Denim Millward
Sports Editor
Think about the last time a kicker made headlines.
Better yet, think about any notable kicker-related story you remember.
Chances are, the story you came up with didn’t have a single positive thing to say about the poor soul who pushed a potentially game-winning kick wide right or doinked a chip shot field goal off the goalpost, dooming his team to a defeat.
Idaho State placekicker Brendon Garcia is all too familiar with the thanklessness that comes with kicking. The Danville, Calif., native had a 2012 season that mirrored the Bengals overall performance.
Connecting on just 6 of 16 field goal attempts in 2012, Garcia went into offseason workouts competing against incoming freshman Zak Johnson for kicking duties.
Garcia had an impressive enough showing to hang on to his job. Still, when ISU head coach Mike Kramer was asked “how long a leash,” or how much job security, Garcia would have, “not much of one,” was Kramer’s immediate reply.
Though he had performed well in practices and scrimmages, the pressure remained on Garcia to perform.
Whatever changes Garcia made to his mental state from 2012 to 2013 were extremely effective in ISU’s first two games. He went a perfect 7-7 over his first two games, including a career-long 50-yarder. One missed extra point following a bad snap was the only blemish on Garcia’s 2013 kicking résumé.
Whether it was the magnitude of the crowd, lapses in focus or just bad luck, Garcia missed his first two field goals of the season in last Saturday’s loss to the Washington Huskies.
The first miss was from 48 yards, only two yards short of his personal best and by no means a chip shot.
The second miss was from a much more makeable 38 yards. As a visibly frustrated Garcia walked off the field, observers couldn’t help but wonder if thoughts of doubt and memories to last year’s debacle started to creep into his mind after his second miss, or possibly even his first.
If history is any indication on how the story will unfold, whispers of wanting the unreliable Garcia replaced with Zak Johnson will begin to spread, and Garcia’s sparkling performance over the first two games will quickly be forgotten.
History would also say Garcia’s confidence will continue to erode until all the ridicule and second-guessing becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, eventually costing the senior his job.
Despite this, Garcia does have a few things going for him. He has shown he can come back from disappointing performance to succeed.
Whatever mental blocks that caused his poor 2012 campaign were successfully shaken off, at least for the first two games of the season.
If Garcia can overcome a dismal 2012 that saw him convert only 37.5 percent of his field goal attempts, coming back from one bad game is firmly in the realm of possibility.
