※ 引述《Theodor (消失的神話)》之銘言：
: ※ 引述《keanesea (大地的孩子)》之銘言：
: : 為什麼大學隊裡頭沒有Punter？還是他們都是以Kicker來Punt的呀？
: 也許吧，看他們的Kickers蠻多的 :)
話說回來，Duke有Punter耶，而且這一季很有名，叫Brian Morton
至於他為什麼有名呢？也許跟戰績有關吧
Duke本季戰績：0勝11敗（籃球迷聽到心臟一定會停掉一陣子）
可想而知他們每場比賽會出現多少次Punt...
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作者: Theodor (消失的神話) 看板: NCAA
標題: Duke's Morton tabbed All-American
時間: Tue Dec 12 21:36:55 2000
(U-WIRE) DURHAM, N.C. -- It is unusual to read about a punter (quick,
name any two punters in the NFL). Usually, punters are the least-recognized
players on a football team. But not at Duke, where punter Brian Morton
received more acclaim than the skill players this season.
But that is not the only unusual thing about Morton's case. Here is something
else-his accomplishments are contingent on his team failing. Morton set the
conference record for punts in a career, but only because the Duke offense
was stopped more often on third down than any other team.
"Unfortunately, we punted way more times than we would have liked the past four years," Morton
acknowledged. "The only thing I can say is that I'm glad I was able to get the [record for punt
yardage] along with it. The number of punts was out of my control. It just means nobody has beat me
out in the past four years and I haven't been injured."
But Morton is special for more reasons than that. The 6-foot-6, 227-pound senior breaks the mold of
the stereotypical kicker. It might be unusual to hear about a punter going through weight-training with
the rest of the team, but this story is nothing if not unusual.
"I do the same workouts that everybody else does," Morton said. "I never thought of myself as a
kicker, I think of myself just as a football player who can kick. We participate in all the workouts with
the other guys, the only thing we don't do is go out there and hit."
Working out 10-12 hours a week in the off-season and 20 hours a week in season, but only 30-45
minutes a day on punting, may seem unusual for a player whose sole responsibility is to punt. But that
is the life of Brian. Despite what Monday-morning quarterbacks will have you believe, punting is not
the easiest way to a free education.
"Punters and kickers are isolated by the pressure on them," special teams coach Joe DeForrest said.
"Defensive or offensive players play 60 or 80 plays, and a player can screw up one play and nobody
would notice unless he's the quarterback. But kickers make maybe eight or nine plays, and if a kicker
screws up one time everyone will see it."
Morton realizes that punting is not a profession that makes career counselors smile.
"It's a very difficult position to go on because each team only carries one punter," said the senior. "I'm
not basing my career plan around it. I love punting.... If I get the chance to get paid to do something I
love to do that would be a dream come true."
Despite his conference records (282 punts for 12,000 yards) and awards (first-team All-ACC and
Football Writers Association of America All-American), Morton maintains his modesty. When he won
the All-ACC honor with 54 first-place votes, 50 more than second-place finisher Keith Cottrell of
Florida State, Morton only found out by accident.
"Originally, I was just trying to see how the basketball team did last week when I was in London,"
Morton said. "I went to GoDuke.com and it came up."
The punter is quick to acknowledge his blocking line, especially long snapper Seth Carter.
"I'll give Seth this compliment," Morton said. "I caught snaps from Patrick Mannely [of the Chicago
Bears] my freshman year and Seth is as accurate as he is and very comparable in speed. I can't say
enough about how well he did this year. One of the keys for my success was his success."
For the year, Morton only had one kick blocked ("it still went 35 yards," he chuckles) and one
mishandled snap, which the punter blamed on himself.
Morton found other ways besides punting to help the team out. Since he was the backup quarterback
as well as the punter for Auburndale High School, he acts as the scout team quarterback and also
throws balls to the defensive backs in practice. But most importantly, he acts as a leader to the kicking
unit.
"He was willing to do whatever it took to make us the best punt team in the nation," Carter said.
Morton would often help the true freshman look at tape of upcoming opponents and discuss blocking
technique and work ethic.
Morton even roomed with Carter on road trips to bolster their on-field relationship. "You don't see
that often with a senior and a freshman, but I asked to be his roommate," Morton said.
This bond helped Morton become the second-ranked punter in the NCAA with a 45.17-yard average
(.05 behind Minnesota's Preston Gruening). In six of Duke's 11 games, a Morton punt went at least
60 yards.
But Morton is quick to dispel the myth that the reason for his success was the amount of times that he
was called to duty due to Duke's lackluster offense. He punted the least against N.C. State (four
times) and averaged 47.5 yards, while against Florida State he punted 10 times for only 421 total
yards.
Morton's greatest punt happened last year, when Clemson saw first-hand what an 80-yard punt looks
like.
"A play like that is like a Mark McGwire 520-foot home run-everything just goes right," Morton said.
"A difference of half an inch is the difference between a 60-yarder and an 80-yarder."
Even though he has achieved his success through his foot, Morton still finds himself a quarterback at
heart.
"Everyone in the back of their mind wants to be the quarterback," said Morton, who described his
dream play as throwing a touchdown pass on a fake punt. In reality, he has thrown four passes for
Duke on fakes. But only one pass went for a first down, and one was an interception against North
Carolina last year.
"He has an outstanding arm," said DeForrest. "But we like to concentrate on what he does best, and
that's kicking the football."
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