bratwurst
on double secret probation
Looks like this guy could have picked a better school to showcase his kicking skills at!
For OU Kicker, Field Goal Would Be a First
By Amy Shipley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 1, 2005; Page D08
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Dec. 31 -- Much has been said about the parade of stars that will take the field for Tuesday's national championship game at the Orange Bowl, the Heisman quarterbacks, the Heisman finalist running backs, the speedy cornerbacks and even the big-name coaches.
And then there is Garrett Hartley.
If the Oklahoma freshman is called upon to kick a field goal against No. 1 Southern Cal, the attempt will be his first of the season.
Oh, yes: It will also be the first of his collegiate career.
Hartley is just 18 years old, precisely 42 days into his collegiate playing career and more than a year removed from his last field goal attempt, which came in December of 2003 for Texas's Southlake Carroll High. (He was, for the record, wide left on a 45-yarder in a state championship game his team lost by one point.)
Yet if Tuesday's game comes down to a last-second field goal for Oklahoma, Hartley, whose redshirt was lifted for a Nov. 20 game against Baylor, will get the nod from Sooners Coach Bob Stoops, who insisted -- perhaps feebly -- that Hartley wasn't as inexperienced as he looks on paper or, for that matter, in person, what with his wild, frat-boy blond hair, sandy stubble of facial hair and seashell necklace.
Stoops, in fact, flat out refused to concede that Hartley hadn't attempted a field goal as a Sooner. "That's not true," Stoops said. "He's kicked a lot of field goals. He's kicked a lot of extra points. He kicks them every day."
Indeed, Hartley practices hard -- his practice habits, in fact, were what helped him wrestle the place-kicking duties from a Lou Groza Award finalist. Starting kicker Trey DiCarlo, a star last season, struggled mightily this year, hitting 8 of 16 attempts and going 0 for 5 from 40 yards or longer. He made no attempts longer than 35 yards.
Hartley made all four of his point-after attempts in his debut against Baylor, then kept his streak of success alive a week later in his second game, connecting on six extra points against Colorado. He lined up to attempt a field goal, but the opportunity was taken away when Oklahoma ran a fake for the first down.
In Harley's third game, he . . .
Well, his third game will be Tuesday night.
"I'm real excited about it," Hartley said with a sheepish grin as he stood in front of a throng of television cameras on a practice field Thursday in North Miami. "I can't wait for the opportunity."
Still, it will be far more intense than any situation he has faced in the past, even at one of the most prestigious high schools in football-crazed Texas. At Southlake Carroll, he set a national record for career points by a kicker. His biggest moment? A game-winning kick from 22 yards in a 5A state semifinal game as a junior, which gave his team a 33-30 victory with less than a minute remaining, sending it to the championship game.
"I know what pressure feels like, that's for sure," Hartley insisted.
"I've got great confidence in him," Stoops said. "He won't hesitate a bit. He's got great technique, great discipline in the way he works. That's why we went with him."
Hartley honed his technique while playing soccer, a game he first began playing at 3. Perhaps not surprisingly, he became a top player, qualifying as a goalkeeper for the U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program, which is designed to provide a base for the U.S. national team. At 16, he was a member of a Texas all-star squad that beat a team from New York to win a national title.
He said he had no difficulty making the transition to the football field. Hartley, who hit 14 of 26 field-goal attempts as a senior, also averaged more than 44 yards as a punter.
Similarly, Hartley said, he has had no trouble transitioning from the bench to the starting lineup. About a week before the Baylor game, Stoops asked Hartley to consider relinquishing his redshirt. Hartley immediately assented.
"I felt," he said, "that finally it was my chance."
His father Bill, who owns a small car leasing business, and mother, Cookie, a teacher, will fly out Monday for the game. Hartley's brother, 21-year-old Taylor, a former soccer player whose career was cut short by three knee operations, also will make the trip.
Bill Hartley, reached on his cell phone in Southlake, said he was confident his son could connect on even a last-second field goal with the game on the line.
"I'd love that," he said, starting to chuckle. "But I'd love it even more if they won 50-nothing and that never happened."
© 2005 The Washington Post Company
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39739-2004Dec31.html
For OU Kicker, Field Goal Would Be a First
By Amy Shipley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 1, 2005; Page D08
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Dec. 31 -- Much has been said about the parade of stars that will take the field for Tuesday's national championship game at the Orange Bowl, the Heisman quarterbacks, the Heisman finalist running backs, the speedy cornerbacks and even the big-name coaches.
And then there is Garrett Hartley.
If the Oklahoma freshman is called upon to kick a field goal against No. 1 Southern Cal, the attempt will be his first of the season.
Oh, yes: It will also be the first of his collegiate career.
Hartley is just 18 years old, precisely 42 days into his collegiate playing career and more than a year removed from his last field goal attempt, which came in December of 2003 for Texas's Southlake Carroll High. (He was, for the record, wide left on a 45-yarder in a state championship game his team lost by one point.)
Yet if Tuesday's game comes down to a last-second field goal for Oklahoma, Hartley, whose redshirt was lifted for a Nov. 20 game against Baylor, will get the nod from Sooners Coach Bob Stoops, who insisted -- perhaps feebly -- that Hartley wasn't as inexperienced as he looks on paper or, for that matter, in person, what with his wild, frat-boy blond hair, sandy stubble of facial hair and seashell necklace.
Stoops, in fact, flat out refused to concede that Hartley hadn't attempted a field goal as a Sooner. "That's not true," Stoops said. "He's kicked a lot of field goals. He's kicked a lot of extra points. He kicks them every day."
Indeed, Hartley practices hard -- his practice habits, in fact, were what helped him wrestle the place-kicking duties from a Lou Groza Award finalist. Starting kicker Trey DiCarlo, a star last season, struggled mightily this year, hitting 8 of 16 attempts and going 0 for 5 from 40 yards or longer. He made no attempts longer than 35 yards.
Hartley made all four of his point-after attempts in his debut against Baylor, then kept his streak of success alive a week later in his second game, connecting on six extra points against Colorado. He lined up to attempt a field goal, but the opportunity was taken away when Oklahoma ran a fake for the first down.
In Harley's third game, he . . .
Well, his third game will be Tuesday night.
"I'm real excited about it," Hartley said with a sheepish grin as he stood in front of a throng of television cameras on a practice field Thursday in North Miami. "I can't wait for the opportunity."
Still, it will be far more intense than any situation he has faced in the past, even at one of the most prestigious high schools in football-crazed Texas. At Southlake Carroll, he set a national record for career points by a kicker. His biggest moment? A game-winning kick from 22 yards in a 5A state semifinal game as a junior, which gave his team a 33-30 victory with less than a minute remaining, sending it to the championship game.
"I know what pressure feels like, that's for sure," Hartley insisted.
"I've got great confidence in him," Stoops said. "He won't hesitate a bit. He's got great technique, great discipline in the way he works. That's why we went with him."
Hartley honed his technique while playing soccer, a game he first began playing at 3. Perhaps not surprisingly, he became a top player, qualifying as a goalkeeper for the U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program, which is designed to provide a base for the U.S. national team. At 16, he was a member of a Texas all-star squad that beat a team from New York to win a national title.
He said he had no difficulty making the transition to the football field. Hartley, who hit 14 of 26 field-goal attempts as a senior, also averaged more than 44 yards as a punter.
Similarly, Hartley said, he has had no trouble transitioning from the bench to the starting lineup. About a week before the Baylor game, Stoops asked Hartley to consider relinquishing his redshirt. Hartley immediately assented.
"I felt," he said, "that finally it was my chance."
His father Bill, who owns a small car leasing business, and mother, Cookie, a teacher, will fly out Monday for the game. Hartley's brother, 21-year-old Taylor, a former soccer player whose career was cut short by three knee operations, also will make the trip.
Bill Hartley, reached on his cell phone in Southlake, said he was confident his son could connect on even a last-second field goal with the game on the line.
"I'd love that," he said, starting to chuckle. "But I'd love it even more if they won 50-nothing and that never happened."
© 2005 The Washington Post Company
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39739-2004Dec31.html
