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Kicking candidate Nate Killpack has apparently been successful in his attempts to transition from night classes to day classes and thus secure his eligibility, should he be called into action as a placekicker for the Cougars.
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Killpack kicked with the team on Tuesday, and reportedly knocked in a 50-yard field goal, prompting a call from some of the Cougars to get Killpack some helmet stickers.
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Word is the Orem high product was 14 of 17 on field goal attempts as a senior, and 41 of 42 on PAT attempts. His long field goal was a 52-yarder, and kickoffs were regularly into the high school end zones.
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I will get my first look at Killpack this afternoon, and will post any observations later.
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Fast Facts:
BYU turnover margin, under Bronco Mendenhall,
in 18 wins: +22 (+1.22/game)
in 10 losses: -13 (-1.3/game)
Air Force has opened either 2-1 or 3-0 in 13 consecutive seasons, but has finished the last 6 seasons on slides of 2-7, 2-7, 3-5, 2-5, 2-5 and 2-5. So, fast starts are nothing new for the Falcons, but so are fades to the finish.
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Killpack Update:
Watched him kick at practice this afternoon, and hey, he's a kicker and he kicked the ball, seemingly no better or no worse than Mitch Payne or Brian Smith in the brief time I watched him. He worked on field goals and kickoffs, stroking a number of 3-pointers in the 40-45 yard range.
When BYU went "live" with field goal simulations, Payne and Smith were called on to kick, while Killpack stood to the side.
In other words, it doesn't appear BYU has found a "Wonderkicker," as much as BYU is looking to find some depth considering the injury and inconsistency issues plaguing the special teams to this point in the season.
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WR Austin Collie was not out for practice and had not appeared by the time I left, but he did pop up toward the end of the session, but did not practice. WR Michael Reed was present and practicing, albeit gingerly.
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Bryce Mahuika would appear to be the primary punt return option this Saturday, should Collie be unavailable. Mahuika handled punts this afternoon.
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