Setta Suffers Set Back
Frank Vitovitch
April 4, 2000

Notre Dame, Ind - Spring practice started on Saturday for the Notre Dame football team for all but a few players.  Nick Setta, the soon to be sophomore and former high school All American kicker, did not start practice however.   Last week, while practicing on his own Nick sprained his ankle.

Setta will be one of two main competitors for the starting place kicker spot.  He along with David Miller will battle it out for the position.   Miller, a junior, from Indiana replaced the often criticized Jim Sanson mid way through last season when Sanson's struggles prompted Bob Davie to make a change.

The place kicking job is still wide open however with Setta being right in the thick of things.  Setta brought many stories with him to Notre Dame including the ones that were in the Chicago Tribune of the 70+ yard field goals he was kicking in practice one day. He redshirted his freshman year however.  That just may be a good thing though.

Setta might be the answer the Irish have been looking for to solve the kicking game problems.  If he can kick consistently, the kicking game would already be improved vastly.  Add in the fact that his range is longer than a lot of his predecessors and the kicking department could be in for a huge upgrade.

With all his talent one wonders why he did not play in 1999.  One reason could be that Davie wanted to save him and have him start for four full years since it was rumored early on that he had a little bit of a rough time adjusting to kicking without a tee. 

His leg is strong and accurate as evidenced by his high school numbers.  Unlike a running back who can rack up a lot of yards against lesser opponents, a kicker's numbers are generally not inflated due to a lack of competition from other teams.  Their number of kicks may be inflated if their team's offense is good but accuracy numbers have nothing to do with competition.

Notre Dame has been in search of a reliable kicker for some time now.  Jim Sanson was a four year starter, but lost his starting job twice in his career.  At times he looked like a decent kicker, but at others he frustrated every Notre Dame fan around.  To his credit however he just kept on moving and never gave up. 

Last season the Irish converted on just seven of 17 field goal attempts.  That right there is 30 points the Irish missed out on.  In a season where you were in position to win six of seven losses, those 30 points are huge.   Many times the kicker can be the most influential on a game, especially when a game comes down to one kick.  This also brings a lot of pressure, and if someone misses a kick - they hear about it from everyone.

It is still uncertain when Setta will resume practice, but when he does the competition with David Miller should be a good one.  Setta has the confidence and the talent to be a great kicker for Notre Dame and he may show Irish fans that this season.