Colorado University Athletics
Photo by: Tony Harman
Brooks: Davis Price Comes Out Kicking (And Making) For Buffs
October 11, 2016 | Football, B.G. Brooks
True freshman has set a school record, hasn’t missed a FG or PAT
BOULDER – By trade, placekickers can be a superstitious lot. Colorado's Davis Price keeps his superstitions simple: He always warms up the same way on game day, kicks the same balls, and – before anything else in his ritual can be performed – always puts on and laces up his left cleat first.
It's not the foot he kicks with, but that's just the way it's always been for Price and it's very likely how it will always be.
You don't fix it if it ain't broken, you don't argue with results. And right now his results speak loudly. What Price is doing for the Buffs in the kicking game doesn't need fixing.
A true freshman from Evergreen, Price debuted as the Buffaloes' field goal kicker two games ago against Oregon State. His first field goal attempt wasn't what anyone might call a chip shot, and even sending Price onto the field to attempt it gave coach Mike MacIntyre pause as he watched the play unfold.
Recalled MacIntyre: "I was thinking, 'This is the first field this kid's every kicked and I'm sending him out for a 54 (yarder) . . . I'm going, 'Should I have let him kick it or should I have gone for it?'"
If Price made it, it would immediately put him in the CU record book as having kicked the longest field goal by a freshman. Price is now a school record-holder; his kick was good and his college career was launched.
Afterwards, MacIntyre had no reason for second-guessing himself. "Smart move by me," he joked. "That was a heck of a kick . . . I was really happy for him."
After that illustrious first make, Price has made his only two other attempts – a 22-yarder in the Buffs' 47-6 rout of the Beavers, a clutch 42-yarder last weekend in the 21-17 loss at USC – and is 7-for-7 on PAT attempts. He's also kicking off, but that role as well as the placement job is determined on a weekly basis.
Since No. 1 kicker Diego Gonzalez went out with an Achilles injury at Michigan in week four, Price has been competing with junior Chris Graham. After pair of blocked extra point tries by Graham, Price was summoned to kick PATs and try the long field goal against Oregon State.
He seized the opportunity and hasn't surprised himself by succeeding. After kicking off six times the previous weekend at Oregon, he knew he would be kicking off against Oregon State.
"But I was surprised when they put me in for field goals," he said. "My technique, my coaching is why I was able to do everything I did on the field."
And any first-game nerves disappeared quickly. "I think mainly trusting what you've been practicing for years, knowing that the snapper and holder are going to do their jobs – then you make sure and do your job," he said. "I just try to get rid of the nerves by basically trusting my technique."
But Price isn't the jittery type, according to his coach, Matt Thompson, director of quality control/special teams: "I think he's got ice in his veins to be honest with you. When we threw him out there for the 54 (yarder) I knew he wasn't nervous. I wasn't nervous. Then last week when he hit that clutch field goal, there were no worries in my mind. That's how I am with all our kickers to be honest. Snap, hold, I never worry about those guys. They put in the work and it shows on game day."
Price punted and place kicked in high school, earning all-state honors at both positions. He was a recruited walk-on, which means CU persuaded him to join the team and prove himself before offering a scholarship – which seems likely sooner than later. It can be a standard practice in the recruitment of kickers/punters, and although Price was considering "another couple of schools" he had CU at the top of his list for reasons that included a family tie.
His father, Doug, is a CU alum and a commercial airline pilot (United) who flew the Buffs' charter to and from Los Angeles last weekend. "It was cool seeing him get to do what he does, then he also got to see me in action too," Davis said.
That tie, as well as CU's improved facilities and an instant bonding with the coaching staff swayed the younger Price to accept the Buffs' walk-on offer.
"I was looking at a few different schools, but I always knew this is where I wanted to go," Davis said. "I came to watch a practice, loved the coaches, Matt Thompson was awesome and the new facilities were incredible. It seemed like the right place for me."
Thompson, in his first year in his current special teams role, was aware of Price's kicking talents at Evergreen High School but has gained more appreciation for his work ethic in fine-tuning his kicking. Place-kicking mechanics tend to be works in progress, particularly for young kickers like Price. Perfection always seems out of reach.
"Nobody's perfect mechanics-wise," Thompson said. "Even when the ball goes through the uprights, it's, 'Here's what you did wrong, here's what you did right. Fix it on the next one.' It's a position where you're far from perfect. But like I told coach, as long as it goes through the uprights I'm happy with it."
At the time of his injury, which has sidelined him for the season, Gonzalez had made all 16 of his PAT attempts and three of his four field goal tries. Having Price step up as he has in the past two games has been a relief for Thompson, who said the 6-2, 190-pound Price has "an immense amount of talent, so when we threw him in the fire I knew he was going to get the job done."
Against Michigan (a 45-28 loss), CU's special teams had issues – particularly in the punting game. The Buffs had one punt blocked, one returned for a touchdown, and yielded another TD after giving up field position via a botched rugby style punt attempt.
But the punt game issues have been addressed. Protection schemes have been tweaked and have improved. And Thompson said special teams improvement as a whole, "That's on the players. They're starting to get it more, starting to recognize schemes more. That's just helped them go out on the field and get the job done. I'm real confident with the way our special teams are performing right now."
Of punter Alex Kinney, Thompson said, "We're asking him to do a lot and he's getting the job done as best he can." Kinney's 42.5-yard gross average (34.1 net) is sixth in the Pac-12 Conference.
Last week, the Buffs faced the conference's top punt returner in Adoree' Jackson (18.7 yards per return), and this week they will be confronted by the No. 2 punt returner – Tim White (13.1 yards per return) of Arizona State, CU's opponent for homecoming at Folsom Field (6 p.m., Pac-12 Networks).
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
It's not the foot he kicks with, but that's just the way it's always been for Price and it's very likely how it will always be.
You don't fix it if it ain't broken, you don't argue with results. And right now his results speak loudly. What Price is doing for the Buffs in the kicking game doesn't need fixing.
A true freshman from Evergreen, Price debuted as the Buffaloes' field goal kicker two games ago against Oregon State. His first field goal attempt wasn't what anyone might call a chip shot, and even sending Price onto the field to attempt it gave coach Mike MacIntyre pause as he watched the play unfold.
Recalled MacIntyre: "I was thinking, 'This is the first field this kid's every kicked and I'm sending him out for a 54 (yarder) . . . I'm going, 'Should I have let him kick it or should I have gone for it?'"
If Price made it, it would immediately put him in the CU record book as having kicked the longest field goal by a freshman. Price is now a school record-holder; his kick was good and his college career was launched.
Afterwards, MacIntyre had no reason for second-guessing himself. "Smart move by me," he joked. "That was a heck of a kick . . . I was really happy for him."
After that illustrious first make, Price has made his only two other attempts – a 22-yarder in the Buffs' 47-6 rout of the Beavers, a clutch 42-yarder last weekend in the 21-17 loss at USC – and is 7-for-7 on PAT attempts. He's also kicking off, but that role as well as the placement job is determined on a weekly basis.
Since No. 1 kicker Diego Gonzalez went out with an Achilles injury at Michigan in week four, Price has been competing with junior Chris Graham. After pair of blocked extra point tries by Graham, Price was summoned to kick PATs and try the long field goal against Oregon State.
He seized the opportunity and hasn't surprised himself by succeeding. After kicking off six times the previous weekend at Oregon, he knew he would be kicking off against Oregon State.
"But I was surprised when they put me in for field goals," he said. "My technique, my coaching is why I was able to do everything I did on the field."
And any first-game nerves disappeared quickly. "I think mainly trusting what you've been practicing for years, knowing that the snapper and holder are going to do their jobs – then you make sure and do your job," he said. "I just try to get rid of the nerves by basically trusting my technique."
But Price isn't the jittery type, according to his coach, Matt Thompson, director of quality control/special teams: "I think he's got ice in his veins to be honest with you. When we threw him out there for the 54 (yarder) I knew he wasn't nervous. I wasn't nervous. Then last week when he hit that clutch field goal, there were no worries in my mind. That's how I am with all our kickers to be honest. Snap, hold, I never worry about those guys. They put in the work and it shows on game day."
Price punted and place kicked in high school, earning all-state honors at both positions. He was a recruited walk-on, which means CU persuaded him to join the team and prove himself before offering a scholarship – which seems likely sooner than later. It can be a standard practice in the recruitment of kickers/punters, and although Price was considering "another couple of schools" he had CU at the top of his list for reasons that included a family tie.
His father, Doug, is a CU alum and a commercial airline pilot (United) who flew the Buffs' charter to and from Los Angeles last weekend. "It was cool seeing him get to do what he does, then he also got to see me in action too," Davis said.
That tie, as well as CU's improved facilities and an instant bonding with the coaching staff swayed the younger Price to accept the Buffs' walk-on offer.
"I was looking at a few different schools, but I always knew this is where I wanted to go," Davis said. "I came to watch a practice, loved the coaches, Matt Thompson was awesome and the new facilities were incredible. It seemed like the right place for me."
Thompson, in his first year in his current special teams role, was aware of Price's kicking talents at Evergreen High School but has gained more appreciation for his work ethic in fine-tuning his kicking. Place-kicking mechanics tend to be works in progress, particularly for young kickers like Price. Perfection always seems out of reach.
"Nobody's perfect mechanics-wise," Thompson said. "Even when the ball goes through the uprights, it's, 'Here's what you did wrong, here's what you did right. Fix it on the next one.' It's a position where you're far from perfect. But like I told coach, as long as it goes through the uprights I'm happy with it."
At the time of his injury, which has sidelined him for the season, Gonzalez had made all 16 of his PAT attempts and three of his four field goal tries. Having Price step up as he has in the past two games has been a relief for Thompson, who said the 6-2, 190-pound Price has "an immense amount of talent, so when we threw him in the fire I knew he was going to get the job done."
Against Michigan (a 45-28 loss), CU's special teams had issues – particularly in the punting game. The Buffs had one punt blocked, one returned for a touchdown, and yielded another TD after giving up field position via a botched rugby style punt attempt.
But the punt game issues have been addressed. Protection schemes have been tweaked and have improved. And Thompson said special teams improvement as a whole, "That's on the players. They're starting to get it more, starting to recognize schemes more. That's just helped them go out on the field and get the job done. I'm real confident with the way our special teams are performing right now."
Of punter Alex Kinney, Thompson said, "We're asking him to do a lot and he's getting the job done as best he can." Kinney's 42.5-yard gross average (34.1 net) is sixth in the Pac-12 Conference.
Last week, the Buffs faced the conference's top punt returner in Adoree' Jackson (18.7 yards per return), and this week they will be confronted by the No. 2 punt returner – Tim White (13.1 yards per return) of Arizona State, CU's opponent for homecoming at Folsom Field (6 p.m., Pac-12 Networks).
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
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