Colorado State University Athletics
Photo by: Mike Brohard
Davis out to pay back the confidence shown in him
8/13/2019 10:00:00 AM | Football
Pressure being applied to Rams' senior kicker
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – In some ways, it was a leap of faith taken by Colorado State head football coach Mike Bobo.
Braxton Davis had proven himself a valuable commodity on kickoffs, the majority of his attempts finding the end zone to snuff out the opponent's return game. But in three years of doing that, the local product out of Poudre High School had only attempted two long-range field goals, neither finding the target.
He was good enough to be placed on scholarship, and the Rams, knowing Wyatt Bryan was graduating, had enough faith to redshirt Davis in 2018, limiting him to kickoff duties in just four games.
Now, they're giving him the first shot to nail down the job as the primary placekicker.
"He's outstanding at (kickoffs)," Bobo said. "We feel good about him as a field goal kicker, but at the same time, we have great pressure at every positon. It was great we got Cayden Camper on hand, then Max Poduska from Rocky Mountain (via Kansas State). All three of them are doing a good job."
As the kickoff guy, Davis led a fairly easy-going existence, booming kicks and then watching the game. The pressure of putting a ball through the uprights happened rarely, but the plan to redshirt him and why, well, he admits it put a new spin on his 2018 season.
It was hard playing sparingly, but it gave him time to rebuild his mechanics as a placekicker.
"I just tried to work on my plant foot, left arm, head down, work on ball height, mainly getting that confidence back up for field goals that I had gained for kickoffs," Davis said. "The other style was very inconsistent. My junior year I found that consistent style, then all the sudden it just disappeared, then I had to try to gain all the ball height, the distance that I had on kickoffs to put it back into field goals and maintain both."
Kickers rely on muscle memory for their success, and Davis is the first to admit it was a struggle being "The Guy" at the beginning of the spring. By the time camp finished, he was riding the high of making 20 of his final 22 attempts.
It took some work with long snapper Ross Reiter, as well as finding the right holder to work with, who is now Joe DeLine. Reiter said looking at Davis, one doesn't expect to see the distance generated, but it's there, and the confidence started to come back in line.
"He's one of those kids, once he gets on fire, he feels it," Reiter said. "You feel a good vibe. It's the same with snapping. As a specialist, once you kinda get on fire, it's kinda hard to stop. I think that's what he did last spring, and I think he can carry it into the season."
Davis' first attempt in the opening fall scrimmage was wide right from 47 yards, whereas Poduska (37) and Camper (59) both were true on their kicks. Bobo said it wasn't the day Davis wanted, but he'd still head out to Monday's practice as the first in line.
It's the type of pressure Davis needs in his life, because he's worked hard to silence the outside noise when he kicks. If he didn't, he'd have plenty of burden to carry, considering his hometown. Fort Collins is where he grew up, Colorado State the team he wanted to play for, and a placekicker cannot hide on campus after a bad game. Davis knows he can't hide anywhere in town.
"I mean, my family is basically Fort Collins," Davis said. "They own bars around town. If I go somewhere, it's my family. That's the first question I get asked, how is football. It's not as big of a factor, because it's an outside point, but it is like, I can't led the hometown down.
"But absolutely not, I don't think about it. The second you lose focus, that kick is not going to do what you want it to do. I just focus on the kicks, all my work leading up to that. Whatever comes after, comes after."
As promised, Monday was a new day, and the kickers were all tried and true. The competition is real, and Davis is preparing to deliver on the confidence his coaches and teammates have shown. Besides, it's the next kick they'll all remember most.
Braxton Davis had proven himself a valuable commodity on kickoffs, the majority of his attempts finding the end zone to snuff out the opponent's return game. But in three years of doing that, the local product out of Poudre High School had only attempted two long-range field goals, neither finding the target.
He was good enough to be placed on scholarship, and the Rams, knowing Wyatt Bryan was graduating, had enough faith to redshirt Davis in 2018, limiting him to kickoff duties in just four games.
Now, they're giving him the first shot to nail down the job as the primary placekicker.
"He's outstanding at (kickoffs)," Bobo said. "We feel good about him as a field goal kicker, but at the same time, we have great pressure at every positon. It was great we got Cayden Camper on hand, then Max Poduska from Rocky Mountain (via Kansas State). All three of them are doing a good job."
As the kickoff guy, Davis led a fairly easy-going existence, booming kicks and then watching the game. The pressure of putting a ball through the uprights happened rarely, but the plan to redshirt him and why, well, he admits it put a new spin on his 2018 season.
It was hard playing sparingly, but it gave him time to rebuild his mechanics as a placekicker.
"I just tried to work on my plant foot, left arm, head down, work on ball height, mainly getting that confidence back up for field goals that I had gained for kickoffs," Davis said. "The other style was very inconsistent. My junior year I found that consistent style, then all the sudden it just disappeared, then I had to try to gain all the ball height, the distance that I had on kickoffs to put it back into field goals and maintain both."
Kickers rely on muscle memory for their success, and Davis is the first to admit it was a struggle being "The Guy" at the beginning of the spring. By the time camp finished, he was riding the high of making 20 of his final 22 attempts.
It took some work with long snapper Ross Reiter, as well as finding the right holder to work with, who is now Joe DeLine. Reiter said looking at Davis, one doesn't expect to see the distance generated, but it's there, and the confidence started to come back in line.
"He's one of those kids, once he gets on fire, he feels it," Reiter said. "You feel a good vibe. It's the same with snapping. As a specialist, once you kinda get on fire, it's kinda hard to stop. I think that's what he did last spring, and I think he can carry it into the season."
Davis' first attempt in the opening fall scrimmage was wide right from 47 yards, whereas Poduska (37) and Camper (59) both were true on their kicks. Bobo said it wasn't the day Davis wanted, but he'd still head out to Monday's practice as the first in line.
It's the type of pressure Davis needs in his life, because he's worked hard to silence the outside noise when he kicks. If he didn't, he'd have plenty of burden to carry, considering his hometown. Fort Collins is where he grew up, Colorado State the team he wanted to play for, and a placekicker cannot hide on campus after a bad game. Davis knows he can't hide anywhere in town.
"I mean, my family is basically Fort Collins," Davis said. "They own bars around town. If I go somewhere, it's my family. That's the first question I get asked, how is football. It's not as big of a factor, because it's an outside point, but it is like, I can't led the hometown down.
"But absolutely not, I don't think about it. The second you lose focus, that kick is not going to do what you want it to do. I just focus on the kicks, all my work leading up to that. Whatever comes after, comes after."
As promised, Monday was a new day, and the kickers were all tried and true. The competition is real, and Davis is preparing to deliver on the confidence his coaches and teammates have shown. Besides, it's the next kick they'll all remember most.
Players Mentioned
Thursday, May 14
Monday, May 11
Friday, May 08
Tuesday, April 28