Some may find it surprising that sophomore kicker Robert Randolph is the Cavaliers' leading scorer so far this season. After all, in college football, kickers are usually only noticed when they fail to deliver on crucial field goals. Six games into the season, however, Randolph has delivered on every opportunity and has maintained an unblemished record.
Randolph is a perfect 9-for-9 on his field goal attempts this season, and his 33 total points match the margin by which the Cavaliers have outscored their opponents. Last Saturday's game against Maryland underscored the importance of having such a consistent kicker. Randolph's two made field goals were the only Virginia points that resulted from sustained offensive drives, while the opposing kicker's two missed field goals sealed the Terrapins' fate. The rain didn't seem to faze him at all.
"That's the thing a lot of people have a problem with - trying to adjust," Randolph said. "[For me] it's mainly just trying to stay the same on every kick."
Although he may seem like a veteran kicker, Randolph has just begun to grow into his role. He did not start playing football until his junior year at Naples High School in Florida. Growing up, soccer was his primary sport, which he played for 15 years, including 10 on a travel team. He started as a center defender throughout his high school career, even after he took up football.
"My high school [football] coach actually came to a soccer game my sophomore year and asked me to kick in the spring, so I kicked in the spring and did well," Randolph said.
His foray into the new sport paid quick dividends when his team went undefeated and won the Florida AAA State Championship his senior year. Still, Randolph's transition from soccer to football was far from seamless.
"Kicking is maybe a one-time deal," Randolph said. "That was probably the most difficult thing to get used to - not being in the game completely the whole time and then having to go in and perform."
Playing the continuous 90 minutes of a soccer game is different than trotting out for a few - though critical - moments of a football game. But Randolph's training may suggest a similar approach to the sport.
He spent nearly five days a week last summer building strength and endurance, often through pool workouts. Now, he nails 50-plus yard field goals in practice while focusing on another transition from soccer to football: the trajectory of his kicks.
"It's like a guy with his golf shot - you either hit line drives or hit the ball with a little bit of an arc on it," coach Al Groh said. "It's to your benefit to get a little bit of a trajectory on it. Then the less the golfer is stubborn or the kicker is stubborn, they're gonna change to what's most effective."
The sophomore realizes much of his improvement will come from personal adjustments.
"You just gotta feel it out," Randolph said. "I try to practice on the goal post and move the ball up in the end zone, so I'm real close to the goal post, and just try to figure out what works best for me to get the ball up. Whether it's how far I lean off the ball, how low my foot gets - just gotta feel it out."
The loft of the kick is important for Randolph because it can improve accuracy and help avoid dreaded, game-changing blocked kicks. That's not to say, however, that soccer-style kicking is not applicable in football. Distance is vital too, and the occasional squib kick lets Randolph return to his roots.
"If you were to try to shoot a soccer ball real hard and keep it low, you'd have to get your chest and knee over the ball to not get it elevated, so that helps, in that aspect," he said.
Still, Randolph's main focus is on diverging from his soccer experiences and getting more of an arc on his kicks.
"It's pretty easy [to notice]," Groh said of Randolph's progression. "The hold's down here, and the ball's up here. You can see the arc of the ball."
As long as he maintains this continual progression, Virginia fans can expect Randolph's importance to the team to follow the trajectory of his kicks.
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