Aaron Medley and George Bullock were neck-and-neck for the role of Tennessee’s place kicker during fall practice, and while the freshman Medley started the first two games for the Vols, the competition is far from over.
Medley has looked uncomfortable at times this year, and special teams coach Mark Elder insisted the kicking job may still be up for grabs.
“Competition is always ongoing here at Tennessee,” Elder said. “With everything that we’re doing, there is always going to be competition. The guy that is performing the best is gonna be the one that is gonna be out there.”
Medley has been inconsistent on his few field goal attempts, making 3-of-5 kicks so far, but he has managed to connect on all nine of his PAT attempts this season.
As with everything in football, technique is critical to the kicking game, making a breakdown in form the key ingredient in Medley’s missed field goals.
“He pushed the ball a little bit,” Elder said. “His plant foot was open a little bit too much, and that forced him to push the ball as opposed to being able to bring his hip through and connect properly.”
During Tennessee’s opening win over Utah State, Medley suffered an ankle injury, allowing Bullock to claim the kickoff duties in last week’s game with Arkansas State.
Bullock was solid during his 2014 debut, kicking off seven times with a total of two touchbacks. Staying consistent, however, will be important for the Knoxville native going forward.
“He had one outstanding kick,” Elder said. “Two others that were where we would like for them to be, and then one that really wasn’t a good kick at all as far as ball placement is concerned. He just has to be consistent.”
Darr stepping up: Talent has never been an issue for punter Matt Darr, but at times, consistency has. Two games into his senior season, Darr is finally kicking at a level the coaching staff
Darr has punted the ball 14 times so far this year, with an average of just below 40 yards, including two punts over 50 yards, and two that were downed inside the 20-yard line.
“He’s doing a really good job,” Elder said. “He’s certainly more consistent that he’s been in previous years. The last two at the end of the game last week, were really the best couple punts he’s had. He’s really just been much more consistent than what he had shown up to this year.”
A homecoming of sorts: Norman, Okla., is familiar place for Tennessee’s defensive backs coach Willie Martinez. Martinez spent the 2010 and 2011 seasons coaching the Sooners secondary, helping OU to a 23-5 record as well as the 2010 Big 12 championship.
While this a business trip for Martinez, the secondary coach is looking forward to spending a little time catching up with old friends.
“There are going to be a lot of mixed emotions,” Martinez said. “We made a lot of good friends there, my wife and I and our children. Not that we’re going back to see those friends, but we will see some and obviously there are a lot of great memories there.
With two seasons of coaching in OU’s raucous Memorial Stadium under his belt, Martinez offered some sound advice to players about what to expect from the Sooner faithful.
“A lot of energy,” Martinez said. “We’re going to have to come in there with the mindset of being very focused, and executing what we have to do, because they are going to be ready.”
