Kicking System Blog

November 6th, 2009

Here is the latest blog post from David Seawright in Yahoo Sports. David is a kickers at CAL Berkeley.

“Cal sophomore kicker David Seawright is a modest dude: On Thursday he was named the school’s student athlete of the month for October, and suffice it to say I didn’t hear about it from him. He also has a good sense of humor, a trait essential for Golden Bears last Saturday as they sweated out the bizarre final sequence of a 23-21 victory at Arizona State. (Cal, now No. 20 in the BCS standings, hosts Oregon State Saturday at Memorial Stadium.) Here’s Seawright’s riff on the Bears’ tribute to “Where The Wild Things Are” … Football is a game bent on innovation. From the West Coast offense to the Spread to the Wildcat, coaches constantly seek ways to create mismatches and confuse defenses. We have been known to employ such novelty ourselves. During the closing moments of Saturday’s game at Arizona state, quarterback Kevin Riley orchestrated a brilliant 11-play drive downfield, creating a second-and-goal from the 5-yard line with the score 21-20 There, running back Shane Vereen lined up in our version of the Wildcat formation and lobbed a pass to tight end Anthony Miller in the back of the end zone that fell incomplete. Now, even though we won the game off of a Giorgio Tavecchio field goal two plays later, I propose an innovation that could have made it all much easier: the Seawright Special. In a unique variation of the Wildcat constructed specifically for fourth-and-short or down by two, end of game goal line situations (since, you know, they happen so frequently), I will receive a direct snap and be left with a plethora of options. Like in the traditional Wildcat scheme, I will have the option to power my way for six, hand off the ball to a more suitable ballcarrier or to take a shot into the end zone with my arm. But the twist comes in the form of a fourth option – a Flutie-esque drop kick. I can only imagine the terror I would strike into the hearts of opposing defensive coordinators. With the game on the line, we would have four viable options to put points on the board, one more than any other possible formation. Besides, Vereen spends his time working hard on being the complete package as a running back, not a quarterback. Me? Well, I spend most of my time playing catch with All-American punter Bryan Anger, so my arm is always ready. You think Tim Tebow’s a threat to score all the time? Consider him one-upped. Add me to your Heisman watch lists now! This is the next step in the evolutionary process of football schematics. What can I say? I’m just an innovator.”