Consistent punter Brooks ready to take game to next level


Clark Judge April 10, 2008
By Clark Judge
CBSSports.com Senior Writer

Tell Clark your opinion! (Iowahorse edit: I'll bet he don't want us to really do that, most of his brainstorms = fail.)

Georgia Tech's Durant Brooks is my kind of punter, and not because he's the best one in this year's NFL draft, but because he has an appreciation for the best one in any NFL Draft.

I'm talking, of course, of Ray Guy, and consider Brooks an expert on the former Oakland star. He knows him. He was coached by him. And he won the award named after him.

"It all started when my mom sold him a horse," Brooks said of their relationship. "He was buying a horse for his daughter and she mentioned me; that I was a punter in high school. He was like, 'You know, you ought to send him to one of my camps.' I went that summer before my senior year and got to know him really well."

So well, in fact, that before the February NFL scouting combine, Brooks went back to Guy to brush up on a few basics. Something must have clicked because when you talk to scouts and special teams coaches Brooks is the first name they mention among punters in this year's draft class.

He can punt directionally. He can launch bombs. He can deaden the ball inside the 20. And he never had a kick blocked.

"He's all about consistency," said an NFL special teams coordinator. "He really takes pride in his profession. Everything equates and relates to what he does on the field. He has a strong leg and enormous hang time, and he's as consistent as they come."

Guy might have something to do with that. When he was the Raiders there was no better punter anywhere. In fact, there hasn't been a better punter anywhere since. Guy was the platinum bar by which others were -- and are -- measured, though you wouldn't know it stopping in at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Ray Guy isn't there, and don't ask me why. Don't ask Brooks, either.

"I didn't realize how many times he's been up for the Hall of Fame and hasn't gotten it," he said. "It's a shame. I've talked to special teams' coaches around here, and they say he's the best and should be in the Hall of Fame. I said I'm going to vouch for him if I make it to the next level."

If? Better make that when.

It's not Durant's 45.1-yard average that was so impressive last season as it was his ability to stick kicks inside the 20. He dropped 33 -- or over half his 65 punts -- inside the 20, with another 21 that were fair catches.

But that's not all, folks. He hammered a career-best 77-yarder against North Carolina. He hit one for 66 against Army and another for 61 yards against Virginia. He had five punts of 50 or more yards against Boston College, with four downed inside the 20.

But if that doesn't catch the attention of an NFL head coach, maybe this will: The average starting point for opponents following a Brooks' punt was the 18-yard line. With the emphasis in today's pro game on field position, a punter like Brooks becomes more than an asset; he becomes a weapon.

Brooks was also a two-time first-team All-ACC choice and holds the league record for career average (45.31), but his greatest accomplishment was outpolling 55 other punters last season nominated for the Ray Guy award.

"It was just awesome," Brooks said. "He (Guy) taught me everything -- especially in high school. He taught me hang time, about (kicking) inside the 20 and about drop. He gave me his mindset of what he went through and how he did drills and what he did before games."

If Brooks can produce a pro career similar to his teacher's some NFL club will be better, much better, for it. Heck, the NFL will be better, too. I never saw a punter as proficient as Ray Guy, but I'd sure like to see his prized pupil.

"I can't think of a greater guy to have as a mentor," Durant said.