ober 15,1
, Vednesday • October 15, 1997
Rocket Man
■
^chiefs booming punts becoming common
By Chris Ferrell
Sports editor
>r by his
1ANNAN
ATTORNEY
ram
cast
3S and howl
to underweal
supervisor s;
o-workersr
lents as anii:
pection,”
worked forii
ee years beiirl omewhere out in space among the dis-
e filed thek J car( ied rocket boosters and old satel-
HBlites, footballs orbit the earth,
workers were: They were not left behind by astronauts,
uit. Instead, a, Buzz Aldrin and his Apollo buddies pre-
rred to hit golf balls.
These footballs were launched from a
i* t ;ld in College Station, Texas, rockets sent
’ ^ r|aming from the earth off of the foot of
tgged him tan 1 ' Lechler.
iechler, Texas A&M’s sophomore
niter has become a standout for the Ag
es at a position which normally does not
imer much attention. Midway through
specond season as the Aggie’s punter, he
Already established a rep-
ation as one of the na-
Bs top clutch punters.
. •..■ever was this
y, accusing it A evidenl
concerns co:,^ j n
ins pnvaq .jJq victory at
er to future. 3 | orac j 0 two
ng assault ggj.g a g Q w hen
omitting pifc ot off two
ngtoadeqi&ucial punts,
; employees, ich causing sig-
it was filed, iifilant damage,
ledbylecnrne first pinning
Drseplay wcue Buffaloes inside
id could lead ten own 10, setting
pan A&M fumble re-
livery, and the other, a
l-yarder which knocked
Council. Steh return man Herchell
lese groups oytman down deep in his own
for the worfrfrit or y with the game on the line,
r leadership “1 feel like that’s one of my plus-
ithat I’ve had,” Lechler said. “In
nd national irical situations I haven’t let the
es help memW 1 ^own yet. But I’m not going to
^akingskills • >lult m y chickens before they
‘ in mi atc h because you never know.”
natters, strer; s P ecial teams coach, Shawn
p a hiliripsffi 0Cum ’ said that a P la y er wtth
... „ ‘ echler’s capabilities can be invalu-
| s.bil 1 ty,Hii )|e ,o a football team.
“In big ballgames, your not just go-
S The Battalion
PORTS
ing to run up and down the field on of
fense,” Slocum said. “If you are, you’ve got
no problems anyway. A lot of times, your
kicking game becomes a factor of the de
fense. If we boot them in the hole, you’ve got
a great advantage. Then turnovers come
into play and the all-around big picture of
field position is such a big factor.”
Not only does Lechler turn in big punts,
but he does it consistently. Lechler leads
the Big 12 and is second in the nation in
punting, averaging 48.83 yards per kick. If
he keeps up his current pace, Lechler will
shatter A&M’s single season punting
record by five yards per punt.
Lechler’s success is even more impressive
considering that he came to A&M listed un
der the category of athlete rather than punter.
During a stellar prep career at East
Bernard High School, Lechler never left the
football field.
“In high school punting was just
another posi
tion,” Lechler
said. “I played
every down. I
started at
quarterback
and middle
linebacker on de
fense. I did all the kick
ing and returned all the
kicks. Punting really was a break
for me in high school. I’d punt it and I’d
never run down and make a tackle. I just
stood there and caught my breath.”
His senior year he led his team to the
state quarterfinals.
An exceptional all-around athlete, he also
lead East Bernard to two state baseball cham
pionships, the state golf tournament and re
gional basketball and track appearances.
When Lechler arrived at A&M he was list
ed as a punter/quarterback, however it soon
became apparent that punting was his future.
After suffering a strained quadricep during
two-a-days in August, he and coach R.C.
Slocum decided that Lechler would focus the
majority of his time on punting.
“It was a decision he and coach
Slocum made,” Shawn Slocum said.
“Shane has a lot of ability to be a good quar
terback. If we needed him, he could step into
that role as well.
“Shane is looking at it right now that his
role on this football team is as a punter in
games and he’s continuing to prepare as a
quarterback during the week. If needed, he
could step in and do it. He’s really focusing
on his role right now and that’s to be the
best punter he can be.”
The focus has paid off as Lechler and se
nior kicker Kyle Bryant have formed one of
the nation’s top special teams tandems.
Bryant, an All-American candidate
himself, said that while Lechler’s accom
plishments are still amazing, they no
longer shock him.
“He’s got a great leg,” Bryant said. “Two
things about kicking; you’ve got to have
good leg speed and you’ve got to have
great technique. Shane’s got good leg
speed, great leg strength and his tech
nique is getting a lot better.
“You’re first reaction when you see that
(one Lechler’s booming punts) is, ‘My
God, where did he pull that from.’ The
more you know Shane, the more you look
at him, you just know that’s his talent,
that’s what he can do.”
Lechler’s talent could lead him even be
yond the college ranks. Ironically his punt
ing, once his chance to gain a breather in
high school, could be his ticket to the NFL.
Defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz
said that Lechler is just as good as current
NFL punter Tom Rouen, who was at Col
orado during Hankwitz’s tenure there and
R.C. Slocum said he’s the best punter to
come through A&M during his 25 years at
the school. But Lechler would rather not
look to far ahead into the future.
“I always keep the NFL in the back of
my mind,” he said. “It’s not something I
think about much because I don’t want a
dream like that to be shattered with an in
jury. It’s something that if it happens it
happens, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”
But for now, the future is bright and
everything is all systems go for the Aggie’s
human rocket launcher.
Cream beginning to
rise to the Big 12’s top
NOTEBOOK
Jamie
Burch
Staff writer
I t’s week three of conference play and
we’re starting to separate the men
from the boys. Nebraska, Texas A&M,
Oklahoma State, and Kansas State being
the men and the rest of the eight, boys.
Looking ahead in the schedule, as
only the Swami can, the games that
should determine the season for the
men are Oklahoma State at A&M Nov. 1
and Nebraska at Colorado Nov. 28.
Buffaloes Cannot Walk On
Stillwater
Oklahoma State Coach Bob Simmons,
a former assistant at the University of Col
orado, exacted a bit of revenge Saturday
beating the Buffaloes 33-29 in Stillwater.
Simmons was overlooked by Colorado
in 1994 when Rick Neuheisel was hired to
replace former coach Bill McCartney.
Questions have surfaced the last sev
eral weeks around the Boulder area, ask
ing if the Buff’s chose the wrong coach.
This victory was Simmons’ way of saying
T Told You So.’
No Press For You
Kansas State Coach Bill Snyder has de
creed no media shall talk to Wildcat quar
terback Michael Bishop. After Bishop
rushed for 196 yards and two touchdowns
and threw a 44-yard touchdown pass
against Missouri on Saturday, Snyder
snagged Bishop before FOX Sports could
interview him. And Bishop was not al
lowed to talk to media in the post-game
press conference. Furthermore, Snyder
has canceled all interview requests for
this week.
Snyder said football is a team sport.
He said this is Bishop’s first year on the
team and there are four-year starters
that deserve some attention.
He Could Go All The Way
Oklahoma running back De’Mond
Parker led all Division I-A rushers on Sat
urday with 31 carries for 291 yards and
three touchdowns. Parker’s near 300-yard
performance did not include a 65-yard
touchdown carry that was nullified by a
holding call. It was the second best perfor
mance in OU history and raised Parker’s
Big 12 leading season totals to 149 carries
and 955 yards, a 159.2 yards per game—
second nationally to Iowa’s Tavian Banks.
Run Forrest, Run
For the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Sat
urday, on the rain-soaked turf of Floyd
Casey Stadium, the game plan against
the Baylor Bears was simple: give the ball
to Ahman Green and block for him. Ne
braska’s top ranked offense victimized
the Bear’s 94th-rated defense, running for
410 of its 548 total yards. Green rushed
for 158 yards and four touchdowns lead
ing Nebraska to a 49-21 win.
Florida Or Bust
The No. 2 Cornhuskers have laid the
foundation and now have just one obsta
cle en route to an Orange Bowl appear
ance, Colorado. Nebraska (5-0, 2-0) has
played its two hardest games of the sea
son, Washington and Kansas State. Its
next five opponents—Texas Tech (2-0 in
conference for first time since 1993),
Kansas (109th total offense), Oklahoma,
Missouri (19 straight losses against
ranked opponents) and Iowa State (13
straight losses) — pose no threat to the
No. 1 ranked offense. Nebraska is averag
ing 528.8 yards of total offense and 399.8
on the ground.
Please see Burch on Page 8.
tOOL!
A!
SO/Credit He. .
[ouston Foru:
k 18, 1997 I
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