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July 25, 2008
OXFORD, Ohio - Miami University football's special teams are in good hands--and feet--in 2008, according to head coach Shane Montgomery.
Experience overflows at punter and placekicker, and exciting young, yet proven talent abounds among the return men.
At the head of the class is fifth-year senior punter JAKE RICHARDSON from Oxford. He finished the year with a 45.0 punting average, sixth-best in the nation, just 1.8 yards per kick behind the nation's leader in Kevin Huber of Cincinnati. The Ray Guy Award candidate sat out spring drills with a leg injury, but Montgomery expects him to be near the top of his game come fall camp.
"Jake Richardson is one of the best punters in the United States, especially in our conference," said Montgomery. "He's really improved all four years he's been with us. Jake is a guy who's never satisfied and continues to work on the things he needs to work on. When you have a guy like him, I tell our quarterbacks to just make sure that each possession ends with a kick, and if it happens to end with a punt, we're still in good shape. Jake consistently averages close to 45 yards a punt. He's done a better job of pinning opponents back and he will continue to improve."
Senior NATE PARSEGHIAN (Sylvania) and junior Trevor Cook (Sioux Falls, SD) are a pair of experienced placekickers. Parseghian led the RedHawks in scoring last year, kicking 13-of-20 field goals, including a record-tying five-for-five effort at Ohio which won him MAC Player of the Week honors on the final week of the regular season. Cook, who converted five-of-10 field goals in 2007 lost his job to Parseghian midway through last year.
"In Nate and Trevor, we feel like we've got two kickers who are very capable," said Montgomery. "They've both got a lot of experience. They performed very well at times and have been inconsistent at times. Nate had his best spring by far. He's kicking the ball as well as he's ever kicked it. He will continue to be our starter and looks to improve where he left off in the spring. Trevor is a guy who has a ton of potential. Last year he was a little inconsistent and he's got to continue to improve. Both those guys have game experience, and that's something that doesn't come easy. Nate and Trevor have been in those situations before and have made a lot of very important kicks for us over the last couple of years."
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Montgomery also is high on incoming freshman punter/placekicker JIM BROADWAY (Roswell, GA).
"Broadway is a very accomplished punter and placekicker," he said. "We've got to find out early what's the best position for him. It's hard to do both. The good thing is that we have a lot of experience in front of Jim and we shouldn't have to throw him in too early."
Miami also has two important veterans in senior holder Kyle Decker (Granville) and sophomore long snapper Mike Rummler (Cincinnati).
In sophomore return specialists Eugene Harris (Atlanta, GA) and Jamal Rogers (Fort Myers, FL), Montgomery feels like he has lightning in a bottle.
"Our return game is in really good shape," said Montgomery. "As a punt returner, Eugene had a really solid freshman year last year, probably as good as anyone with the exception of Rion Robinson when he was here. He gives us a chance to hit a home run every time he touches the ball. Jamal Rogers set our all-time single-season kickoff return yardage record in 2007, and got better and better as the year went along. He got really comfortable with that position and took a couple of runs to the house, including a long one against OU. We've also got Chris Givens back there. Those three are sophomores who will continue to get better and I'm glad they're going to be around for a long time."
Just five weeks remain until Miami's 2008 football campaign begins on August 28 against Southeastern Conference foe Vanderbilt.
The rest of Miami's home schedule finds Charleston Southern (Sept. 13), Temple (Oct. 4), Kent State (Oct. 25), Ball State (Nov. 11) and Ohio (Nov. 28) coming to Oxford.
RedHawk football season tickets are now on sale and can be purchased by calling 1-866-MU-HAWKS (684-2957) or 529-HAWK for renewal assistance. Season tickets for chair-back seats are $115, while general seating is $99.
THE EXTRA-POINT PACKAGE, 20 people or more: $15 per person
-includes reserved seats
-25% discount on game day tickets
-group recognition over the PA system
-special RedHawks gift for group leader
THE TWO-POINT CONVERSION, 50 people or more: $12 per person
-includes reserved seats
-40% discount on game day tickets
-group recognition over the PA/Video board system
-special RedHawks gift for group leader
-participate in the Fan Tunnel
THE TOUCHDOWN PACKAGE, 100 people or more: $10 per person
-includes reserved seats
-50% discount on game day tickets
-group recognition over the PA/Video board system
-participate in the Fan Tunnel
-autographed football from player/coach for group leader
--www.MURedHawks.com--
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