Bazaldua

[BazMom]

Thought ya'll would be interested in case you missed this in the Dallas Morning News.

NFL draft preview: Special teams

09:44 AM CDT on Wednesday, April 26, 2006

By RICK GOSSELIN / The Dallas Morning News

STRENGTH: 1

WEAK STRONG

Spotlight on Boone Stutz, Texas A&M

Texas A&M deep snapper Boone Stutz remembers a botched snap by his buddy, Don Muhlbach. It came on an extra-point attempt by the Detroit Lions in the closing seconds of a 2004 game against Minnesota. The snap bounced back to the holder; the Lions missed the kick and lost the game, 28-27.

NFL Draft

Position series

April 16: Wide receivers

April 16: Safeties

April 18: Tight ends

April 19: Defensive line

April 20: Offensive line

April 21: Linebackers

April 22: Cornerbacks

April 23: Quarterbacks

April 24: Running backs

April 25: Special teams

More NFL draft | Gosselin

Stutz remembers the television shots of a disconsolate Muhlbach on the bench, his coaches and teammates parading over to offer him words of encouragement.

"Every time Roy Williams or a coach came over to pat him on the back, everyone on TV said they were telling him, 'Hey, it's all right, don't worry about it,' " Stutz said. "I told him what they were really saying was, 'You've got one more game to prove yourself or you're going to have that pink slip in your locker.'

"I told him I was going to take his position next year."

Muhlbach also is from Texas A&M, and the two have been working out together this off-season, snapping to each other. Muhlbach has as much zing on the ball as any snapper in the NFL. His coaches have dubbed him Nolan Ryan. Boone is right there with him.

"He may be the Nolan Ryan," Stutz said, "but my times are just as fast as his. If he's the Nolan Ryan, I'm the Roger Clemens.

"All kidding aside, he's a great snapper. He hurts my hands catching it. He's definitely worthy of that Nolan Ryan tag."

THE TOP 15

QUICK TAKE: This is one of the deepest drafts ever for returners but one of the lightest for kickers and punters. The last time no kicker or punter went on the first day was 2003.

Rank Player School Ht. Wt. Noteworthy

1. Devin Hester (KR) Miami 5-10½ 190 Two-time All-ACC KR

2. Brandon Williams (KR) Wisconsin 5-9 179 Big Ten punt return leader

3. Willie Reid (KR) Florida State 5-10½ 188 3 PRs for TDs in 2005

4. Skyler Green (KR) LSU 5-9 192 '03 NCAA punt return leader

5. Josh Huston (K) Ohio State 6-1 209 Scored 100 points in 2005

6. Ryan Plackemeyer (P) Wake Forest 6-3 253 Ray Guy Award winner

7. Cory Rodgers (KR) TCU 5-11½ 188 30.3 yard KR avg. in 2005

8. Ethan Kilmer (KC) Penn State 6-0½ 204 Former walk-on

9. Boone Stutz (DS) Texas A&M 6-5½ 259 Transfer from Alabama

10. Scott Paxson (KB) Penn State 6-4 292 Blocked 7 career kicks

11. Timi Wusu (KC) Stanford 6-2½ 219 All-Pac-10 kick coverman

12. Stephen Gostkowski (K) Memphis 6-1 212 70 career field goals

13. John Stelly (P) Louisiana-Monroe 5-10 197 3-time All-Sun Belt pick

14. Gavin Tarquinio (DS) Georgia Tech 6-3 253 Left-handed snapper

15. Buck Ortega (KC) Miami 6-4 227 Played QB, TE in career

K-kicker; P-punter; KR-kick returner; DS-deep snapper; KC-kick coverage; KB-kick blocker

Notable

COSTLY BLOCK: A brief cameo as a runner cost Arizona's Danny Baugher the NCAA punting championship. He was leading the NCAA through the first six weeks of the season but had a punt blocked by Oregon in the seventh game. He chased it down, scooped it up and raced 39 yards with it before being tackled on the sideline. It was costly hit; Baugher suffered a knee injury and was lost for the season. "It's the first time I've had anything major," Baugher said. "It was a shock. I'm not used to running the ball." His season ended with a 47.5-yard average on 37 punts – two short of qualifying for the NCAA crown.

RECORD SETTER: Ashlan Davis of Tulsa (and Mesquite Poteet) set an NCAA record with five kickoff returns for touchdowns in one season in 2004. A junior college transfer, Davis added a sixth kickoff return for a touchdown in 2005 to tie the career mark held by Anthony Davis of Southern California.

KICKERS: Stephen Gostkowski finished as the leading scorer in Memphis and Conference USA history with 370 points. Nick Bazaldua (North Texas) and Connor Hughes (Virginia) also finished as all-time leading scorers in school history. D.P. Fitzpatrick set a Notre Dame record by kicking 52 extra points in 2005.

PUNTERS: Wake Forest's Ryan Plackemeyer finished as the NCAA's all-time punting leader with a 45.3-yard average. Current Oakland Pro Bowler Shane Lechler ranks fourth on the list at 44.7 yards, and the legendary Ray Guy ranks fifth at 44.6. Sam Paulescu became the first All-Pac-10 punter in Oregon State history, and Steve Weatherford left Illinois as the school's all-time leading punter.

KICKOFF SPECIALISTS: Kurt Smith played in a school-record 51 games at Virginia as the Cavaliers' "other" kicker. Connor Hughes kicked Virginia's points, and Smith handled the kickoff chores. He boomed 187 of his 284 career kickoffs into the end zone, and 117 stayed there for touchbacks. Tony Yelk of Iowa State and Chris McMurtray of SMU also could get looks in the NFL as kickoff specialists.

DEEP SNAPPERS: Jeff Robinson spent seven seasons in the NFL as a tight end/deep snapper. Boone Stutz, Gavin Tarquinio, Jacob Guidry of McNeese State and Jeff Mullins of Marshall all doubled up at those positions in college. All except Tarquinio caught TD passes in their careers.

COVERMEN: Ethan Kilmer was a 1,000-point scorer as a high school basketball player who took up football at Shippensburg University. He spent a year there as a running back, then transferred to Penn State and walked on. He caught only 15 passes in his career but became the school's special teams ace with 29 career tackles in the kicking game. Buck Ortega was recruited to Miami as a quarterback and moved to tight end but evolved into a special teams ace with 16 tackles.

KICK BLOCKERS: Special teams ability is a little something extra an elite player can bring to the table in the NFL. Manny Lawson figures to go in the first round as a pass-rushing defensive end with his 10 sacks in 2005. But he also has a knack for blocking kicks, having rejected seven in his career. "There's a certain technique we use," Lawson said, "but the knack is 'want to.' If you want to get back there, you'll do whatever it takes to get back there." Haloti Ngata, the top defensive tackle on some draft boards, also blocked seven career kicks. The top kick blockers in this draft:

Player Pos. School Blocks

Manny Lawson DE North Carolina State 7

Haloti Ngata DT Oregon 7

Scott Paxson DT Penn State 7

Anthony Smith S Syracuse 6

Brandon Johnson LB Louisville 5

Nick Leaders DT Iowa State 5

Bernard Pollard S Purdue 5

Greg Estandia TE UNLV 4

Freddie Keiaho LB San Diego State 4

ALL IN THE FAMILY: Missouri State kicker Jon Scifres is the brother of Mike Scifres, who punts for the San Diego Chargers.

The best

DEVIN HESTER, MIAMI

The draft board abounds with superb kick returners. There are 20 players in this draft who returned punts and kickoffs in college and scored at least one touchdown. Maurice Drew and Devin Hester scored six touchdowns apiece. Drew will be drafted high as a running back. But Hester, Willie Reid, Brandon Williams and Skyler Green are likely to be mid-round selections as returners first.

Sleeper

JAXSON APPEL, S, TEXAS A&M: A former 1,800-yard rusher in high school, Appel started four years for the Aggies at safety and set school records for tackles by a defensive back in a season (135 in 2003) and career (344). He's not quite big enough, not quite fast enough for the NFL. Neither was Bill Bates, another classic overachiever.

Best of Texas

1. CORY RODGERS, KR, TCU Rodgers was the only returner to rank in the NCAA's top 10 in kickoffs and punts last season. He averaged 30.3 yards on kickoffs to finish third and 15.3 yards on punts to finish eighth. He also caught 150 career passes as a wide receiver. He's leaving TCU a year early to turn pro. Draft projection: Mid-rounds.

2. BOONE STUTZ, DS, TEXAS A&M Draft projection: Late rounds.

3. NICK BAZALDUA, K, NORTH TEXAS Draft projection: Late rounds/free agent

[untbowler]

best of luck to Nick, I am sure all of the mean green nation will listening for Nick anf hopefully Patrick's name to be called.

[BleedGreen64]

I saw it in the DMN. We are proud of him and wish him and all of the other exes the best of luck.

[LongJim]

Proud Mama!

Good luck, Nick!

[The Jason]

I'll be waiting to hear his name on Sunday! If he's not drafted, no doubt he'll be picked up on Monday. On my draft board I have him as 3rd best kicker avalible. It all depends on when that first kicker is taken.