Kicker Kip Smith to UCLA

Donate To GopherHole
G

goldfan24

Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2008
Messages
528
Reaction score
6
Points
18
According to the Rivals site, Smith de-committed as expected after his trip to UCLA this weekend. The Gophers are in good shape for next season kicking the ball but they will
obviously need to replace Smith....
 


Kip Smith gone, another scholly now open

I think we should just try to get a decent kicker to walk on instead of using a scholly. If it was Kip, I would gladly give him the scholarship because of his abilities, but with him now gone we can use it for another skill position.

I hope we can get another WR or LB in this class now, I think we need more playmakers at that position. Or maybe we can just give it to RobDonovan now?
 

GopherRube said:
I think we should just try to get a decent kicker to walk on instead of using a scholly. If it was Kip, I would gladly give him the scholarship because of his abilities, but with him now gone we can use it for another skill position.

I hope we can get another WR or LB in this class now, I think we need more playmakers at that position. Or maybe we can just give it to RobDonovan now?
Click to expand...

Any new-specific info. to share anyone? Is he still upset over the whole Goldy thing, or was that just a smoke screen to hide the fact that he was going to bolt as soon as he got what he wanted?

I was really enjoying the notion of not having to worry about our kicking game for four years. Back to worrying about our place kicking again. Sigh.
 

Could someone point me to an article on Smith being upset about Goldy?

If so, the kid is in for a huge shock at whatever school he ends up at.
 


football and academics equal, the ucla campus is incredible and the area is beautiful-playboy mansion not far, beach down the road, Bev hills around the corner, Belair location...tough to beat, frankly...
 

alphagopher said:
football and academics equal, the ucla campus is incredible and the area is beautiful-playboy mansion not far, beach down the road, Bev hills around the corner, Belair location...tough to beat, frankly...
Click to expand...

Plus, The "Bruin" never pretended to pray in the endzone.
 


alphagopher said:
football and academics equal, the ucla campus is incredible and the area is beautiful-playboy mansion not far, beach down the road, Bev hills around the corner, Belair location...tough to beat, frankly...
Click to expand...

Then why doesn't everybody go there?
 




TCF=UnitedWeStand said:
Then why doesn't everybody go there?
Click to expand...

Or possibly that not everyone can get in there. I know in particular it is very competitive for California residents because so many want to go there so UCLA can be more selective.
 

I'm disappointed. Smith was among the top place-kicking prospects in the country.

If the Goldy thing has anything to do with this (and I frankly don't know what Goldy was thinking and I don't think it really matters), my guess is Smith was looking for an out and this worked for him. I don't buy it, but it may be true. Who really knows?

UCLA appears committed to Neuheisel, but one thing I find a bit odd is that Smith is committing to a school where the head coach has been cited for cheating at his other two college head-coaching stops. I guess playing for a documented cheater is morally superior than playing for a team with a chucklehead for a mascot. I'm not calling out Smith here, but I wish he'd just give us the real reason for his decision to go elsewhere. If it's the Goldy incident, fine. I just don't think that it is.

My guess is this has more to do with Smith being able to kick in great weather for four years as opposed to having the chance of lousy weather fouling up things for him in late October/early November.

The academic standing of almost every branch of the University of California system is extremely impressive so that may have played a part as well.
 

50PoundHead said:
I'm disappointed. Smith was among the top place-kicking prospects in the country.

If the Goldy thing has anything to do with this (and I frankly don't know what Goldy was thinking and I don't think it really matters), my guess is Smith was looking for an out and this worked for him. I don't buy it, but it may be true. Who really knows?

UCLA appears committed to Neuheisel, but one thing I find a bit odd is that Smith is committing to a school where the head coach has been cited for cheating at his other two college head-coaching stops. I guess playing for a documented cheater is morally superior than playing for a team with a chucklehead for a mascot. I'm not calling out Smith here, but I wish he'd just give us the real reason for his decision to go elsewhere. If it's the Goldy incident, fine. I just don't think that it is.

My guess is this has more to do with Smith being able to kick in great weather for four years as opposed to having the chance of lousy weather fouling up things for him in late October/early November.

The academic standing of almost every branch of the University of California system is extremely impressive so that may have played a part as well.
Click to expand...

Which made the decision very easy for him. Let's be honest right now. He's a kicker which means he really is not that involved with the football team and kickers rarely, rarely end up going pro so you want the best college degree possible and oh, he gets to kick in 75 degree weather everyday playing against USC, Oregon and so on. How is this even a shocker? The gophers will lose most of the battles when going up against UCLA in a recruiting war. The moment that offer came in, it was over.
 



JackiO, I rambled a bit, but that was my basic point. I was ripped in an earlier thread when I empathized with recruits and mentioned that this is a difficult process for them. They are trying to get to the best school for a number of reasons. Their ability to play football has obviously paved the way for them to get a free education, but it also complicates things. This has to be a stressful time for a recruit and I try to cut them slack if they change their mind. I just want them to be honest.

This isn't like a divorce. It's more like a high school break-up and should be treated that way.
 

Huge bummer. Was really looking forward to see what this kid could do.
 

JackiO said:
Which made the decision very easy for him. Let's be honest right now. He's a kicker which means he really is not that involved with the football team and kickers rarely, rarely end up going pro so you want the best college degree possible and oh, he gets to kick in 75 degree weather everyday playing against USC, Oregon and so on. How is this even a shocker? The gophers will lose most of the battles when going up against UCLA in a recruiting war. The moment that offer came in, it was over.
Click to expand...

I would actually argue that, at least from a raw numbers standpoint, kickers probably have a better chance at going to the NFL than anybody. Considering that many teams carry two kickers, and that some are stashed on the practice squad, there are probably around 50 or so kicker jobs at any given time (NFL.com currently lists 49 kickers, some of which, granted, were recently cut). And the "politics" of it (40 times, bench reps, Wonderlic, where they went to school, etc.) don't play into it as much for kickers. They pretty much just have to be good at kicking.

And Kip Smith is not an average kicker. If you go back and look at top 3 recruit-type kickers (Crosby, Mehlhaff, etc.), I would wager that more of them are in the NFL than not.

But all that aside, I agree with your basic premise. I just think this is a case of Smith being a lifelong UCLA fan, and when they finally offered him a free education, he jumped at it.

I just wish guys would wait and not make commitments until they're truly ready, and not just as a placeholder until something better comes along. It's a pipe dream, I know.
 

alphagopher said:
football and academics equal, the ucla campus is incredible and the area is beautiful-playboy mansion not far, beach down the road, Bev hills around the corner, Belair location...tough to beat, frankly...
Click to expand...

Is this to suggest that the academics at the U are equal to UCLA, or was this just a for the sake of argument type thing? Im not trying to rip the U's academics, as its a good B10 school, but to say its on par with UCLA would be a bit of a stretch.

Nice weather, beautiful campus, pretty girls, great academics...can't really say I fault the kid.
 

The turnover for kickers and punters is pretty low. Kickers are much less likely to he hurt, and if they are any good, they can play for a long, long time. Each year there are only a small number of serious opportunities for a kicker.
 

dpodoll68 said:
I would actually argue that, at least from a raw numbers standpoint, kickers probably have a better chance at going to the NFL than anybody. Considering that many teams carry two kickers, and that some are stashed on the practice squad, there are probably around 50 or so kicker jobs at any given time (NFL.com currently lists 49 kickers, some of which, granted, were recently cut). And the "politics" of it (40 times, bench reps, Wonderlic, where they went to school, etc.) don't play into it as much for kickers. They pretty much just have to be good at kicking.

And Kip Smith is not an average kicker. If you go back and look at top 3 recruit-type kickers (Crosby, Mehlhaff, etc.), I would wager that more of them are in the NFL than not.

But all that aside, I agree with your basic premise. I just think this is a case of Smith being a lifelong UCLA fan, and when they finally offered him a free education, he jumped at it.

I just wish guys would wait and not make commitments until they're truly ready, and not just as a placeholder until something better comes along. It's a pipe dream, I know.
Click to expand...


Agreed with your post.

Kip Smith committed to the team prior to seeing our performance as a whole and I think that really resonated strongly to him. Brewster preaches that they are a team on the rise and after the season was over what do you think it showed to all of our recruits? Last place in almost every important statistical category in the conference. Brewster had everything in place, all he had to do was not choke against Illinois and have a decent offense but it just didn't happen. Kids want to play for a good program.

Everyone is looking forward to seeing how Brewster does next season with a majority of his recruits playing on both sides the of the ball but I think everyone is in for a rude awakening if they look at our schedule next year, as follows:

Thu, Sep 02 Middle Tennessee State at Murfreesboro, Tenn TBA

Sat, Sep 11 South Dakota TCF Bank Stadium TBA

Sat, Sep 18 Southern California TCF Bank Stadium TBA

Sat, Sep 25 Northern Illinois TCF Bank Stadium TBA

Sat, Oct 02 Northwestern TCF Bank Stadium TBA

Sat, Oct 09 Wisconsin at Madison, Wis. TBA

Sat, Oct 16 Purdue at West Lafayette, Ind. TBA

Sat, Oct 23 Penn State TCF Bank Stadium TBA

Sat, Oct 30 Ohio State TCF Bank Stadium TBA

Sat, Nov 06 Michigan State at East Lansing, Mich. TBA

Sat, Nov 13 Illinois at Champaign, Ill. TBA

Sat, Nov 27 Iowa TCF Bank Stadium TBA

We are going to be lucky to go 6-6 next year, unfortunately. BRUTAL home schedule which is where we attained our victories and our more winnable opponents are all on enemy territory. Brewster is going to have a tough time keeping his job next year if he doesn't do a much better job this off-season preaching a variety of topics to his players.
 

Awful post JackiO, speculating that the reason he's not coming here is because of our offense if based 100% on what YOU think, not what this kid thinks. You're projecting and it's very transparent.
 

Brewsters done very well with ST's. It's a great place for a kicker. And for a kicker what better situation is there but a crappy offense and great special teams. Shoe in for point leader. (pun intended)
 

Section2 said:
Awful post JackiO, speculating that the reason he's not coming here is because of our offense if based 100% on what YOU think, not what this kid thinks. You're projecting and it's very transparent.
Click to expand...

Really, you don't think our horrible performances might not have factored in his decision making at all. Are you not speculating as well that his change of heart is not based on our peformance? Don't call out people for doing the same thing you are doing.
 

GopherGod said:
Really, you don't think our horrible performances might not have factored in his decision making at all. Are you not speculating as well that his change of heart is not based on our peformance? Don't call out people for doing the same thing you are doing.
Click to expand...

I really don't think Nebraska's record played any role in his decision-making, actually.
 

dpodoll68 said:
I really don't think Nebraska's record played any role in his decision-making, actually.
Click to expand...


Your pretty funny, I believe you said you were a university employee, is that correct? If so, then quit wasting my tax money by posting on gopherhole all day and get back to work.
 

Further proof that Brew is not the recruiter he claims. This kid had to look at our program and see that we're sinking slowly back to the bottom
 

We've improved ever year. The kid is blind or never wanted to be here in the first point. Speaking of, you're blind too.
 

GopherGod said:
Really, you don't think our horrible performances might not have factored in his decision making at all. Are you not speculating as well that his change of heart is not based on our peformance? Don't call out people for doing the same thing you are doing.
Click to expand...

No, it's different. My speculation is based on Kip being on record for wanting a UCLA offer. When he committed to us he pulled a Zags and said, "they don't want me, so screw them." Obviously a little sweet talking from Ricky was enough. There is zero evidence that it had anything to do with our offense. Mine is based on what we know. Also, UCLA fans were saying that they hoped we weren't counting on keeping his commitment because it was a done deal he was going there, and that was before the Michigan St game.
 


You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom