Virginia coach Al Groh has long said if a true freshman is ready to help the team, he will play.
There is no more evidence to support this assertion than on special teams. From the first snap against USC to this point, freshman Jimmy Howell has been the starting punter. With freshman Robert Randolph leapfrogging senior Yannick Reyering as the place kicker on the field goal team last week, Groh has rookies at two of the highest-pressure positions on the field.
“It’s a little different situation than if a player was playing on the line of scrimmage,” Groh said. “But there’s still a lot of pressure on the players to go in and do that.”
Randolph got the start Saturday after receiving his first action three weeks before against North Carolina with Reyering sidelined by a leg injury. After converting one field goal from 37 yards and having another blocked from 39, Randolph’s game-tying extra point late in regulation was tipped at the line of scrimmage and barely flopped over the bar.
After Reyering went 1 for 3 on field goals in the 24-17 overtime loss to Miami, in which he missed tries from 38 and 47 yards, however, Groh gave the nod to Randolph against Wake Forest.
“I was actually informed earlier in the week that I was going to start,” Randolph said. “I took all the one-reps in practice, so I was prepared for the game.”
Randolph said he thought the opportunity to start was a week overdue.
“After I thought I did good in [the game against] North Carolina, I thought I had earned my spot,” Randolph said. “It kind of hurt a little bit, but I couldn’t let it get to me.”
When finally inserted into the top spot on the depth chart against Wake Forest Saturday, Randolph hit two successful extra points and a 33-yard field goal, more than likely good enough to keep the starting job Nov. 22 against Clemson, Groh said.
“It wasn’t a taxing tryout [for Randolph], but at least we got a positive result out of it,” Groh said. “Obviously we needed a better result than what we’ve been getting.”
Howell, meanwhile, has taken every punt this season, averaging 39.3 yards per punt. A freshman from Florence, S.C., Howell was the favorite for the job even before training camp, and Groh said he has been happy with his progress in recent weeks. Howell has averaged 42.8 yards per punt the last two weeks, including two more than 50 yards. Against Miami, Howell put five of his seven punts inside the 20 and booted one ball a season-high 58 yards.
“The distance and all those things were never an issue with Jimmy — it’s just the consistency of the kick,” Groh said. “Now it’s gone on for two weeks — each one hasn’t been beautiful, but there’s been some progress.”
Like Randolph, Virginia was not in Howell’s plans until late in the recruiting process. Randolph received a scholarship from New Mexico State and had planned on playing for Georgetown “until Virginia called me.” Howell said he originally committed to Northwestern, in large part because Virginia had already offered a scholarship to another punter. The coaching staff, however, told Howell that the other punter was “a little shaky” and may de-commit, Howell said. Howell was subsequently offered a scholarship by Virginia and he took it without a second thought.
“Northwestern wasn’t too happy, but the [Virginia] coaches here were,” Howell said. “I talked to every coach — they passed the phone around the table.”
Now entering his ninth game, Howell considers himself a veteran; he noted, however, that all it took was one game against USC. If Howell can punt against the Trojans — he averaged 38.2 yards on eight kicks — it would appear that he can punt against anybody.
“In high school, you maybe had 2,000 [fans],” Howell said. “Then you had 65,000, and then the No. 1 school in America.”
For both Howell and Randolph, Groh said he has been pleased with their ability to handle nerves as starters in their first seasons.
“They’ve handled it well, particularly Rob,” Groh said.
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