Just for kicks
September 8, 2006
Oftentimes, football kickers are the butt of jokes of their teammates, but in the case of the Cyclones, kicker Bret Culbertson will be a key in the success of the offense.
Culbertson, a junior who was originally a walk-on from Des Moines Lincoln before he was thrust into the place-kicker role partway into the 2004 season, is now in charge of the kicking duties for one of the more potent offenses in the nation.
“He’s a guy we have to have to be successful,” coach Dan McCarney said. “We can’t afford to sacrifice that part of the game. We have to know we have a guy that we can count on when we need three points, and he’s that guy.”
McCarney said last spring and again during fall practice that Culbertson has been showing plenty of confidence and that he is not concerned that some of Culbertson’s more high-profile misses have shaken the kicker.
“He hasn’t missed a lot of kicks here,” McCarney said “He’s missed a few at the end of games, but he’s been real solid and consistent for us.”
In fact, Culbertson is an impressive 21-of-27 on his career for field goals with a long of 45 yards. He is also a perfect 54-for-54 on extra points.
Culbertson said it’s playing time that has led to his improvement and his comfort level during games.
“It’s all about being out on the field,” Culbertson said. “That’s probably what’s helped me the most in getting accustomed to it. It’s just about going out there and doing your job and not worrying about everything else.”
Culbertson said this was especially true early in his career, since he was taken somewhat by surprise when he was named place-kicker.
At Des Moines Lincoln, Culbertson said he was originally a soccer player, but he kicked for the football team, earning first-team all-conference honors his senior season, also booting a 52-yard field goal.
Then, at Iowa State, through the early games of the 2004 season, the Cyclones’ kicking game was in shambles. Culbertson began traveling with the team to do kickoffs against Colorado, and then two games later made his first two field goal attempts against Kansas.
Culbertson had just walked on to the team two months previous and said he just had to go with the decision to name him placekicker.
“It was kind of a surprise when they threw me in there,” Culbertson said.
“They asked me to travel to try kickoffs, but I never dreamt that I’d be doing field goals that game too. It was just kind of spur of the moment so I just kind of went with it.”
Culbertson adapted to the challenge right away and was 8-of-10 on field goals in 2005 and hasn’t looked back since, especially at his few misses.
“You’ve just got to put [misses] behind you,” Culbertson said.
“It’s always the next kick that matters. The next snap, the next punt, whatever you’re doing, it’s the next one that matters. You can’t dwell on it, whether it’s good or not.”
As far as in game rituals go, Culbertson said he likes to get involved in watching the game and even talks to teammates before his kicks, a big no-no for other kickers.
Culbertson said that talking to teammates helps him stay loose and in the flow of the game, since he may kick a field goal in the first quarter, but may not step onto the field again for 30 minutes or an hour in some cases.
“It’s tough, some guys like to stay away from the hype of the game, but I like to get into things and talk to guys,” Culbertson said.
“It makes me feel more like a part of the game and team.
“Sometimes you’ll see me on the sidelines riding the bike because you have to stay loose, and I’ll kick in the net. I’d like to go out and take shots at the field goals, but we can’t.”
Culbertson got off to a good start in 2006 against Toledo, converting a 39-yard field goal attempt and going 4-for-4 on extra points.
Culbertson was set to try a second field goal, but a snapping mishap caused the Cyclones to abort the attempt.
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