I think there may be more to this story...

[No1Better]

Bob Stoops On Tress Way place kicking:
"I just don't feel that Jimmy (Stevens) has been consistent as he needs to be. Tress has showed me enough in practice that he is much better than he was a year ago and he's been more consistent. He deserves the opportunity and we will see how he handles it."

Jimmy Stevens is second in the Big XII for FG Pct (11/13) and PAT kicks made (21/22)....

I think there may be more to this story...

[Widescreen]

Tress Way is a better kicker name. What other possible reason could there be?

[BlackChipBJ]

Yeah, something else is going on, as those are sick stats.

[OUstud]

Ok, he's got good numbers. But don't you always fear the worst when you see him trotting out there? Seems like too many of his kicks involve an upright. We'll see how Way does...

[rawlingsHOH]

Bob Stoops On Tress Way place kicking:
"I just don't feel that Jimmy (Stevens) has been consistent as he needs to be. Tress has showed me enough in practice that he is much better than he was a year ago and he's been more consistent. He deserves the opportunity and we will see how he handles it."

Jimmy Stevens is second in the Big XII for FG Pct (11/13) and PAT kicks made (21/22)....

I think there may be more to this story...
I wouldn't doubt it.

On a side note, I think Way had his worst game as a punter last week. He seemed to mis**** a few balls. Though his overall average was only 3 yards under his season's.

[Scott D]

the 11/13 is more deceptive than it appears.

[GrapevineSooner]

It would be 10 of 13 if his first kick at the Cotton had bounced the other way off the upright.

Just think about that for a second.

[badger]

Tress Way is a better kicker name. What other possible reason could there be?

Yeah, it's why they replaced Heupel with Hybl instead of Jason White. I mean... how perfect is it? HYBL sounds like HEUPEL! It's like we have a virtual clone of a Heisman-runner-up quarterback as Heupel's successor! Plus, if you sneeze when you say "Heupel," what does it sound like?

That's right - Aaaa-cho!

But, if you were really clever, you could actually be saying "HYBL!"

And, if you're an idiot about OU football, you probably misprounced it as "High Bell" just to make it sound more like "High Pell," didn't you?

I spent entirely too many words on that joke. It's not even funny anymore. Long post short, I am happy for Tress Way, but it indeed curious.

[sooner59]

I bet that FG that Stevens MISSED at the Cotton Bowl (and consequently we lost by 3 points) may have held a lot of weight in this decision. Plus the other that bounced in wasn't pretty. Would Tress have looked better? I have no clue, but I think Bob may have been angry about the average kicking for as hard as the team played. Stevens made one, missed one, and had one bounce in. Shaky at best. I won't pretend to know who is the best kicker on the team, but those are things that may have gone through Bob's mind.

[yermom]

who did they bring in for the game winner at the end of the BYU game?

Stevens is 11/13 because they have only kicked short FGs for the most part

i hate to bag on the kid, but he hasn't really been getting the job done with any kind of distance involved

[badger]

I am not sure who told me this story, but this how I was told that a certain surfer-lookalike got his start at OU... and got his redshirt pulled near the end of the season.

Trey DiCarlo was a solid kicker for much of his career, but his consistency was starting to get inconsistent. Then, during a road Baylor game, I think it was the Sugar Bowl season, he was given an ultimatum: Make this kick or never kick again.

It was a meaningless kick for a game we were sure to win (this was not the Brett Romar year and there was no VY clone in the backfield), but quite meaningful for Trey.

He missed the kick. Some new guy named Garrett Hartley kicked the rest of the game.

When Trey went to the sidelines after that kick, he starred silently at the practice net, knowing that he would never take the field for OU ever again.

I am not sure if this story is true, but that is the last time Trey kicked for us and the game Garrett got his redshirt yanked. If true, I wonder if Stoops would ever do a similar ultimatum... maybe if he had another future NFL kicker on his hands?

[yermom]

that was Baylor 2004

DiCarlo was money until the Big 12 Championship in 2003. Lou Groza finalist and everything. i think he had missed one kick up to that point

he was like 50% after that :(

[Scott D]

If I remember correctly there were other issues in that previous situation than just a single miss destroying his confidence.

[yermom]

i don't know what caused it, i just remember when it started :(

[CtheB]

His trajectory is too low. On all kicks. Makes him completely ineffective on kicks over 40 yards. To avoid getting it blocked he has to rush the kick and has a greater chance of mis-hitting it. Heading down the stretch we are going to need points every time we can get them. Way, I believe, increases those odds.

Go watch the Kansas game, and look at how high Way kicks extra points. Some kickers evolve out of the tee in high school, Stevens hasn't.

[Sooner Stew]

His trajectory is too low. On all kicks. Makes him completely ineffective on kicks over 40 yards. To avoid getting it blocked he has to rush the kick and has a greater chance of mis-hitting it. Heading down the stretch we are going to need points every time we can get them. Way, I believe, increases those odds.

Go watch the Kansas game, and look at how high Way kicks extra points. Some kickers evolve out of the tee in high school, Stevens hasn't.

Plus if you go back to last season...how many extra points did Stevens miss? 6? 7? that is totally unacceptable

Also, we need a kicker who can get us points from 35 plus yards and with Stevens out there I sure as heck didn't feel good about it with some of the kicks that Ive seen in his playing days in Norman...and finally I think his playing days are over...IMO Tress Way will totally out-perform Stevens when it comes down to how strong his leg is...the only question is how accurate is he?

[CtheB]

Way will be plenty accurate from Stevens' distance, and has a less than 50% chance of eating one over 40.

Want to see a D1 kicker? Watch the kid from Texas. Every kick was right down the middle. Made it look so easy I thought he was eating a ham sammich while doing it.

Then comes Jimmy Ricochet.

[OUmillenium]

Do you really think Tress just got way better since his Freshman year? No way. He was a stud kicker in HS (as well as a big strong 3rd baseman). He should have been kicking PATs and FGs last year IMO. Not sure why it took the coaching staff 3 losses to figure that out this year. Or Tress was in the doghouse for something last year.

[JLEW1818]

I've never liked Jimmy kicking

did u see the horns kicker? the ball was high and long

if Jimmy makes that FG against texas, could have been different

i just hate feeling like if we make a 40 yard fg, its an accomplishment, it should be routine

[setem]

If we were 7-0 right now like we were last year I would take the ole Jimmy Stevens in a heart beat! I'll take the misses over losing any day!

[IronHorseSooner]

As a former kicker, I can say that this has more to do with Stevens' form than anything. CtheB is right. His trajectory is flat, and he gets very little lift. Tress has a near perfect form in his stride and follow-through. The kick he missed against BYU simply had to do with him being scared of the kick. When you miss it like he did, one can tell he was thinking too much instead of driving it like normally does. One thing for sure, he won't have to worry a lot a blocks as he gets the ball up faster than most college kickers. If he was kicking for TENN or Arky, 'Bama and FLA would both have losses. His form is like a lefty version of the old KC Chiefs kicker Nick Lowery. He kicks a very high ball, and it has a good bit of carry to it. I bet if Moreland doesn't get more KOs into the end zone, you will see Way there as well. Moreland also doesn't have a textbook form, either. He doesn't look like he has good leg drive. It can be corrected, but it is disconcerting that he hasn't fixed it in a season and a half.

[BoulderSooner79]

Jimmy didn't miss 6-7 xtra points last year and you have to look at percentage, not total since we set records on TDs that were scored. The problem is distance and Jimmy is just not hitting it well outside 35yds. His apparent improvement in August seems to have disappeared.

[TXBOOMER]

I hate kickers. Anytime we lose a game by 3 points or less and have a missed field goal in the game I hate them even more.

[CtheB]

Silly me. It evidently had nothing to do with form. I guess Jimmy was screwing around in practice and then missed his first field goal try and Stoops benched him. Whether it sticks or not is beyond me.

Typical for this year's team. Silly that a decision would be made in an effort to help as opposed to punishing bad behavior.

[rawlingsHOH]

Plus if you go back to last season...how many extra points did Stevens miss? 6? 7? that is totally unacceptable

They said the same about Garrett Hartley.

There is a lot that goes into a place kick, and the kicker is about 1/4 of it.

[Soonersince57]

who did they bring in for the game winner at the end of the BYU game?

Stevens is 11/13 because they have only kicked short FGs for the most part

i hate to bag on the kid, but he hasn't really been getting the job done with any kind of distance involved

Exactly.

[Collier11]

Stevens is 4/6 from 35+, thats almost half of his FGs. Like I said in a previous post, 67% isnt phenomenal but there are alot of kickers in the ncaa who cant hit a 30 yarder

[My Opinion Matters]

I've never liked Jimmy kicking

did u see the horns kicker? the ball was high and long

if Jimmy makes that FG against texas, could have been different

i just hate feeling like if we make a 40 yard fg, its an accomplishment, it should be routine

+1

[badger]

At least our kicker didn't have two kicks blocked by the same opposing player, either of which would have led your team to upset the No. 1 (2?) team on the road.

At least.

:rolleyes:

[TMcGee86]

who did they bring in for the game winner at the end of the BYU game?

Stevens is 11/13 because they have only kicked short FGs for the most part

i hate to bag on the kid, but he hasn't really been getting the job done with any kind of distance involved

This. Bigtime.

I really don't see this as anything more than the fact that Stevens just isn't that good.

The fact is we have stalled out at the 1 yard line time after time this year and he's benefited by making gimme fgs.

And even some of those were ducks.

I'm all for this.

[prrriiide]

At least our kicker didn't have two kicks blocked by the same opposing player, either of which would have led your team to upset the No. 1 (2?) team on the road.

At least.

:rolleyes:

But...Tennessee's OL is every bit as good as ours.

[Collier11]

Our O-line has given up 8 sacks in 7 games, they arent great but they are doing a decent job here recently

[MojoRisen]

Jimmy made me way to nervous as well even on easy ones, I am for this as well. Plus all kickers or atleast most already have confidence issues - stevens was having to see a shrink - not for nothing but oouch if you are gong to play in big games like OU does. Doesn't bode well for a headcase kicker with a lot of potential - good luck and enjoy that scholly. Not many kickers get them.

[NorthernIowaSooner]

Jimmy didn't miss 6-7 xtra points last year and you have to look at percentage, not total since we set records on TDs that were scored. The problem is distance and Jimmy is just not hitting it well outside 35yds. His apparent improvement in August seems to have disappeared.

to be exact he missed 5. he was 94-99 on PATs and 8-12 on field goals last year which is about right around his high school accuracy of 50-77. this year hes only missed one PAT and two field goals.

all the same ive never been so scared of a 5'6 159lb guy on a football field

[kustang619]

I have about as much confidence in ole' boy Jimmy as.... Actually, I have no confidence in Stevens...

[CtheB]

I am not sure who told me this story, but this how I was told that a certain surfer-lookalike got his start at OU... and got his redshirt pulled near the end of the season.

Trey DiCarlo was a solid kicker for much of his career, but his consistency was starting to get inconsistent. Then, during a road Baylor game, I think it was the Sugar Bowl season, he was given an ultimatum: Make this kick or never kick again.

It was a meaningless kick for a game we were sure to win (this was not the Brett Romar year and there was no VY clone in the backfield), but quite meaningful for Trey.

He missed the kick. Some new guy named Garrett Hartley kicked the rest of the game.

When Trey went to the sidelines after that kick, he starred silently at the practice net, knowing that he would never take the field for OU ever again.

I am not sure if this story is true, but that is the last time Trey kicked for us and the game Garrett got his redshirt yanked. If true, I wonder if Stoops would ever do a similar ultimatum... maybe if he had another future NFL kicker on his hands?

I thought the first time Garrett Hartley kicked for Oklahoma was the 2005 BCS title game against USC. That's just how I remember it.

[Widescreen]

Nope. I was at the Baylor game in Waco when they pulled Hartley's redshirt. I was surprised they'd do that to him that late in the season but it seemed like the smart thing to do for the team given the circumstances.

[CtheB]

Got it. Thank you.

[gaylordfan1]

I'm no kicker, but missing a PAT is like not being able to open a condom wrapper! If you don't get it done you don't score! My point is if your given a scholly at a school like OU, you should be able to make them all!

[gaylordfan1]

Make all the PAT's that is.

[VA Sooner]

There's an issue if you're worried about making an PAT or a short (less than 40 yards) field goal every time your kicker runs out onto the field.

That's how Stevens makes me feel. Let's see how Tress does.