Boilers look to replenish special teams

By Anne McLaren
Staff Writer

Football fans will be seeing a mix of the old and the new on special teams this fall.

The Boilers lost Danny Rogers, a four-year punter, and Andy Standifer, a three-year long snapper, to graduation. Rogers was also the holder for place kicker Travis Dorsch. Assistant coach Scott Downing, who also serves as the team's special teams coach, said that punter, long snapper and holder are important positions to replace.

"We use the spring to try to identify those guys that we think might step up in the fall and be good special teams performers," he said.

Dorsch is listed first on the spring depth chart for punting, as well as for place-kicking. However, the punting job is still open.

"We’ve got a good competition going between Travis Dorsch, Scott Kurz and Drew Witchger," said Downing.

Dorsch said all the punters are working out, since the job is still "up for grabs."

"One of us is going to need to step up and earn that starting spot," he said. "We’re taking equal reps right now and someone's got to emerge from the pack."

Junior tight end Tim Stratton, who caught 48 passes for 585 yards last season, is listed as the long snapper for the spring.

"I never thought I’d be a long snapper here," said Stratton. "I was a punter in high school, but (long snapping) is kind of a new thing for me."

After Standifer struggled in the 1998 Alamo Bowl, Stratton said that Coach Joe Tiller called him and asked him to start practicing. Though long snapping is new to him, the center position holds some memories.

"When I was a little fat kid, I used to be a short center," he said. "All I did was snap. I think I remember it."

Stratton, who earned all-state honors as both a receiver and a punter in high school, said, "I’d like to punt myself, but I don’t think the coaches would let me do that."

Along with Stratton, backup quarterback Mike Segard, tight end Pete Lougheed, center Chukky Okobi and tight end Nick Mangosing have long snapped during practice.

In spring practice, Downing said the group would try to concentrate on the basics.

"We'll do a lot of punt, a lot of PAT field goals," he said. "We’ll work on some basic individual fundamentals like field goal block, punt block (and) some of our cover drills.

"So we’ve got some competitions going on, changing a little bit of the scheme this spring, (and we'll) probably do a little bit more of it in the fall, trying to keep us fresh," Downing said. "Give us a chance for a few more plays."

According to Downing, the best thing the coaches have done is to adjust to implement more specialist work during the regular practice.

"We’re getting a lot more chance to catch balls, run with them, return punts, catch kickoffs … and work with our battery — our snapper, our holder, our kicker — so we can work that together," he said.

With Rogers' graduation vacating the position of holder, the Boilers are filling that position this spring as well.

"Right now we’ve got Ben Smith working first team holder," said Dorsch. "They’re working (Drew) Brees, too. Both he and Ben are very much improved from last fall. They’ve been working hard at it, especially Drew. You’ve got to look at the load he carries, as a quarterback. And Ben, as our starting safety. So that’s great anytime we can get out there and do something different."

Smith said most people don't realize how important holding for the place kicker is.

"Most people give all the pressure to the kicker," he said. "But the holder and the snapper have to get it right for the kick to work. So it all starts with the snapper, and then goes to the holder and then the kicker just finishes up."

Dorsch, who struggled as a place kicker toward the end of last season, is still the No. 1 kicker. His goals this spring include improving his consistency and his punting.

"I’m going to work on my technique to become a better punter mentally," he said. "I’m more concerned with accuracy now at this point in my career than leg strength. The leg strength is there. I think I need to be a more consistent kicker. I need to make all my short attempts and give every long attempt a chance to go in."

Smith said that special teams are a big part of spring football practice.

"We spent a quarter of the practice out there, which is a lot more than most schools do," he said. "So, it’s a very important part of the game and here at Purdue we take our special teams (seriously), and the people who play special teams take pride in doing it."