Oregon State's Johnny Hekker might be the most athletic punter in college football
Oregon State's Johnny Hekker may be the most athletic punter in the nation. Certainly, he is the most versatile.
"He could be an emergency quarterback for us,'' said Beavers coach Mike Riley of the 6-foot-5, 223-pound Hekker, who was a football/basketball/track star at Bothell (Wash.) High School.
OSU special teams coach Bruce Read thinks Hekker - who also serves as the team's holder on field goals - could play for the Beavers' basketball team.
"I don't know about that,'' said Hekker. "Those guys are really good at what they do.''
Hekker is averaging 41.3 yards per punt this season, with 24 punts downed inside the 20 (56 for his career) and 12 punts of 50 yards or longer.
Hekker uncorked the second-longest punt in school history, 74 yards, in the USC game, and he may need a few just like that one to help OSU (5-5, 4-3) upset No. 7 Stanford (10-1, 7-1) on Saturday.
In recent weeks, OSU fans have watched Hekker not only experiment with an Australian Rules Football "Flip'' kick - the idea is to get the ball to roll dead near the goal line - but a 'oh, my, he's taking off with the ball!' rugby kick as well.
The Beavers have also taken advantage of the fact Hekker was an all-league quarterback in high school and has a strong, accurate right arm.
Teams have to respect the threat of a fake punt any time Hekker drops deep for the snap, because he's already pulled the play off twice, once against Texas Christian in the season opener and again last Saturday in the Beavers' 36-7 win over USC.
In each case, Hekker threw the ball to gunner Jordan Poyer, looking more like an honest-to-goodness Pac-10 quarterback than a punter.
Hekker can remember his freshman year, when his first college punt - at Stanford - was blocked. "I was nervous as could be, and I was slow,'' said Hekker. "I remember after I caught the ball, I remember thinking I was going to have the same time to get the ball off as I did in high school.
"Not true. College is a lot faster.''
As then-special teams coach Dave Ungerer reminded him.
But Hekker was a quick learner.
And as Riley said many times, "a terrific all-around athlete.''
Hekker was prone to the occasional shank, which left fans groaning in their seats, but he was also capable of beautiful, spiraling kicks that left his foot like they had been shot out of a rocket launcher.
"He's really a guy that's still developing,'' said Read, a highly-respected college special teams coach who has also had stints with the NFL New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys.
Read sees unlimited potential in Hekker's leg.
And he plans to keep taking advantage of his versatility.
"He really hasn't punted all that long. I think one year in high school,'' said Read.
"He's still very raw and still learning how to do it all but it's fun that he's got a great arm and can throw the ball and that he can kick the ball on the run and do different things for us. It just opens up what we can do on the punt team.''
The punting job has its highs and lows. After being special teams Most Valuable Player in the Sun Bowl in 2008, Hekker was humbled by a forgettable performance in the 2009 Las Vegas Bowl that turned cartoonish in 50 mile-per-hour winds.
"I have to laugh, or else I'll cry about it,'' said Hekker. "It was ugly, as ugly as a punter's performance can get. But I've learned a lot from that. Learned a lot about the mental approach to the game. I was flat for (the Vegas Bowl) and when that happens, it's not going to take you anywhere but down.''
Hekker said he gets too excited at times and wants to kill the ball, and that invariably results in a shank. Read said Hekker needs to learn how to relax, "because he's got all kinds of leg. He just needs to swing about three-fourths speed and that's all he needs to punt the ball 40 yards with good hang time. ... once he learns to harness it, I think he will be pretty impressive. ... it's when he gets amped up and tries to crush a punt, those are the ones he mis-hits.''
Said Hekker, "you see a lot of field and you think, 'OK, let's just bomb one.' As soon as you try to do something outside of your abilities, you mess up.''
Hekker enjoys the rugby punts, which require him to take the ball and dash towards the sidelines before he kicks the ball rugby-style at a dead run.
He said Read has given him the green light to just take off in those situations, but the first time he gets tackled short of the first down that green light is likely to turn red.
"If it's wide open, and I see the opportunity, I can take off,'' said Hekker.
Coming out of high school, Hekker could have taken off for Southern Utah, where he was offered a scholarship to play quarterback.
He said he has no regrets about trading in the glory of being a quarterback to become a fourth-down specialist.
And a part-time passer on fake punts.
"None at all,'' he said. "I love punting the football and being a part of this team. And with all of the quarterbacks we have here, I'm actually grateful for my decision because I'd be pretty low on the depth chart.''
- Paul Buker
