A CARAVAN OF PUNTERS

by Larry Carlson (lc13@txstate.edu)

When I learned last month that Longhorn punter Ryan Bujcevski had entered the transfer portal, I got a little alarmed.  Bujcevski was a reliable punter for three seasons before sitting out '21 after an ACL injury.  Yes, Cameron Dicker replaced him, promptly averaging 46.8 per punt while earning All-Big XII honors.  But Dicker is gone, set to test the NFL market now with value as a kicker and punter.  

 Texas has just one punter, Isaac Pearson, yet another Aussie -- like Michael Dickson and his cousin, Bujcevski  - on the roster this spring.  Me, I think it's time for something similar to the Dallas Cowboys' "Kicking Caravan" of the 1960s.  Back then, the 'Pokes criss-crossed America, auditioning placekickers.

 The Horns could do several things to get some competition for -- or depth behind -- Pearson, a punter who hasn't played a snap yet.  First, Coach Steve Sarkisian should announce an open call for former high school punters already being educated at The Forty Acres.  With an enrollment as large as UT's, there are bound to b some former All-District legs available for spring tryouts.

 Think bigger, though.  Couldn't hopefuls from around the state, and the region, be contacted to come to Austin for the weekend of the spring game?  I don't know the legalities but I'm betting that Chris Del Conte can quickly determine whether or not this passes NCAA litmus tests.  Pretty cool if you got five to ten of the state's top senior punters from last fall to warm up with a punting competition before the start of the Orange-White game on April 23.  Not many colleges serve up scholarships to punters during the December and February signing dates.  Many of the best ones end up languishing somewhere as a "preferred" walk-on.

With this caravan-esque free-for-all, you could get good candidates for somewhat of a dress rehearsal, hopefully in front of 25-thousand fans, at least for the would-be walk-ons already enrolled at UT. The visiting punters from across the state and elsewhere could display their talents for the coaching staff earlier, behind closed doors. If it's all kosher with the NCAA, Texas has nothing to lose. Maybe a star is born. Or at least the Horns can offer "preferred" status to one or two guys, if they haven't already. I say, bring it on. You don't want to go into the 2022 season with only one recruited punter. Injuries can happen. Bujcevski himself broke a clavicle in '20 and missed time before tearing the ACL later.

 Oh, and what about the Cowboy Kicking Caravan of long ago?  Dallas signed a dude named Mac Percival.  The former Texas Tech basketball player  had been toiling for several years as a schoolteacher when discovered by the Cowboys.  In September, '67, just before the season began, they traded him to Chicago for a future third round draft choice,  He made it with the Bears, scoring 100 points in his second season.  And more than a half-century later, he's the most recent Chicago kicker to hit five field goals in a single game.  Percival even returned to kick for Dallas in '74 but was replaced after three games by Efren Herrera.

Have great punters led to winning programs at Texas? You might be surprised at the answer. Larry Carlson shares his thoughts below.

A CARAVAN OF PUNTERS

by Larry Carlson (lc13@txstate.edu)

 BIG BOOTS TO FILL

The Longhorns' Best Punters

 A standout punting performance went for naught last fall at UT.  Cameron Dicker, heretofore known as Dicker the Kicker, the guy who nailed a long-distance game-winner against OU as a freshman pup, delivered even more than was hoped for.  Many experts had predicted an uneven season for Dicker, figuring that handling kicks, kickoffs, and punts for the Horns might well stretch his efficiency too far, bringing on a dead leg or frayed nerves.   Overall, Dicker kicked butt and enhanced his professional profile.

The University of Texas football record book is filled with standout seasons and careers from punters, especially over the past six decades when "specialists" came on the special teams scene.  The Horns have had a multi-year All-America punter, a Ray Guy Award winner, numerous All-Conference honorees and plenty of guys who were more than solid at their position.

LONGHORN PUNTERS (squarespace.com)

  How important is a punter to the success of a team? Well, maybe UT isn't the place to examine the indispensable nature of standout punting.  The two lowest punting averages over a sixty-year span came in national championship seasons.  The wishbone offense was short-circuiting scoreboards in 1969, so Scooter Monzingo was called on to punt only 34 times, for a modest 34.7 yards per attempt.

In 1963, Ernie Koy, Jr, was in his second season as a standout punter (in addition to duties as the starting wingback) when he separated a shoulder in the third game.  As a soph in '62, Koy's booming punts had been a big force in a 9-6 Texas win that saw field position as the key to the outcome.  Now, a year later, Coach Darrell Royal suddenly approached OU week with no real punter.  Talking to writers, Royal noted that one player far, far behind Koy on the wingback depth chart, Kim Gaynor, had punted some as a high schooler in Fort Worth.  Asked about going with an unknown in the big rivalry, Royal dredged up another of his famed homespun expressions.  He recounted one of his high school buddies' take on escorting a non-dream girl type to the dance.  As DKR recalled it, "Well, ol' ugly is better than ol' nothin'."

Letters from upset mothers arrived at Royal's desk in a hurry.  But writers and readers knew that Royal was merely explaining that sometimes life calls for going with the best option available.  Later that week, Royal, in the pre-political correctness era, smilingly said he wasn't referencing Gaynor's young mug and promised that, from now on, he would refer to Gaynor as "Pretty ol' Kim."

 And in a battle of number one versus number two, top dog Texas crushed Oklahoma, 28-7, scarcely missing Koy's talents.  The Horns didn't score a lot in '63, averaging under 14 points per game in their last six regular season victories.  But their "three yards and a cloud of dust" ball-control offense relentlessly wore out opponents and ticking clocks.  Gaynor punted only 28 times in eight full games, managing a 32.8 average.  It was good enough for the team that won UT's first of three national titles in an eight-season span.

If that's not proof enough that one cannot accurately say that "so goes the punter, so goes the team," consider this.  Michael Dickson excelled in vain for Charlie Strong's final two losing campaigns at Texas, then won the Ray Guy Award and earned All-America status in 2017, Tom Herman's first year.  But had Dickson not pulled off only the second ever "punter as MVP of a bowl game" magic act in Houston's Texas Bowl, he would never have played for a winning team in college.  The Aussie enabled the Longhorns to beat Missouri and climb to a 7-6 mark that drew the curtains on his college punting career.  As a winner. By a foot.

BEST FEET FORWARD

UT's Top Five Punters

5   Alex Waits '90   Plano (Plano East Panthers)

He came to America from Glasgow, Scotland with his "mum" as a five-year old and ended up on the big stage of college football and even a stint with the NFL's Seattle Seahawks.  Waits had three of UT's top nine seasons (average yards per punt) when he finished in 1990 as the All-SWC punter.

He had a 46.1 average as a freshman in '86, stood out again in '87 and returned to prominence in '90 after a two-year layoff.

4  Bill Bradley '68   Palestine Wildcats

About as good an athlete as has ever prowled the Forty Acres, Super Bill (drafted out of high school as a shortstop by the Detroit Tigers) could seemingly do it all.  Except run the wishbone offense.  After two years of setting UT passing marks, Bradley lasted only two starts with the 'bone as a senior.  The next week, at split end, Bradley caught a James Street pass for a TD.  Soon, he was patrolling the secondary, taking names and creating mayhem.  The future three-time All-Pro safety with the Eagles closed his Austin playing days by picking off four passes to lead the Horns to a rousing 35-14 win over A&M.  
One talent never changed, from high school to the NFL.  Super Bill could super punt.  

3  John Teltschik '85   Kerrville (Tivy Antlers)

I walked out on the Memorial Stadium floor with Teltschik for a magazine photo shoot one scalding July afternoon before his senior season so he could hit a few punts for the camera.  I can still remember the cartoonish, Batman-style "wham," "ooof," "thunkk" noises the ball made, coming off John's bare right foot.  

A fine athlete and weight room king, Teltschik could sprint to daylight on fake punts and make jarring tackles as needed when an opponent made a rare return.  As a Philadelphia Eagle, Teltschik was a fan favorite and earned All-Madden plaudits from the late, great coach-turned-analyst who relished a rough and tumble style.

2  Michael Dickson '17   Sydney, Australia (Kirrawee Koalas)

To hordes of Longhorn fans, the "Australian Experiment" seemed like so much folly when, as a freshman, Dickson dropped a snap in the waning moments of a tight game with Oklahoma State, essentially gifting Mike Gundy's crew a surprise, unlikely win.

But Dickson was undaunted and showed a great knack for nailing the coffin corner in a standout three-year career that launched him into status as a rare rookie All-Pro for the Seahawks.  To set the table for that, the 2017 Ray Guy Award winner closed out his UT career with an amazing display that reaped MVP honors at the Texas Bowl.  The Aussie tossed the Missouri Tigers on the "barbie" by dropping eight punts inside the Mizzou ten, propelling the Horns to a much-needed bowl win that ensured a winning record for the first time since Mack Brown's exit.

1  Russell Erxleben '78   Seguin Matadors

Say what you will about his injury-prone NFL years and an image ruined by off-the-field troubles.  Like Bob Wills, Russell Erxleben is still the king.  He was and is the best placekicker/punter combo in college football history.  Erxleben's 67-yard FG has never been bettered in Division I ball.  He made the Longhorns a scoring threat at midfield and his long, skyscraping punts were downright artful. 

Had a Ray Guy Award existed in the 1970s, the three-time All-America pick would have cleaned up. In '77 Erxleben's 69-yard moon-shot out of the end zone saved the precious 13-6 win over OU in its final moments.  It was the biggest clutch punt ever for UT.

And a sampling of other standout Longhorn punters, in alphabetical order:

Cameron Dicker '21   Lake Travis Cavaliers

John Gold '10    Palestine Wildcats

For three seasons, including the rich '08 and '09 years, Gold shared time as UT's punter.  He made the most of roughly 20 attempts per season, averaging more than 44 yards.

Ernie Koy, Jr.  '64    Bellville Brahmas

Koy had great hang time with his towering punts and DKR valued him as much for that skill as he did for his rugged running and blocking.  Ernie made the Pro Bowl as a New York Giants RB while also deftly handling punting work in the NFL.

Bobby Lilljedahl  '89    Abilene (Wylie Bulldogs)

The 6-5, 220-pound blue-chipper came to Texas as a heralded quarterback but earned his spurs, and the respect of his teammates, as a team player and punter extraordinaire.  Lilljedahl was a captain and a rare shining star (averaging almost 42 yards) during the hard times of the late 1980s.

Alan Lowry  '72    Irving Tigers

Absolutely one of the best athletes ever at UT.  Lowry was a starting DB and punter as a soph for the '70 national champs and was even better the next year, earning All-SWC honors in the secondary for the conference champions. He was still punting as a senior when he made the remarkable transition to All-SWC  wishbone quarterback and Cotton Bowl MVP for the nation's third-ranked team.  Lowry, who also played  baseball for the Longhorns, etched his name into UT football records with an 82-yard punt.

Duane Vacek  '95    Irving (MacArthur Cardinals)

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