Alex Kinney is one of seven captains for Colorado football this year.
Punter Alex Kinney Named Team Captain, Member of Ray Guy Award Watch List
July 30, 2018 | Football
BOULDER – When Colorado senior punter Alex Kinney's teammates selected him to be one of seven team captains this year, it was a historic moment.
The Fort Collins native is the first punter to be named captain for the Buffs in more than 30 years. The last punter to be named a Buffs captain was Barry Helton in 1987, who went on to be selected as an All-American.
"I hope they trust and respect me no matter the position I play," Kinney said. "Kicking is really one-and-done. Either you did really good or you did really bad."
Kinney believes his work ethic was noticed by teammates, and helped him earn their respect when it came time to choose captains.
"I am not much of a verbal leader, I like to lead by example," he said. "I think during this offseason, I really proved that I should have a shot at being captain. My teammates ended up agreeing with that. I am looking forward to it. I think at times, I need to step up and be more vocal. I think I am pretty verbal with our special teams. I am working on being more vocal but I am starting off with special teams, which I know best."
Kinney is coming off of a solid junior season, when he averaged just under 44 yards with a CU-record 28 punts inside the 20. No punter in the FBS had a better average than Kinney over the final five weeks of the regular season (49.3 yards per attempt).
Through years of ups and downs along with a few coaching changes, Kinney is optimistic about the group he has going into his senior season.
"I think our special teams coaching staff has always been very good regardless of some of the changes we've been through," he said. "I don't think that has ever really affected me. Looking back at the first few seasons, which weren't the best, I think people really started to understand that punting can win and lose games."
Kinney said the presence of dedicated special teams coaches, Ross Els, Matt Thompson, and Daniel Da Prato have all been a big influence on the entire special teams unit.
"No one is around the specialists more than we are around ourselves," Kinney said. "I think having someone in that specialist room that can help motivate, keep everyone on track, and really push us is something we needed this year. I think we have that.
Kinney is most grateful for the relationships he has built with his teammates over his time at Colorado.
"The biggest thing is just getting to know people more," he said. "Over the offseason, I would start to sit with other people and get to talking. You start to learn where people are from. As a freshman, you realize that many of the elder guys you meet may be gone next year. Now that I am I senior, I will be gone next year and I want to get to know people."
Recently, Kinney participated in the Kohl's 2018 National Elite Camp in Whitewater, Wis., joining a host of other college specialists as well as NFL free agents. The camp featured a variety of drills, and he also spent two days teaching punting techniques at local Wisconsin high schools.
Although Kinney has been a consistent player for the Buffaloes over the last three seasons, he believes he still has plenty of room to get better.
"At this point in my career, that list of things to improve is smaller than it was," he said. "But there are still things I can change and work on so it is always good to learn and see what other punters are doing."
Along with his punting duties, Kinney also serves as the holder for kicker James Stefanou, a position that requires perfect timing and the split-second coordinated efforts of snapper, holder and kicker.
"I will be focusing on holding a lot this year," Kinney said. "I think that's a big thing. I want James to feel comfortable. James feeling comfortable will help me feel comfortable when I am punting. I also want to continue to work on punting in bad weather. I want special teams to be one less thing coach (Mike MacIntyre) has to worry about."
Kinney last week was one of 27 punters nationally named to preseason watch list for the Ray Guy Award, presented annually to the nation's top collegiate punter. Since the award began in 2000, the Buffs have collected one Ray Guy winner, Mark Mariscal in 2002.
NOTABLE STATISTICS OF KOHL'S KICKING ATHLETES
· 75% of NFL Teams have Kohl's athletes
· 99.2% of Division I FBS teams have a Kohl's kicking athlete
· In 2017, 50 Kohl's athletes were on NFL rosters for week 1 of the NFL Preseason.
· 15 of the last 18 NFL drafted specialists over the past 5 years have been Kohl's kicking attendees.
JT BALE AT COACH ZAUNER'S SNAPPERS ONLY CAMP: Earlier this month, Colorado long snapper J.T. Bale was coached by former 13-year NFL special teams coordinator Gary Zauner at Zauner's Vital Man long snapping camp in Milwaukee. Bale, a former walk-on, was awarded a full scholarship by the team during the summer of 2017. Phil Steele College Football has named Bale as a preseason second-team All-American long snapper and preseason All-Pac-12 first-team.
The Fort Collins native is the first punter to be named captain for the Buffs in more than 30 years. The last punter to be named a Buffs captain was Barry Helton in 1987, who went on to be selected as an All-American.
"I hope they trust and respect me no matter the position I play," Kinney said. "Kicking is really one-and-done. Either you did really good or you did really bad."
Kinney believes his work ethic was noticed by teammates, and helped him earn their respect when it came time to choose captains.
"I am not much of a verbal leader, I like to lead by example," he said. "I think during this offseason, I really proved that I should have a shot at being captain. My teammates ended up agreeing with that. I am looking forward to it. I think at times, I need to step up and be more vocal. I think I am pretty verbal with our special teams. I am working on being more vocal but I am starting off with special teams, which I know best."
Kinney is coming off of a solid junior season, when he averaged just under 44 yards with a CU-record 28 punts inside the 20. No punter in the FBS had a better average than Kinney over the final five weeks of the regular season (49.3 yards per attempt).
Through years of ups and downs along with a few coaching changes, Kinney is optimistic about the group he has going into his senior season.
"I think our special teams coaching staff has always been very good regardless of some of the changes we've been through," he said. "I don't think that has ever really affected me. Looking back at the first few seasons, which weren't the best, I think people really started to understand that punting can win and lose games."
Kinney said the presence of dedicated special teams coaches, Ross Els, Matt Thompson, and Daniel Da Prato have all been a big influence on the entire special teams unit.
"No one is around the specialists more than we are around ourselves," Kinney said. "I think having someone in that specialist room that can help motivate, keep everyone on track, and really push us is something we needed this year. I think we have that.
Kinney is most grateful for the relationships he has built with his teammates over his time at Colorado.
"The biggest thing is just getting to know people more," he said. "Over the offseason, I would start to sit with other people and get to talking. You start to learn where people are from. As a freshman, you realize that many of the elder guys you meet may be gone next year. Now that I am I senior, I will be gone next year and I want to get to know people."
Recently, Kinney participated in the Kohl's 2018 National Elite Camp in Whitewater, Wis., joining a host of other college specialists as well as NFL free agents. The camp featured a variety of drills, and he also spent two days teaching punting techniques at local Wisconsin high schools.
Although Kinney has been a consistent player for the Buffaloes over the last three seasons, he believes he still has plenty of room to get better.
"At this point in my career, that list of things to improve is smaller than it was," he said. "But there are still things I can change and work on so it is always good to learn and see what other punters are doing."
Along with his punting duties, Kinney also serves as the holder for kicker James Stefanou, a position that requires perfect timing and the split-second coordinated efforts of snapper, holder and kicker.
"I will be focusing on holding a lot this year," Kinney said. "I think that's a big thing. I want James to feel comfortable. James feeling comfortable will help me feel comfortable when I am punting. I also want to continue to work on punting in bad weather. I want special teams to be one less thing coach (Mike MacIntyre) has to worry about."
Kinney last week was one of 27 punters nationally named to preseason watch list for the Ray Guy Award, presented annually to the nation's top collegiate punter. Since the award began in 2000, the Buffs have collected one Ray Guy winner, Mark Mariscal in 2002.
NOTABLE STATISTICS OF KOHL'S KICKING ATHLETES
· 75% of NFL Teams have Kohl's athletes
· 99.2% of Division I FBS teams have a Kohl's kicking athlete
· In 2017, 50 Kohl's athletes were on NFL rosters for week 1 of the NFL Preseason.
· 15 of the last 18 NFL drafted specialists over the past 5 years have been Kohl's kicking attendees.
JT BALE AT COACH ZAUNER'S SNAPPERS ONLY CAMP: Earlier this month, Colorado long snapper J.T. Bale was coached by former 13-year NFL special teams coordinator Gary Zauner at Zauner's Vital Man long snapping camp in Milwaukee. Bale, a former walk-on, was awarded a full scholarship by the team during the summer of 2017. Phil Steele College Football has named Bale as a preseason second-team All-American long snapper and preseason All-Pac-12 first-team.
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