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Tigers enlist 3 true kickers, resolve to end costly breakdowns
By Mark Alexander
malexander@clarionledger.com
Barbara Gauntt / The Clarion-Ledger
Domenick Addison averaged 47.3 yards per punt last year at Class 1A Bogue Chitto. He'll punt before 35,000-plus Saturday night at USM's Roberts Stadium.
A year ago, Jackson State boarded a plane bound for Chicago and its season opener against Howard with no true kickers on board.
When the Tigers load up on a bus Friday for their trip to Hattiesburg to play Southern Miss, there will be three. Maybe more if JSU coach Robert Hughes can find them between now and then.
"Everybody who can kick a ball will be traveling," Hughes said.
Hughes wasn't kidding when he said that, not after the disaster that was Jackson State's not-so-special teams last season.
How bad was it?
So bad that every time the Tigers lined up for a kick of any sorts many JSU fans cringed expecting the worst, fingers crossed on one hand and the other partially covering their eyes.
JSU had seven punts blocked, three for touchdowns. Two of those blocked punts came in a 61-58 loss to Alabama State, a game in which the Tigers also allowed 242 return yards.
Special teams breakdowns also cost JSU in its other three losses. More times than not the Tigers gave up field position and shortened the field for opposing offenses.
It wasn't until the fifth game that JSU attempted a field goal, and it made just three all season.
If you're looking for a reason why JSU didn't make it to Birmingham for the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game, look no further.
That's why the No. 1 thing on Hughes' to-do list this off-season was to upgrade the kicking game. He did just that by signing two place-kickers and a punter. The two place-kickers are Ashcher Ashley of Decatur, Ga., and Jaime Salazar of Dallas and the punter is Domenick Addison of Bogue Chitto.
After the suffering JSU went through a year ago, all three have been welcomed like a full bottle of water during two-a-days. All three are freshmen, and all three have improving to do. But it beats a year ago when the Tigers had to rely on a walk-on freshman punter and a scholarship tight end.
"I'm pleasantly pleased with their progress,"Hughes said. "They're still making freshman mistakes, but I feel much better about it at this time than I did last year."
Ashley, who has a stronger leg than Salazar, will likely handle kickoffs. Just who will handle PATs and field goals has yet to be decided.
"It's up in the air right now," said JSU assistant coach James Hartfield, who works primarily with the kickers. "Ashley was ahead a little because Jaime got here a little late. But Jaime has caught up some. It's neck-and-neck right now.
"We've still got a little more work to do, but they've got the skills to become good kickers."
Ashley and Salazar grew up playing soccer. Ashley started playing football in the 10th grade after an assistant football coach spotted him playing soccer. Salazar got his start in football in the 11th grade after a friend of his dared him to go out for the team.
Ashley made 17 of 24 PATs and 2 of 5 field goals last year as a senior at Southwest DeKalb. The longest field goal he made was 38 yards. Salazar was 17 of 18 on PATs and 3 of 4 on field goals. His longest was 23 yards.
"We know we could play a very important role," Ashley said. "I heard they could've won three or four more games last year if they had had a kicker. I'm going to do my best to help them out."
Said Salazar: "Between me and Ashley either one of us can do it."
Addison averaged a Class 1A-best 47.3 yards per punt at Bogue Chitto, including a 64-yarder. He also rushed for 1,500 yards and 24 touchdowns, which could come in handy in case of a bad snap.
"Coach (Hughes) called me up during basketball season and told me he needed a punter," Addison said. "He said he had a scholarship for me and the next week I signed. It's a good situation for me because my education is getting paid for and I get to fill a position they needed help in."
All three kickers have been put under pressure in practice. Yet they know it's nothing like the pressure they will face on Saturdays, starting five days from now at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
"There's going to be a lot of pressure on us," Addison said. "They're probably going to be coming after us. As long as I get that first (punt) off, I'll be good."
By Mark Alexander
malexander@clarionledger.com
Barbara Gauntt / The Clarion-Ledger
Domenick Addison averaged 47.3 yards per punt last year at Class 1A Bogue Chitto. He'll punt before 35,000-plus Saturday night at USM's Roberts Stadium.
A year ago, Jackson State boarded a plane bound for Chicago and its season opener against Howard with no true kickers on board.
When the Tigers load up on a bus Friday for their trip to Hattiesburg to play Southern Miss, there will be three. Maybe more if JSU coach Robert Hughes can find them between now and then.
"Everybody who can kick a ball will be traveling," Hughes said.
Hughes wasn't kidding when he said that, not after the disaster that was Jackson State's not-so-special teams last season.
How bad was it?
So bad that every time the Tigers lined up for a kick of any sorts many JSU fans cringed expecting the worst, fingers crossed on one hand and the other partially covering their eyes.
JSU had seven punts blocked, three for touchdowns. Two of those blocked punts came in a 61-58 loss to Alabama State, a game in which the Tigers also allowed 242 return yards.
Special teams breakdowns also cost JSU in its other three losses. More times than not the Tigers gave up field position and shortened the field for opposing offenses.
It wasn't until the fifth game that JSU attempted a field goal, and it made just three all season.
If you're looking for a reason why JSU didn't make it to Birmingham for the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game, look no further.
That's why the No. 1 thing on Hughes' to-do list this off-season was to upgrade the kicking game. He did just that by signing two place-kickers and a punter. The two place-kickers are Ashcher Ashley of Decatur, Ga., and Jaime Salazar of Dallas and the punter is Domenick Addison of Bogue Chitto.
After the suffering JSU went through a year ago, all three have been welcomed like a full bottle of water during two-a-days. All three are freshmen, and all three have improving to do. But it beats a year ago when the Tigers had to rely on a walk-on freshman punter and a scholarship tight end.
"I'm pleasantly pleased with their progress,"Hughes said. "They're still making freshman mistakes, but I feel much better about it at this time than I did last year."
Ashley, who has a stronger leg than Salazar, will likely handle kickoffs. Just who will handle PATs and field goals has yet to be decided.
"It's up in the air right now," said JSU assistant coach James Hartfield, who works primarily with the kickers. "Ashley was ahead a little because Jaime got here a little late. But Jaime has caught up some. It's neck-and-neck right now.
"We've still got a little more work to do, but they've got the skills to become good kickers."
Ashley and Salazar grew up playing soccer. Ashley started playing football in the 10th grade after an assistant football coach spotted him playing soccer. Salazar got his start in football in the 11th grade after a friend of his dared him to go out for the team.
Ashley made 17 of 24 PATs and 2 of 5 field goals last year as a senior at Southwest DeKalb. The longest field goal he made was 38 yards. Salazar was 17 of 18 on PATs and 3 of 4 on field goals. His longest was 23 yards.
"We know we could play a very important role," Ashley said. "I heard they could've won three or four more games last year if they had had a kicker. I'm going to do my best to help them out."
Said Salazar: "Between me and Ashley either one of us can do it."
Addison averaged a Class 1A-best 47.3 yards per punt at Bogue Chitto, including a 64-yarder. He also rushed for 1,500 yards and 24 touchdowns, which could come in handy in case of a bad snap.
"Coach (Hughes) called me up during basketball season and told me he needed a punter," Addison said. "He said he had a scholarship for me and the next week I signed. It's a good situation for me because my education is getting paid for and I get to fill a position they needed help in."
All three kickers have been put under pressure in practice. Yet they know it's nothing like the pressure they will face on Saturdays, starting five days from now at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
"There's going to be a lot of pressure on us," Addison said. "They're probably going to be coming after us. As long as I get that first (punt) off, I'll be good."