Back At it Already
Frank Vitovitch
April 5, 2000

Notre Dame, Ind - If you read out article yesterday you saw that Nick Setta sprained his ankle last week and hadn't started to practice yet.   Well, that changed today when he practiced for the first time this Spring.  He originally sprained the ankle last Thursday and was back at it today kicking.

It only took Nick five days to start kicking again with a sprained ankle which is pretty impressive.  A lot of players might have sat out at least a full week since the ankle is directly used by a kicker every time he performs.   You have to love that kind of commitment and determination from a player.

The kicking battle has official begun now that Nick is back to practice.  He and David Miller will go at it for the starting place kicking duties.  It should be a pretty good battle, one that should be very interesting, but I think Setta will win the job before the Irish take on the Aggies on September 2.

He will also be pushing Joey Hildbold very punting duties.   He said when he came to Notre Dame that he wanted to do both and would give it everything till he attained both positions.  Remember, Nick was a USA Today First Team All American PUNTER.  He was also one of the best place kickers in the country, but he got on the USA Today All American team for his punting skills.

Hildbold had a pretty good season as a freshman last year, but it was not what you would call exceptional.  He does have a nice hang time on his punts though.  Opposing returners averaged only 6.8 yards a return and didn't even return the punt half the time.  His net average was 35.2 yards which is decent, but again not great.  Maybe it's because Notre Dame fans were used to Hunter Smith's 40 yard net average, but it seems like the punting battle could be pretty heated this spring too.

The kicking department is in need of some serious renovations at Notre Dame as everyone knows. Hopefully the competition will bring out the best in all the kickers which will benefit the team greatly.  If Notre Dame can get to the point where the kicking game is at least consistent if not automatic from within 35 yards, the offense becomes much better.  Since they wouldn't have to go for it on some fourth downs or they wouldn't come away with no points after a 60 yard drive which takes a lot of wind out of a players sails.

The place kicking on the team is one area that needs to have the most improvement from last year along with the defensive line.  Notre Dame hasn't had what you can call a consistent kicker since Craig Hentrich graduated.  It is odd too since before Hentrich the likes of Reggie Ho and John Carney were kicking for the Irish.

Setta has four years of eligibility left so Irish fans could be used to seeing their kicker nail the easy field goals every time and hit the long ones on a regular basis for years to come.  It might be a lot of pressure to put on someone by saying they are the key to Notre Dame's kicking problems, but in reality David Miller could also be the person that solidifies the spot for the Irish.  Who ever does step up however and take control could make Irish fans very happy or as evidenced with Jim Sanson the past few years very angry.

Sanson came onto the scene at Notre Dame kicking a game winning field goal against Texas at Texas as a freshman in 1996.  From that point on it was a roller coaster ride like no other.  There were games where he'd miss three field goals (97 USC) then games where he would hit 48 yarders to win the game (98 Army).   Through it all though he kept competing and kept trying.

In closing, imagine this.  Its September 2, 2000 around 1:05 PM EST.  Notre Dame lines up to kick off to Texas A&M and the ball goes to the edge of the end zone and out the back.  Sounds nice right?  Well it can very well happen this year!