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Baxa Leg Strength

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Theedy50

Redshirt Freshman
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During 2nd half Warm-ups in Spring Game he put the ball on our own 45 and kicked a FG which he made. It wasn’t a live kick but it was very impressive
 
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I think Baxa needs to gain more confidence. The only two clutch kicks he attempted last year, he missed. Missed one against LSU and missed a 28yd FG with 5 minutes left vs FSU. I think he is like 1/3 from 40+ yards. He's definitely got the leg but he needs to be confident that he's going to hit the kick.
 
D RevLee said:
I think Baxa needs to gain more confidence. The only two clutch kicks he attempted last year, he missed. Missed one against LSU and missed a 28yd FG with 5 minutes left vs FSU. I think he is like 1/3 from 40+ yards. He's definitely got the leg but he needs to be confident that he's going to hit the kick.
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I agree. Has a leg but needs consistency with kicks over 40 yards. Also his XP kicks he would make but quite a few hugged up near goalpost.
 
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Canedog said:
With all da soccer in South Florida, Miami should not bee struggling to find good kickers.
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We. It struggling to find kickers..punters in game situations yes...but all soccer players can kick a football?..hmmm
 
Baxa was pretty good for a true freshman kicker. I'm not sure if some of you guys watch any college football besides Miami but most college kickers, even at the best schools, aren't near NFL quality. Of the 130 (or whatever) FBS starting kickers out there, maybe one will have a pro career. What's considered automatic for an NFL kicker is often a 50/50 chance for most college kickers.
 
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D RevLee said:
I think Baxa needs to gain more confidence. The only two clutch kicks he attempted last year, he missed. Missed one against LSU and missed a 28yd FG with 5 minutes left vs FSU. I think he is like 1/3 from 40+ yards. He's definitely got the leg but he needs to be confident that he's going to hit the kick.
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Confidence represents > 50% of the total equation (i.e. game location, OL blocking, snapper, holder, environmental conditions & kicker's mental state/confidence). If a kicker is confident, the individual has a much better probability of making the kick (all else being normal). I believe that Buba has a good enough leg to make kicks of > 45 yards with consistent accuracy, BUT he needs to build his confidence. This is where a good kicking coach can be a difference maker in turning a good kicker into a great one.
 
Heart of The Playmaker said:
I agree. Has a leg but needs consistency with kicks over 40 yards. Also his XP kicks he would make but quite a few hugged up near goalpost.
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Well; dude wasnit accurate in HS and that’s including XP kicks. Again, I questioned why we went after him knowing his struggles. He was 4-10 his high school Sr yr and 9-19 in his last couple of yrs.

We should’ve pursued a transfer and either helped his development so he would be ready by his Soph yr or waited to get another another kicker next class.
 
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Small sample size with him. Reminds me of Badgley, strong *** leg but has no idea where it’s going. The LSU game miss he should have made but first college game national stage I get it but that first kick should have given him confidence. The FSU miss was bad and the Duke miss was disaster from the start because of the weather. Only missed 1 extra point which is great.

He was very consistent on booting touchbacks which is a great sign. Just gotta be more consistent this year because the leg is obviously there.
 
rustywalkedaway said:
There were always questions about his accuracy. Many thought the college game would help him improve, because there are some pretty bad high school kicking games, but but his high school stats were under-whelming.

ftw.usatoday.com

ESPN graphic introduces Miami kicker Bubba Baxa with oddly unflattering stat

He was 4 of 10 as a high school senior.
ftw.usatoday.com ftw.usatoday.com
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His coach had him trying 60+ yarders during games. He was a solid competitor on the Kicking Camp circuit. That matters more than HS stats bc HS coaches can be idiots. Specialists are a different breed. High School stats can be very misleading.

He needs opportunity in a game. We did not get him that very much last season.

Also, Hartley had him doing other "stuff" rather than blasting it out of the end zone on KO. Just blast the ball!!
 
He was 75% on field goals and 45-46 on extra points. He was 8-9 on kicks under 40 yards. He's in the upper echelon of college kickers. Stop assuming NFL level kickers are common. Compare his numbers to FBS kickers, not NFL kickers.
 
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