Sophomore place kicker Zane Gonzalez kicks a field goal in the 2nd half of the game against Washington on Oct. 25. ASU defeated Washington 24-10 at Husky Stadium in Seattle. (Photo by Andrew Ybanez)With three straight wins, two of which came on the road, the ASU football team is riding high into its Homecoming game with Utah Saturday.
From the beginning of the season, no unit of the team has had a bigger improvement than the special teams. Coach Todd Graham said that one of the key matchups heading into this weekend's game is the kicking units of both squads.
"This game is going to be a game with the best kickers in the league are in this game," Graham said. "I think that's going to be a big factor in this. Their punter (junior Tom Hackett) is absolutely phenomenal and obviously (sophomore punter) Matt (Haack) was absolutely phenomenal for us last week and he has the potential to be special. He's going to have to go up against the best in the league and rise to the occasion this week."
Hackett has punted 44 times this season and nearly half of them have been downed inside the 20-yard line. His longest of the season was 66 yards and he averages 47 yards per kick.
Haack was arguably ASU's most important player against Washington, averaging 46.6 yards per punt in howling winds to help the Sun Devils win the field position battle.
"Matt has more potential and more talent than any guy we've ever been around," Graham said. "That's what I told him at the beginning of the year...and you're seeing him kind of come into his own. When you go up in that kind of conditions, and nobody really focused much on that, his punting was a huge factor. Over 100 yards in field position. I've got a lot of confidence in Matt. Matt is so talented and I think he's going to be a great one.
Graham said he also believes that the kickers, sophomores Zane Gonzalez for ASU and Andy Phillips for Utah, are two of the best in the country.
"I think the two placekickers are two of the better in the country, so I think that's going to be a big factor too," Graham said.
In addition to the improvement of Haack, Graham said the he has seen a lot of improvement from all three of his kickers.
"Our kicking group has really improved," Graham said. "I've got the utmost confidence in Zane, he's the best I've ever had at kicking field goals. I thought the three kicks that (senior) Alex (Garoutte) had, the last three kicks of the game, the one he kicks out of the end zone, he just crushed it to the right, and then he skied one that caused a fumble and then the one he drove deep away from the returner was big."
Additional Notes:
-Graham said that redshirt senior quarterback Taylor Kelly was "fine" after taking a hard hit on the go-ahead touchdown against Washington and will start on Saturday. He said that redshirt junior lineman Christian Westerman is doubtful this week, but the injury should not be a long-term concern.
Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Tonis_The_Tiger
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