By Jeremy Schilling
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. — Last year Monmouth sophomore kicker Eric Spillane set the single season record for field goals made in a season with 16. But there is always work to be done. This offseason is one for improvements after Spillane missed some important kicks down the stretch, most notably in a heartbreaking loss to Robert Morris.
But all is not normal for Spillane as spring practice has come with an extra set of duties for him this year: punting.
With second team all-NEC punter Jack Daniels graduating in a matter of weeks, Monmouth went looking for their next punter. And while head coach Kevin Callahan stressed they have not given him the job yet, they did not have to look far to find their first candidate.
“We knew he had done some punting in high school so we wanted to take spring practice as an opportunity to have him hit some punts and see what he could do,” Callahan said. “We do have a punter coming in and we’ll see what happens with that. But he’s done a pretty good job. He’s changed his footwork; I thought he’s improved in that area. He’s also improved in the timing of getting the punts off. There’s still some things we need to work on with him but it’s a good start.”
For Spillane, this added responsibility has forced him to call on past knowledge.
“It’s something that I’ve done in the past,” Spillane said. “I was pretty good at it. It’s just the fact that I haven’t done it in a year-and-a-half, two years, so I’m just getting back in the rhythm. It’s had its up and downs this spring but hopefully I’ll get more consistent at it.”
Due to the fact that he is still the Hawks placekicker, the coaches have him on a ball count to make sure he doesn’t over-kick.
“Definitely it’s important now that I’m doing both that I definitely have to split them evenly where I’m not over-kicking in one. It’s important to really limit the number of kicks in the beginning. Doing both is really a lot of stress.”
Callahan recently spoke of Spillane working this offseason on his timing for field goals. According to Spillane, it may only be tenths of a second that they are looking to erase but it can make a huge difference.
“I was a little too slow in my approach to the ball. I was getting 1.4-1.5’s [seconds] to getting the ball off, and that was causing it to get blocked. So I changed my steps up, made them shorter, so it’s getting me to the 1.3-1.25 range, which is what you want to have.”
Overall, Spillane has one goal this year, no matter what he is doing come September: to win.
“Number one goal is to help this team win. I would like to be more consistent as far as my timing and also field goals made. I missed a few last year in crucial positions. That happens, but I want to be more consistent, more clutch, and overall and more importantly just help this team win.”
