KICKS JUST KEEP GETTIN’ HARDER TO FIND

by Larry Carlson https://texaslsn.org

Ahhh, the evolution of college football. From SMU being sentenced to the “death penalty” for paying players, to Texas Tech held in awe for ponying up more than five mill for an O-lineman with a season of high school remaining.

The quarterback position? Back when the Texas Longhorns won their first national championship, way back in 1963, UT had a winner, Duke Carlisle, under center. He connected on 33 passes (42% accuracy) for 416 yards. On the year.

That sounds like the stat line for a productive afternoon of slinging (albeit subpar on accuracy) by Quinn Ewers, Colt McCoy or Major Applewhite. Times have changed and so have priorities, skillsets and demands.

Perhaps the challenges confronting placekickers mirror those of quarterbacks. There’s an increased premium on accuracy. In 1970, Happy Feller, UT’s third-year star placekicker, became the Longhorns’ first specialist named to an All-America team. He had a way with big kicks and had launched successful shots of 55 and 48 yards that turned out to be the difference when Texas beat the UCLA Bruins, 20-17. But Feller, a career .500 field goal kicker, was just five-for-fourteen that senior season, one that brought a second consecutive national title to the Forty Acres.

Fifty-five years later in the progression of kickers and the great expectations they face, the Horns have imported a transfer kicker, Mason Shipley from Texas State, after essentially — in NIL times — firing Bert Auburn. Bert hit 82 percent of his UT field goal attempts in 2022 and ’23, in the latter year setting a school record for most field goals, 29, in a single season.

But Auburn struggled at times in 2024, his precision dropping to 64 percent on 16-of-25 tries.

He missed his last two kicks in an otherwise fine Texas career,. One, a 48-yard attempt, came with 1:39 left in the quarterfinal Peach Bowl, the score tied. Then wildly enough, given a second chance moments later, Bert missed a 38-yarder. That one would have “walked it off” for Texas at the end of regulation. The Longhorns survived anyway, thanks to a now legendary 4th-and-13 TD strike from Quinn Ewers to Matthew Golden, then a follow-up Ewers scoring pass to TE Gunnar Helm. Auburn had to be the most relieved person in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

A week later, he was benched for the Cotton Bowl against Ohio State, replaced by Will Stone.

The guy who sports a frizzy mop like the comedian, Carrot Top, will conclude his collegiate playing days at the University of Miami. But Bert’s name might well be a mainstay in the Longhorn record books. His 66 career field goals at Texas tops even the all-time UT greats, including Russell Erxleben, Jeff Ward, Phil Dawson, Hunter Lawrence, Justin Tucker, Anthony Fera, Cameron Dicker and ol’ Happy Feller.

College programs are demanding leg strength and bullseye accuracy. Shipley, Auburn’s replacement on the UT roster and payroll, was 31-of-35 (88.6%) for TXST. A Groza Award finalist two years ago, knocking home all 16 of his attempts, including a 60-yard rocket.

Perfection, baby. That’s what every team seeks. What some seem to even demand. Damn good is no longer good enough. What have you done for us lately? Seems like kicks just keep gettin’ harder to find.

(TLSN’s Larry Carlson is a member of the Football Writers Association of America. He teaches sports media at Texas State University and lives in San Antonio.)