vs Team Total By Year:

Year----Kicker-------------Pts.----Pct.-----Team---Opponent--------Overall----------Division---Place
2017---Emmit Carpenter----73-----27.5-------265-------274---------------5-7------------------2-4--------6th
2016---Emmit Carpenter----109---28.6------381-------287----------------9-4------------------5-4--------4th
2015---Ryan Santoso--------82----28.0-------292-------327----------------6-7------------------2-7--------4th
2014---Ryan Santoso--------81----21.9-------369-------314----------------8-5------------------5-3--------2nd
2013---Chris Hawthorne----78-----23.4-------334-------289----------------8-5------------------4-4--------4th
2012---Jordan Wettstein----75-----26.1-------287-------321----------------6-7------------------2-6--------5th
2011---Jordan Wettstein----33-----14.9-------221-------380----------------3-9------------------2-6--------6th
2010---Eric Ellestad---------64-----23.0-------278-------396----------------3-10-----------------2-6--------9th (Big Ten)
 

The reason why we should worry about the kicking game - it accounts for about 25% on average of overall scoring. This is not even considering other special team components like field position, etc...

Gophers Kicking Scoring vs Team Total By Year:

Year----Kicker----------------Pts.----Pct.(%)---Team---Opponent------Overall Standing------Division-----Place
2017---Emmit Carpenter----73-----27.5-------265-------274---------------5-7------------------2-4--------6th
2016---Emmit Carpenter----109---28.6-------381-------287----------------9-4------------------5-4--------4th
2015---Ryan Santoso--------82----28.0-------292-------327----------------6-7------------------2-7--------4th
2014---Ryan Santoso--------81----21.9-------369-------314----------------8-5------------------5-3--------2nd
2013---Chris Hawthorne----78-----23.4-------334-------289----------------8-5------------------4-4--------4th
2012---Jordan Wettstein----75-----26.1-------287-------321----------------6-7------------------2-6--------5th
2011---Jordan Wettstein----33-----14.9-------221-------380----------------3-9------------------2-6--------6th
2010---Eric Ellestad---------64-----23.0-------278-------396----------------3-10-----------------2-6--------9th (Big Ten)

It does when you have a bad kicker too.

Also of note - - all of those guys are walk-ons except for Ryan Santoso.
 

The reason why we should worry about the kicking game - it accounts for about 25% on average of overall scoring. This is not even considering other special team components like field position, etc...

Another interesting byline - is the Gopher have only been able to outscore the opponents in three out of the last eight seasons. Why is that? Maybe developing a passing game may open up scoring. RUTM offense alone doe not get very far in the B1G.

Gophers Kicking Scoring vs Team Total By Year:

Year----Kicker-------------Pts.----Pct.-----Team---Opponent--------Overall----------Division---Place
2017---Emmit Carpenter----73-----27.5-------265-------274---------------5-7------------------2-4--------6th
2016---Emmit Carpenter----109---28.6------381-------287----------------9-4------------------5-4--------4th
2015---Ryan Santoso--------82----28.0-------292-------327----------------6-7------------------2-7--------4th
2014---Ryan Santoso--------81----21.9-------369-------314----------------8-5------------------5-3--------2nd
2013---Chris Hawthorne----78-----23.4-------334-------289----------------8-5------------------4-4--------4th
2012---Jordan Wettstein----75-----26.1-------287-------321----------------6-7------------------2-6--------5th
2011---Jordan Wettstein----33-----14.9-------221-------380----------------3-9------------------2-6--------6th
2010---Eric Ellestad---------64-----23.0-------278-------396----------------3-10-----------------2-6--------9th (Big Ten)


Weather guy minimizes the impact of special teams.
 

Agreed. And a good kicking game completely changes your game-play strategies on offense in the opponent's end of the field, whether it be early in the game or later on. Getting 3 points instead of a missed 35-yard FG sure makes a big difference not only on the scoreboard, but in momentum and overall confidence and mindset of the team. I'm all for giving high-quality specialists a scholly.

Agree 100%. I’ve said this before repeatedly.

You can see the difference in play-calling when you cross midfield with teams that have confidence in their PK and ones that don’t. It makes a big difference. It makes the difference between being aggressive and being conservative, what you run on 2nd and 3rd down, etc.

No problem with more than one scholarship kicker on the roster. You don’t have any idea what they have between the ears until you get them on the field in camp (and even more so in the games). Can’t hang your hopes on one guy.

Rich Karlis (the old Broncos and Vikings bare-footer!) hit the nail on the head when he was negotiating with the Vikings. He told the Vikes, you don’t know how important a good kicker is until you don’t have one. So true.
 

Fun fact - He was the last barefoot kicker in the NFL.
Agree 100%. I’ve said this before repeatedly.

You can see the difference in play-calling when you cross midfield with teams that have confidence in their PK and ones that don’t. It makes a big difference. It makes the difference between being aggressive and being conservative, what you run on 2nd and 3rd down, etc.

No problem with more than one scholarship kicker on the roster. You don’t have any idea what they have between the ears until you get them on the field in camp (and even more so in the games). Can’t hang your hopes on one guy.

Rich Karlis (the old Broncos and Vikings bare-footer!) hit the nail on the head when he was negotiating with the Vikings. He told the Vikes, you don’t know how important a good kicker is until you don’t have one. So true.

Sent from my RS988 using Tapatalk
 




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