Kornacki: Allen Overcomes Kicking Woes, Now Locked In
10/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 30, 2016
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan, ranked second nationally and undefeated, has four regular-season games remaining. It's likely to have one showdown that comes down to a field goal, and so dependability in that area is pretty crucial.
When Kenny Allen missed a pair of very makeable kicks against Wisconsin and Ryan Tice attempted the next one against the Badgers, also missing, Wolverine head coach Jim Harbaugh re-opened competition for the placekicking job. He wondered aloud if he hadn't put too much on the shoulders and leg of Allen, who also punts and kicks off.
Allen retained the placekicking job while continuing to excel in all phases and made some short field goal attempts while gradually putting his game back together. He'd been rushing kicks and getting the different kicking motions into a jumble but straightened all that out.
He made a pair of 23-yard field goals Saturday afternoon (Oct. 29), but it was his 45-yarder in the first minute of the fourth quarter that made a statement in the 32-23 win at Michigan State. It said he was back.
"He was flawless today," Harbaugh said of Allen. "Our offense was tested. Our kicking game was tested, and our defense was tested. And our guys came through. Kenny came through and was 100 percent on all his kicks."
Allen and long-snapper Scott Sypniewski received texts on the bus ride to Spartan Stadium from Blake O'Neill, the Wolverines' Aussie punter whose fumble led to a blocked punt that was returned for a last-second, game-winning touchdown by MSU.
"We were texting today," Allen said after the game. "He was just telling us 'good luck' and to go out there and do what you want to do. He said, 'I'm excited to see you guys go out and do your thing.' That's all he needed to say. We're still good friends, and he encourages me when he sees that things don't go my way. So, he's a great guy.
"I did feel bad for Blake (after the block). You don't want to see any of your teammates go through those kinds of things. But it's a testament to Blake and what kind of person he is that he came out the next week and did his job without any hiccups."
When asked about his message to his good friend and punter replacement, O'Neill, who watched the game on television from his current home in Tampa, Florida, tweeted, "Just a message of support. Great to see him boom a couple today."
Allen had a 48-yard punt to go with the 45-yard field goal, which was his first from 40 yards or longer this season and two yards shy of his career longest.
What did hitting a long field goal that mattered mean to Allen?
"The guys up front were blocking and Scott was snapping and Garrett (Moores) was holding," he said. "You know, they're a machine, and so it makes my job a whole lot easier. I just have to kick the ball straight. You don't really think about the situations in the game at that time. When you go out there, it's kind of just make the kick and do what you know how to do. That's our mentality every time.
"My confidence has stayed the same. And with the kicks I missed, it was unfortunate, but you learn. I'm happy that in those (game) outcomes, we still won. So, it's something to learn from, something to move on from, and now we know what to do better."
Allen has made five consecutive field goal attempts after going one-for-four in the Colorado and Wisconsin games. He had no attempts against Penn State or Rutgers and has made nine of 13 (.692) this season.
He punted only one time with a 57-yarder last season while making 18-of-22 field goals (.818) and all 46 point-after attempts to score 100 points and make All-Big Ten third team. Doing all the kicking this year required separation to properly focus on each "swing".
"I think it's just getting used to each swing," Allen said. "Punting takes me in one direction and field-goal kicking takes me in another. But we've been working a lot in practice on separating the two, and I think we've been doing a great job, and we hope to (continue to) improve."
How did he separate the two kicking styles?
"It's repetition," said Allen. "You have to be smart about it, and not over-kick too much, and that's another thing. It's a lot of dry swings (kicking without a ball), lots of stretching, trying to stay flexible and just watching film and mental reps is a big key."
Did the in-season practice competition with teammates help?
"Oh, yeah," said Allen. "Any time you have someone else coming for your job, it puts a little fire (in you) and just gives you the motivation to go out there and perfect it. With that slump, you learn from things, and you come out stronger on the other side."
Harbaugh said coaches discovered that Allen was rushing place kicks after timing his approaches and finding them to be fractions of a second faster than when he was consistently splitting the uprights.
"That definitely (helped)," said Allen. "We've been taking our time a lot more, and looking back we were going pretty fast. Garrett and Scott were doing everything correct, but I was going too fast. We fixed that."
Allen has the third-highest punting average in the Big Ten at 42.1 yards and had arguably the most impressive punt of the season. He nailed a 49-yard coffin corner kick that went out at the Rutgers one-yard line and also averaged 46.6 yards on seven attempts in the biggest game of the season with No. 8 Wisconsin.
Returners have opted for touchbacks on 53 percent of his 53 kickoffs as the high school soccer player handles every facet of the kicking game for the Wolverines.
Allen admitted that "sometimes" it's not easy doing it all, but said, "You've just got to overcome certain obstacles. I mean, these guys are hitting each other in the face for 60 minutes, and think about it this way: I'm just kicking a ball. But I can be smarter about it, and I'm doing much better."
He also does a good job of shutting out the noise of opposing fans.
"I did hear some fans from the (MSU) student section saying some things to me when I was kicking into the net," said Allen. "You have to have a sense of humor, and I'm not going to repeat it.
"But somebody made fun of my mustache, which I've been working pretty hard to grow this. So, that one cut deep. When I was on the field, people said, 'Did you hear them chanting?' But you are so focused, so locked-in, that you don't even pay attention to that stuff."
O'Neill was his holder last season as well as the punter, and Allen said O'Neill couldn't have been a better teammate.
After the Wolverines beat the Spartans, O'Neill tweeted from @blakewoneill: "Huge win for the boys! Way to ride out the victory and put an exclamation mark on it. On to the next one! #GoBlue."
Many former and current players communicated following the victory.
After Jabrill Peppers rushed for a touchdown, returned a fumbled two-point conversion pitch 87 yards for two points, returned a punt and kickoff, caught one pass, made seven tackles, had one sack and two tackles for lost yardage, former Wolverines and NFL kicker Jay Feely tweeted from @jayfeely: "Come on Jabrill, work on your kicking."
Allen, with tongue in cheek, responded from @Kenny_Allen: "don't take that from me. That's all I have."
Come on Jabrill, work on your kicking https://t.co/7DsHcWqyTb
