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Can TU’s freshman kicker recover from Arkansas experience?
Published: 11/5/2012 12:57 PM
Last Modified: 11/5/2012 4:22 PM

In August, TU coach Bill Blankenship discussed his expectations of kicker Daniel Schwarz.

"I expect his freshman year to be a little bit of a roller coaster,” Blankenship said. “I just hope there are more good days than bad. He's going to be an absolutely tremendous kicker. The ball pops off of his foot. He's powerful."

A few days later, during TU’s home victory over Tulane, Schwarz lined up for the first field goal attempt of his college career. He missed from 21 yards – which, essentially, is extra-point distance. He then connected on seven of his next eight tries, but the rookie from Lawton now is locked in a slump.

On consecutive attempts, Schwarz missed from 36 yards against UTEP, from 32 yards against Rice and from 42 at Arkansas. He also failed on two first-half extra-point attempts at Arkansas. One banged against an upright and the other was blocked.

During halftime at Fayetteville, Blankenship considered switching to Cole Way. A 6-foot-8 sophomore punter, Way was 11-of-12 on field goals as a Union High School senior. He connected on kicks of 51 and 55 yards.

Schwarz did convert on a 29-yarder during the second half of the 19-15 Golden Hurricane defeat at Arkansas, but Blankenship doesn’t know what to expect at Houston this week, against UCF on Nov. 17 or at SMU on Nov. 24. Is Schwarz rattled? Where is he psychologically? Can he recover and succeed on important kicks in important games?

This week, Blankenship said, Way will get more practice time on field goals.

“We’ve got to see how Daniel responds,” Blankenship said. “He’ll either respond well and we’ll move forward, or we’ll make some changes. If you live in the past, you’ll never be successful as a football player at this level.

“Part of my decision-making process is, how does he respond to a horrible day? I can’t predict that right now. This is what comes with the turf. This is the big show. . . . This is a big week for Daniel.”

A lot of college kickers are walk-ons, but Schwarz was given a scholarship out of Lawton MacArthur High School. He was a highly regarded recruit. There were scholarship offers also from Alabama, Tennessee, Texas, LSU, TCU and Missouri.

TU is using a first-year freshman on field goals for the first time since 2002, when Brad DeVault was 7-of-12 on field goals and missed four extra points. Through his first two seasons, he was a below-average 16-of-28 on field goals. During his final two Hurricane seasons, he was much better – a combined 30-of-37.

Is Schwarz destined for the same career path? A rocky start followed by a more consistent level of success? That depends on Schwarz’s ability to recover from disappointment – and Blankenship’s patience.

The Hurricane is on track to play for the Conference USA championship. In these remaining games, the stakes are too high to waste scoring chances.

-- Bill Haisten



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Tulsa World Sports Writer Bill Haisten was named the 2010 Oklahoma Sportswriter of the Year. He is the World's only staff member to have covered OU, OSU, TU and ORU sports on a beat basis. He was on the OSU beat from 2004-2012. A Texas native, he has covered two Super Bowls and two national championship football games for the World.

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