Photo by Mark Pynes
Hicks kicking it up
1981 average Duck punt — 35 yards
Hick’s 1982 average — 40.6 yards
By Steve Turcotte
Of the Emerald
Kevin Hicks, the Oregon punter, may not
exactly have known what he was stepping into
when he signed to become a Duck last spring
Little did Hicks know, but Oregon football
fans had high expectations of Duck
« punting this year after last year's
f£ disappointing effort.
W J? "What I heard when I got here was
that the fans started booing the punters
last season," said Hicks, a junior from
r Carpinteria, Calif "I was told that if I didn't punt
well I was going to get booed also "
But fortunately for Hicks, and for the
Ducks, the chorus of boos which
echoed through Autzen Stadium
last year for the punting, have
been replaced by cheers
and even a standing
ovation
That's right, a standing
ovation for a punter
§1 P ■ With the problems that the Duck's
offense has undergone this year, there
has been little to cheer about And against
Fresno State, when Hicks boomed a punt, he
received a standing ovation from many of the
Duck partisans
"I looked up after that punt and saw the
crowd standing and cheering, it was great,"
admitted Hicks. "I wanted to go back out there
and punt again That really got me pumped
up "
Hicks' credentials at the junior college level
are what earned him his ticket to Oregon as a
punter
As a sophomore at Santa Barbara Junior
College, Hicks finished fifth in the nation in
punting. In addition, Hicks played quarterback
for two years at Santa Barbara He averaged
43 7 yards a kick his sophomore year which
was enough to impress the Ducks coaches into
giving him a try
"We needed immediate help at punter," said
Oregon coach Rich Brooks. "One of the prior
ities after last year was to get help in punting
We looked at other junior college punters but
Kevin was fifth in the nation and he liked us and
we liked him '
It was obvious from the moment that Hicks
stepped on the field for the Ducks last spring
that he was going to be an asset the Ducks
were going to need
"We could tell at spring ball that he was
going to be a good one," Brooks said He has
really improved since then "
Hicks' steady improvement began during his
junior college years when he began kicking
regularly Although he didn't kick his freshman
year at Santa Barbara, the improvement during
the course of his sophomore year was evident,
even though he was handling the quar
terbacking chores simultaneously
"I didn't punt
my freshman
year because we
had another
punter already,"
Hicks explained.
"I wanted to con
centrate on
quarterback
anyway. Sophomore year I punted because the
other guy quit the team.
"Things just started happening I had a
47-yard average for the first six games until I
broke my ribs. I was really enjoying punting”
Hicks finished with the 43-yard average,
despite the rib injury. He was named all -con
ference, all-State and All- American as a
It was quickly becoming obvious that his
career was going to be as a punter and not as a
quarterback
So Hicks packed up his credentials and
came to Oregon, ready to put the boobirds on
the sidelines.
"I came up here to punt the ball as best as I
can,” Hicks said “I have been working very
hard. I think things can get even better. I know
they can. I want to improve all the time”
The improvement is growing clearer each
game
After four games, Hicks has a 40 6-yard
average, which is already head and shoulders
above last year's Duck team average of 35 0
yards per kick Hicks' longest punt has been of
some 55 yards and he has even managed to
put a few out of bounds, pinning opponents
deep in their own territory.
But according to Brooks, and Hicks himself,
there is still plenty of room for improvement
"I need to increase my hang time more,"
said Hicks "I also need to start putting more
distance on my kicks. I think it will come with
time.”
"I think there is excellent potential in Kevin,"
Brooks said "He still needs more technique
changes, though He needs to get the ball
higher and farther
"He swings across his body when he kicks
too much instead of across the ball But he is
constantly working on it '
Hicks has some established goals for his
kicking this year Not only does he wish to
improve week after week, he wants to be
competitive in the Pac-10 punting race, as well
I want to be the Pac-10 punting leader this
year," Hicks stated "Mike Black from Arizona
State is real tough, though He will be tough to
beat, but I think I can
I just want to say at the end of the season
that I improved”
As a punter, Hicks is forced into kind of an
unusual situation On one hand, he is the
punter and wants to go into the game and
prove he can get the job done But on the other
hand, he wants to stand on the sidelines and
watch the offense take the ball into the end
zone
"I think I should be punting about four or five
times a game," said Hicks, who has averaged
seven punts a game so far this year " l want to
punt, sure, But I also want to win games
.OCTOBER——
7 Frederick & ^oani^Banking
14 First mterstat Ba Relati0ns
tiKESE* S OCKS an, B° ^nqVEMBER.
1 stale Fane Mqmt /Sales
11Valley Biver inn Hoie
Siqn up on the Monday betore the top
Rm 246 Susan Campbell Hall