Taking at Look at the USF Kicking Game

(www.gousfbulls.com)

As the team prepares for UCONN next week, we thought it would be interesting to see how the kickers are doing for the Bulls thus far.

Marvin Kloss has done a great job as the kickoff specialist. The freshman has kicked-off 38 times, averaging 64.9 yards per kick and has 3 touchbacks already. He has a strong leg, placing the ball deep, and allowing the special teams unit to get down the field fast. Now that Holtz is keeping more starters in on the special teams unit, the coverage will improve and Kloss will continue to put teams deep. Bonani had 48 kickoffs last season, averaging 64.8 yards per kick (.1 yard difference so far) and had 6 touchbacks, so Kloss is picking right up where Bonani left off which allows Bonani to focus on the place kicking duties.

Maikon Bonani is having a solid season with the place kicking. He is 8 of 11 on field goals, hitting a long of 49 yards. He has had one kick blocked so far, but overall, he continues to have a solid year. In 2010, he was 17 of 21 on field goals, taking over for Eric Schwartz. He hit a long field goal of 41 yards, so he has already found his range this season. With the struggles in the redzone on offense, Bonani continues to give the team as a solid option to get points on the board.

Justin Brockhaus-Kann (JBK) is having a better season than 2010 so far, but still has a lot to prove. This year, he has punted the ball 22 times averaging 38.1 yards per punt, including a long of 50 yards. He has 3 touchbacks on the season, but has landed 5 inside the 20, showing his improved ability to pin-point kicks. In 2010, he had 64 punts, averaging 37.6 yards per kick (average is slightly up, but still low compared to others around the league). He had a long of 57 yards and put 19 kicks inside the opponents 20 in 2010 as well. He will have to get better on the overall yardage average, but as long as he continues to change the field position and keep opponents back, he is doing his job.