Bobby Cowan’s 10 punting appearances during the loss to Texas A&M were the result of a lack of offensive production in College Station.
The junior punter’s claim to fame followed an the offensive struggle and after his final boot of the evening, a 52-yarder, Cowan had racked up more total punting yards than any other punter in the FBS.
How substantial are Cowan’s achievements though?
“It’s a cool thing individually to have the most yards but at the same time obviously that means we’re punting a lot,” Cowan said. “It’s bittersweet I’d say, but hopefully we can come out and alleviate some of those punts and do a little bit better in the games to come.”
In recent years Cowan has established himself as the WAC’s best punter and this far into the season, has proven himself as one of the nation’s premier punters. Gross punting yards may not always reflect the quality of the punter, especially considering the number of snaps a punter has taken.
Cowan’s 1,147 gross punting yards lead the nation and his 25 punts are second behind Matt Rinehart of Kent State. Statistics, in this case prove to be exceptionally misleading. To comprehend the skill of a punter, taking into account a player’s long punt and gross punting average tell a better story.
A three-year starter for Idaho, Cowan currently holds the nation’s fourth longest punt, at 71 yards and is No. 15 for gross punting average at 45.9 yards per punt.
Special teams coach Pat Libey hopes the team will begin to thrive offensively, which would in turn, reduce Cowan’s playing time.
“If we can cut down on total punts and increase that net punt, that’s what we’re going for,” Libey said. “Anytime Bobby has the opportunity to go out there and hit it, he’s been doing a great job for us he’s the guy that we consistently trust.”
At Evergreen High School in Vancouver, Wash., Cowan was as versatile as they come, starring as an all-state quarterback for two years and all-state punter for three.
In an ideal game, the punter may have three or four punting opportunities and is often expected to constantly send off perfect punts. With almost 130 career punts under his belt, Cowan handles the pressure with ease.
“I just try to go out there and let muscle memory take over and just get the ball off in a timely fashion and give my cover team the best chance to cover the field and make the play,” he said.
While Libey may not demand perfection from Cowan, a 2010 all-WAC first team selection, he exhibits the upmost confidence in his veteran punter.
“It’s a part of mental toughness and he’s a guy that’s mentally tough. He can go out there every time and execute to the best of his ability and that’s what we expect of him,” Libey said. “And he’s not perfect every time but he gives it everything he has and he prepares himself so that when he is out there he is perfect.”
Libey said the special teams unit will implement a specific theme for Saturday’s WAC opener against Fresno State, “change the game.”
The punting team allowed one punt return for a touchdown against North Dakota and the kickoff team allowed Texas A&M 28.5 yards per return last weekend.
“We want to have a positive impact on the game, we want to score a touchdown, we want to give the ball back to our offense, we want to have 100 percent ball security,” Libey said.