Garcia hit from 56 in 1995 ā thatās still the school record.
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Ehā¦ were you watching the team in the Bronco years? Because I remember years when we werenāt reliable at point-after attempts, let alone actual FGs. Sure, itād be nice to have a kicker with more range, but having someone who can hit 80% of medium range kicks is something Iām deeply appreciative of and I hope we keep him another year.
We could do better, but we could also do a LOT worse. Ohio State lost to Indiana in part because they missed a 27-yard FG in the final minutes. If the Buckeyes donāt have a reliable kicker short-to-mid range kicker it would be unwise to assume UVA should be able to do even better than that.
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That feels like a big deal yeah?
Hereās a follow-up. Would you rather have Bettridge or Arizonaās Salgado-Medina whoās season-long was a 57 yarder and he went 3/5 from 50+ yards? Youād probably say Salgado-Medina, right?
Except that Salgado-Medina only went 5/12 from 40-49 yards (vs Bettridgeās 7/10) and 6/9 from 30-39 (vs Bettridgeās 7/7). You get the booming leg, but you also miss the 40-yarders that feel like they should be gimmes. How do you feel about that tradeoff?
Oh, you want someone who can do both and is a good bet to kick in the NFL? Like Oklahomaās Tate Sandell who hit 96% of his kicks, including 7/7 from 50+ and a season-long of 55 yards? Sure, that would be nice, but he was arguably the best kicker in the country out of ~170ish guys, there just arenāt that many guys like that, and everyone else wants someone like that as well.
Bettridge was tied for 14th in all of college football for most made 40-49 yard field goals. Thatās pretty good. Expand it to 40+ yard makes and Bettridge was tied for 35th. Bettridge was certainly in the top third, and probably the top quarter of all college football kickers. Yes, he has limitations and there are better guys out there, but expecting to reliably get someone better than him is over-optimistic.
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It is and it isnāt. Mekhi has talent and could be a really solid player but he just hasnāt been able to get on the field due to injuries.
Weāve got Melton, Camac, and Koudelka coming back for next year and Iād assume our staff will be in the market for one or two more premier pass rushers, so there wasnāt a clear path to playing time for Mekhi.
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StLouHoo listed him as someone to watch to see if he could step it up for next season, but called him āburiedā on the roster and noted it didnāt look good for him for even next season for playing time.
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Nope. Will improve his spot via the portal.
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I liked Buchanans upside but like others have said the injuries kept him off the field too much. Iām mostly disappointed cause he has so eligibility left.
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Not really. We can return a lot on the defensive line and he has battled multiple injuries. good player when healthy though
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The big advantage of having a kicker whose range was only about 45 yards was that it forced CTE to go for fourth downs more often. I suspect that if he had more faith in his kicker, heād be a lot less aggressive.
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Harry dalton is transferring from USC. Maybe he wants to come back home?
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Brad Franklin retweeted this, soā¦
https://twitter.com/Hayesfawcett3/status/1999259584406651019
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Multiple places saying weāll have interest. VT apparently as well.
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Yāall hearing or thinking anyone else?
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UVA people on twitter going feral over the freshman qb from Mercer. Is there a Virginia connection there or is that just wishcasting (which Iām all for by the way)
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247 sub would know the most
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Maybe? Heās from the Raleigh area. Downing and Gaither recruit NC (both from there and Downing played at Elon and Gaither at NC Central). Mike Adams coached at Mercer, but he was on the staff prior to Mike Jacobs, who just left for Toledo. Taylor Lamb played at App State and coached at Gardner-Webb.
One of those guys might have a connection with the kid or the current (now former) Mercer staff. But nothing stands out.
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Guarantee our staff has a lot of ties with Mercer.
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What do you guys make of the Mercer QB? Would probably prefer an older QB but his numbers are impressive minus the last game where he threw 4 picks. Risky but tons of upside.
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