Gary Andersen says kicker Eberle “will win us football games”
Gary Andersen knows the value a kicker can bring to any college football game. He learned it the hard way on Sept. 15, 2012 when a late missed field goal by his then-kicker Josh Thompson cost Utah State a win at Wisconsin, a victory that might have vaulted the team into BCS conversations and the possibility of an undefeated season (provided that victory somehow managed to change USU losing to BYU 6-3 later in the year).
Now, nearly seven years after that fateful miss that held back the most promising USU football season to date, Andersen has at his disposal arguably the greatest kicker in USU program history in Dominik Eberle.
In a recent interview with The Utah Statesman, Andersen did not hide his thoughts at all regarding what he expects of the senior placekicker and how that performance will impact the Aggies’ season.
“He will win us football games,” Andersen said. “I really believe that — that he will win us football games in those big moments when we need him and in those moments in the first quarter, second quarter, third quarter. I think he’s going to make every single one he kicks.”
Dominik Eberle celebrates following a kickoff with Jalen Green as they jog back to the side lines. USU played Tennessee Tech on September 13. USU won by a landslide score of 73-12.
Those are lofty expectations, even by the heightened standards Eberle has set for himself and through his stellar performance in two years as the primary kicking option. But if anyone in the annuls of Aggie football history is capable of living up to Andersen’s words, its Eberle.
Eberle boasts an impressive resume by any standard of college kicker. He holds the records for single-season scoring (141 points), PATs made without a miss (122-of-122) and field goals made from 50-plus yards (four) at Utah State. On Sept. 8, Eberle tied an NCAA record for kickers with 24 points in a single game against Tennessee Tech, along the way becoming the sixth person in NCAA history, and first at USU, to make three field goals of 50 yards or more in one game. All of that doesn’t even include the long list of career kicking and scoring records Eberle will likely hold by the end of the 2019 season.
By no means will Eberle have to be a one-man wrecking crew on special teams. Utah State projects to once again dominate in the kicking game with several standouts besides Eberle. Savon Scarver took home First Team All-American honors last year for his kick return efforts that netted him a 33.7-yard kick return averaged and two return TDs. Jordan Nathan is coming back not just as one of the team’s top wideouts, but also as an experienced punt returner. Athlon Sports named him the top punt return man in the Mountain West in its preseason all-conference team.
Andersen mentioned by name each of the impact players returning on special teams, saying that overall “there’s some special players there in the return game.” He also credited special teams coach Stacy Collins for establishing a culture that Andersen said “is not good, it’s great.”
Twitter: @thejwalk67