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2012 Spring Camp

FB thanks for the compliments. Seeing as I’m not fortunate enough to see any of the spring scrimmages, I have to go off of reports and articles I can find. Here is what SSS had to say:
That’s your new punter

Justin Weldon, a transfer from Fresno City Junior College looks to be the odds-on favorite as the next Hornets punter. His kicks out drove Smith Heath’s kicks and his hangtime was far better, even on Weldon’s shorter kicks.

Sperbeck’s take: “Smith did a nice job and Justin did too. They both looked good. There’s another good competition going on there between the two of them.”

He’s still kicking

Jason Diniz, last season’s erratic placekicker, did nothing to hold onto the job during the spring game. He had about a dozen kicks — most from the 45-35-yard area — and made only half of them.

Remember, Diniz’s inconsistency caused the offense to call plays differently on third and fourth downs last season. He will face competition this year from Ed Ruhnke, who will be transferring from Moorpark JC. It’s a good guess that Ruhnke will get a long look unless Diniz increases his reliability quickly after training camp opens in August.

Sperbeck’s take: “(Diniz looked) hot and cold. Consistency, that’s the whole name of the game with the kicker…. Ruhnke is coming in in the fall so we expect him to compete right away.”
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http://sacstatesports.com/2012/04/2...unter-impressive-quarterbacks-still-battling/

So long as the coaches are going with who is best fit for the job that is all we can ask for. This goes for every position, not just the kicking duties.
 
RE SSS "That’s your new punter" Bill Bradley wrote:
"Justin Weldon, a transfer from Fresno City Junior College looks to be the odds-on favorite as the next Hornets punter. His kicks out drove Smith Heath’s kicks and his hangtime was far better, even on Weldon’s shorter kicks." This is wrong.

I watched everything all spring and I have all the stats from the spring game. Weldon did have some long spring punts (50 yards) but he never came close to Heath on Hang Time. Both punters look similar in stature so I'm guessing BB got the jersey numbers mixed up:
Heath is #57
Weldon is #47

Don't know where Bill Bradley gets his info or what he was watching, but I have the spring game punts on film. :nod:
Weldon #47
1st punt 50 yards 3.6 hang time 5 yard return Net 45 (good snap) (good spiral ball flight)
2nd punt 39 yards 3.4 hang time no return hit cover man in the back (good snap) (end over end ball flight)
3rd punt 38 yards 3.8 hang time fair catch no return (good snap) (end over end)
Avg hang time: 3.6 seconds

Heath #57
1st punt 38 yards 4.25 hang time fair catch no return (very high snap) (good spiral ball flight)
2nd punt 46 yards 4.50 hang time fair catch no return (high snap) (good spiral)
3rd punt 45 yards 4.6 hang time fair catch no return (good snap) (good spiral)
Avg hang time 4.4 seconds

As I said before Diniz is no longer a factor, he has been released. :ohno:

Go Hornets!
 
Thanks for the info FB, its very informative and it wouldn’t shock me if Bradley was wrong. It does sound like Heath is finally coming around based on your numbers. Let’s hope this continues into fall camp and more importantly into the season.

SH the roster probably hasn’t been updated and there are probably other errors on it. If Diniz was released it is probably because he wasn’t showing improvement. Diniz has had plenty of time to get it together. Sperbeck knows he can’t afford more losses due to an ineffective and unreliable kicking game so I don’t expect him to have much patience here.
 
SDHornet said:
Thanks for the info FB, its very informative and it wouldn’t shock me if Bradley was wrong. It does sound like Heath is finally coming around based on your numbers. Let’s hope this continues into fall camp and more importantly into the season.

SH the roster probably hasn’t been updated and there are probably other errors on it. If Diniz was released it is probably because he wasn’t showing improvement. Diniz has had plenty of time to get it together. Sperbeck knows he can’t afford more losses due to an ineffective and unreliable kicking game so I don’t expect him to have much patience here.
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I think we all understand why the coaches would have little patience regarding the kickers especially if it adversely affects games. College Football is a serious business and our coaches are under great pressure to produce a winner. With so many areas of uncertainty; QB, RB, WR. DB's etc, the coaches have a BIG job ahead and with that I wish them the best of luck. I will say that I am disappointed with their lack of basic knowledge about kicking/punting mechanics, and their non-interest in learning right from wrong. Like too many young coaches (and fans) they just want results from kickers, and when they don't get what they want they can't offer real help because they simply don't have the information. Older coaches know better.

So these coaches make changes and HOPE for better results. And to that end, I also wish them LUCK!

Slow roster updates aside, trust me when I say Diniz has been released and it wasn't because of poor performance. It is because of a lack of respect and Diniz asked for the release.

Two time high school All State punter - freshman Smith Heath (with BSC game experience) requested his release yesterday for the same reason, a lack of respect. Heath won the Spring punting competition hands down and it didn't matter. Great players are hard to find but REAL punters are rare as hens teeth. The Hornets made a poor choice not paying the talented Heath. Now everyone will rely on punter Weldon and kicker Rhunke next season, two brand new and unproven young men. Good luck with that!

Goodbye Hornets! :tothehand:
 
Hooooraaayyyy!!! I wish those guys well, but honestly, could it be any worse!? I trust the coaches more than I trust the personal kicking coach of two players.

Diniz got the job because of his brother. The kid looked like a scared JV kicker who was lucky to make a PAT. Smith Heath's sample size was too small. If your punter feelings are hurt, then I don't want you to begin with.

On to 2012!
 
Best of luck FB and best of luck to Diniz and Heath in whatever it is they decide to pursue. As you said, football is serious business and the coaches are responsible for deciding what is best for the team. Both Diniz and Heath had time to develop and both had opportunities to prove they belong on a D-1 roster. The coaches decided its best for the team to go in a different direction so let’s leave it at that. :twocents:
 
Hornut said:
What just happened? I thought we all thought Diniz 2.0 sucked?
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That's right, Hornut. The reports (as yet unconfirmed) are that Diniz 2.0 has been cut at his own request. He apparently felt as if the staff dissed him, if I'm interpreting these reports correctly.

Of course, all we have right now is the word of a relative newcomer to the board (at least in terms of number of posts) whose message boils down to "Trust me." Forgive me if I remain skeptical before the (admittedly slow) SID confirms this. Right now, there are only three posters here that I am prepared to take at his word without a direct link. They have that level of trust because of their proven service to this board over time. The confirmation of the departure of these two kickers will go a long way toward the validation of THIS poster, at least in my mind.

That said, civil debate is ALWAYS welcome here. Better to make an honest assertion and be proven wrong than to stay silent and claim to have known it afterward. A direct link would be better, but given our current SID staff, we will likely see many situations like this for the foreseeable future.
 
in this case i doubt you will be finding a link saying anything about this. At best im sure you can just expect to see their names missing from the roster. But i have also heard the same thing about both heath and diniz asking for a release. In all honesty this happens with players all the time at every school. The players either decide to transfer and start fresh or just give up playing all together.
 
Kadeezy said:
Hooooraaayyyy!!! I wish those guys well, but honestly, could it be any worse!? I trust the coaches more than I trust the personal kicking coach of two players.

Diniz got the job because of his brother. The kid looked like a scared JV kicker who was lucky to make a PAT. Smith Heath's sample size was too small. If your punter feelings are hurt, then I don't want you to begin with.

On to 2012!
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This.

We are not football camp, we need to find a kicker who is ready now, not 2-3 seasons to learn the trade.

There were at least three games last year that Diniz 2.0 could have changed the outcome. Next.
 
Diniz got the job because of his brother? NOT true. He got the job because Sperbeck asked him to be part of the team. Diniz was not a scholarship player, so we lost a backup kicker. Also we lost some pride, knowing a player gave up on the Hornets, or did we gave up on him.
 
just a sac state fan said:
Diniz got the job because of his brother? NOT true. He got the job because Sperbeck asked him to be part of the team. Diniz was not a scholarship player, so we lost a backup kicker. Also we lost some pride, knowing a player gave up on the Hornets, or did we gave up on him.
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What are you talking about? Does it even matter? What's done is done, and 95% of Hornet fans will say it's for the best. This is DI football, if you can't cut it, I'm sorry but "next up" should be the philosophy.
 
We need to build this program. Everytime we recruit a kid, he has a network of family and friends. This network can reach to thousands of people. Our objective is to keep this network positive with Hornet pride. This network can and will touch other potential recruits. Our object is to take recruits from Montana and any Big Sky team. In the business world I think they call this Branding
 
just a sac state fan said:
We need to build this program. Everytime we recruit a kid, he has a network of family and friends. This network can reach to thousands of people. Our objective is to keep this network positive with Hornet pride. This network can and will touch other potential recruits. Our object is to take recruits from Montana and any Big Sky team. In the business world I think they call this Branding
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i cant disagree with that at all. But on the same token you still cant please everybody.
 
We need things like alternate uniforms and other perks to put us ahead of our competition. Come on Hornet fans I'm sure Addidas would cut us a break on one full uniform, since they pay us for sponsorship anyways, we should all come together and pitch in on something that would draw top FCS recruits our way. We also should be more active fans on things like this blog, I have taken a look at Montana's blog and I mean all tho that is all they have these people live and die for that school. I'm sure we can acquire a lot of fans looking to support a top collegiate program in northern California. But you can't win without premium talent that's just the truth of the matter and you can't get premium talent without perks(I.e. alternate uniforms, helmets) look what that theory did for Oregon or Boise state. I'm willing to dish out a couple hundred dollars for the futures success of our school!
 
just a sac state fan said:
We need to build this program. Everytime we recruit a kid, he has a network of family and friends. This network can reach to thousands of people. Our objective is to keep this network positive with Hornet pride. This network can and will touch other potential recruits. Our object is to take recruits from Montana and any Big Sky team. In the business world I think they call this Branding
Click to expand...

You build a program by winning. You can't do that with players who are not playing up to the level that we need. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone on this board who wished Diniz and Heath did not do well. Fact is, they didn't perform.
 
Winning is indeed the key to improving the Sac State brand. We have done pretty good for a .500-type win/loss Big Sky school football program in attendance. Winning year after year will get a huge student body, an enormous alumni base, and a Sacrramento sports community ready to support a winning program, out to Hornet Stadium in mass.

A good Sac State brand will explode in a positive way with wins.
 
A few notable changes:

Diniz (K) - expected from prior posts and performance
Smith (WR) - Was never in the mix as a WR, last year or this sprint. Possibly transfering to smaller school since he is down to 2 years of eligibilty.
Garinger (QB) - Never recovered completely from the shoulder injury sustained in the spring of 2011
Kirkman (TE) - Not sure what happened to him

Note:
The new HS and transfers were added. Heath (P) is still on Roster and I heard first hand he chose to stay. Competition is good for all positions, even punters.
 
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