Harrison Butker: Georgia Tech Kicker

Butker’s Winning Kick vs UGA (AJC photo by Hyosub Shin)

In case you were living under a rock in the state of Georgia for the 2014 Georgia vs Georgia Tech clash, you missed one heck of a game.

As you can tell by the photo, this was as always, a BIG game in Athens.

Harrison Butker, Georgia Tech’s sophomore kicker, gave his team one more chance to do what has rarely been done for his school in recent years….beat rival University of Georgia.

I won’t recap the game highlights…only the kick.  After all, this is a website for kickers, parents and coaches so we’ll come at this from a slightly different angle.

I spoke with AJC’s Ken Sugiura about the kick and he published a blog post drawing a comparison with other big kicks in Tech history.

Where does Harrison’s kick stand against my 1990 kick to beat #1 ranked Virginia, Luke’s (Manget) kick to beat Georgia in 1999 or Scott Blair’s kick to beat Clemson in 2009?  How about Butker’s own chip shot winner against VT earlier this year?

Scott Blair, 2009 Clemson (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Did the circumstances (longer kick, rival school, etc) put ‘more pressure’ in one case or another?  Did the fact that this kick was a 53 yard attempt increase the pressure he might have felt (versus my 37 yarder, Luke’s 38 yarder or Scott Blair’s 36 yard kick)?

Well, the conversation really did make me think a bit because we work with lots of young kickers.

If you are a kicker, you might be interested as well.  Would you be ‘more or less’ nervous from one game winner to another depending on the specifics of the kick?

I don’t think there is any way to compare apples to apples quite frankly.  As I told Ken, a kick like that, no matter the distance or what the circumstances, pressure kicks all felt the same to me.  It’s an opportunity for the kicker to step in and perform, to execute no matter what.

During the ‘ice the kicker time out’ in 1990, one TV announcer said there was no way to simulate the amount of pressure that I would face with one kick.  In 1999, the announcer said Luke was as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof.

Funny, because that’s exactly how it can feel looking down the barrel of a game winning field goal situation.

However, that’s part of the job description for any kicker at any time.

Prepare for Pressure, Kickers!

Manget vs UGA (AP Photo/The Roanoke Times, Matt Gentry)

No other player on the field goal team (maybe not the entire team) will face pressure like the kicker….at least, not the ‘do or die’ type of pressure that comes with ONE play and ONE player.

The holder, the snapper, the line, every player on the field has a critical part in this situation to make the successful kick.  Bad snap, bad hold, missed block on the line…any of these could be disastrous in that 1.5 second play to win the game.

However, no one is going to remember much more than the ball off the foot of the guy swinging the leg (for better or worse).  The other players won’t receive the fame or the blame the way that kicker will after that play.

Make it, you’re a hero.  Miss it, you’re a goat.  I recall making the paper for all the game winners as the ‘hero’, but was also plastered across the front page (in glorious color) for a final minute miss against Clemson in 1991.

So, as a kicker, you have to know that the game winning kick is something you’ll likely come face to face with at one point or another.

Embrace the game winner if you kick footballs for your football team today!  Look forward to it, dream about it.  It’s highly unlikely that you will avoid it all together.

I personally kicked my first game winning kick for my 8th grade team.  I then 2 more in high school, 7 in college (one to tie in the last minute), 5 in the NFL (between preseason and regular).

That’s 15 high pressure kicks (to win or tie a game) over my 11 full seasons (plus 3 preseasons) of kicking at most every level that I can think of off the top of my head.  They will happen at some point for most every one who kicks long enough!

Take the abuse during the week for ‘having it easy’ during practice from your line backer buddies.  Watch the linemen shake their heads in disgust when they catch you napping on the blocking pads (just kidding, but maybe not…you know who you are).

However, when it comes time to save the game with one pressure packed performance, you can always find some of those guys hiding under a bench, praying, crying or shaking uncontrollably.  Some of them can’t even watch the play unfold in the last seconds.

You ever see the ‘YOU HAD ONE JOB” pics floating around Twitter after a kicker misses a game winner?  These are cute, but they are posted by people who have never kicked a football.

These posts do reinforce the general attitude that many have with the kicking game and with kickers.  Those of us who have been there however, have the deepest empathy for every one of these situations no matter the game, no matter the kicker under the gun.

This is YOUR Moment, Embrace it

Butker vs VT (Photo by Michael Shroyer/Getty Images)

Harrison Butker has already kicked TWO game winning kicks this season.

The 53 yarder was a BOMB at Georgia, but what about the chip shot to beat Virginia Tech?

Do you think he was “more or less nervous” than the longer kick against UGA?

You’d have to ask him, but my guess is that he was as nervous in both moments as you can get in these situations.  In other words, I believe he was ‘prepared and focused’ equally to make each kick.

The good news is that for all the pressure you might feel, training does take over.  The muscle memory, the technique, it does what it’s supposed to do if you’ve put in the hours and the reps (hint, hint, that’s what the hard work is for).

Just remember, as a kicker this is YOUR moment to shine and gain respect from the other players on your team.   Want more incentive?  You’ll often times make lots of former kickers initiate a small victory fist pump.  Whether they know you or not, you are in the club.

Some people may not understand or appreciate your role during the quiet times, but I’ll bet Harrison Butker’s teammates all know exactly what his two game winners have meant this season.

Learning how to kick field goals is a lonely and error prone process. Don’t do it alone! Whether you are a parent of a kicker; a coach or a kicker yourself, join the FGK team today by becoming a member of the team, and learn to kick online!  In the North Georgia area?  Check out our field goal kicking clinics!