East Lansing area job opening: Placekicker for MSU football team
In the wake of Saturday’s loss, head coach John L. Smith is making it clear that the placekicking job is open to anyone willing to try. According to Smith, Kyle Mayer did not want to attempt the overtime field goal, which was subsequently missed by John Goss. In addition to his 37-yard error in overtime, Goss shanked a 23-yarder in the third quarter, prompting Smith to put Mayer in at kicker after that.
Shannon Shelton of the Detroit Free Press reports that John L. Smith will be having a kicking competition this week, and he is open to anyone as long as they can kick it through.
Smith didn’t give names of possibilities in upcoming episodes of his “Who Wants to Be a Spartan Kicker?” tryouts. Besides Goss and Meyer, the only player on the roster listed as a kicker is Todd Boleski, a redshirt freshman.
Smith said what he has seen from Goss and Meyer doesn’t give him much comfort about their physical and mental ability to handle the job.
“You either toughen up and become a kicker and become more mentally tough, or somebody else will kick,” Smith said. “Give me a guy that will kick it through, and if it’s a freshman, that’s fine.”
In a similar article, Eric Fish of the The State News writes that John L. Smith hasn’t given up on John Goss yet.
“It’s his obligation to show us, just like every other kid on this football team,” Smith said. “If you don’t think you’re playing enough, it’s your obligation to show that coach that you deserve more time.”
“All the good ones (kickers) we’ve had, and there’s several of them in the NFL, are tough guys that can kick. Tough guys that will go out and compete, and if they miss it they don’t turn into a whatever. They’ll bounce back and go kick the next one. The good ones want to go kick.”