Last season, then-junior placekicker Robert Randolph briefly earned national recognition for his dash into the end zone on an astounding fake field goal during a 48-55 loss at Duke. At the outset of his senior campaign, Randolph is making headlines the kicker's old-fashioned way - by putting the ball through the uprights.
The Naples, Fla. native went 4-for-4 on field goal attempts, including the 23-yard game winner, during Virginia's frantic 34-31 comeback victory against Indiana last Saturday. After his 4-for-4 opener against William & Mary, which included a 48-yarder, Randolph has now booted a nation-leading eight field goals and prompted coach Mike London to tout Randolph as "the No. 1 place kicker in the country right now." Many pundits nationwide concur; Randolph was named the College Football Performance Awards' National Placekicker of the Week in each of the season's first two weeks.
"It feels great," Randolph said of the honors, "but I'm really just trying to go out there and do the same thing, play the way I practice. I'm just trying to do my job."
Although Randolph has downplayed his impressive start to the season, the Cavalier offense has depended upon his precise and powerful leg during the team's 2-0 start. Randolph already has connected on four field goals of more than 40 yards and has simultaneously shortened the field for the offense and helped Virginia avoid the pooch punts and long, impractical fourth-down conversion attempts many teams resort to when stalled just beyond the opponent's 30-yard line.
"Now, [we only have to reach] the 33-, 35-, 36-yard line," London said. "It helps having a guy that's got a leg like that."
When Virginia drives the ball farther into enemy territory, Randolph is nearly automatic. He has missed just one field goal attempt of under 30 yards and no extra point attempts in his career at Virginia.
That career, however, has seen its share of trials and tribulations. After hitting 17 of 19 field goals in 2009 and being named to the preseason Lou Groza Award watch list for the nation's best kicker, Randolph stumbled through the beginning of 2010. He missed his first three field goals and drew the ire of Cavalier fans for misfiring twice during a 17-14 loss to then-No. 16 Southern California. Randolph proceeded to hit his next 10 field goals, but London rarely trusted him with long tries and limited his total attempts to a mere 14 for the entire season.
"It was tough, especially coming off a great season my second year," Randolph said. "I just didn't really have the confidence in the whole operation or I guess in myself." Randolph was left off the 2011 Groza watch list after his erratic 2010 effort.
Nevertheless, he has approached his final year as a Cavalier with a dogged devotion to his trade which has yielded sparkling results thus far. Without any specialized expertise from coaches such as the defensive-minded London or return game guru and special teams coordinator Anthony Poindexter, Randolph assumes nearly unilateral responsibility for sharpening his own skills as a kicker.
Striving to avoid the jitters and inconsistencies which have plagued kickers throughout history, Randolph has adopted the philosophy that every kick, whether in a pickup game or a national championship, boils down to the same basic fundamentals.
"Regardless of where I am on the field, every kick is exactly the same," Randolph said.
To reduce the daunting task of kicking accurately to mere routine, Randolph focuses on heavy repetition on the practice field. To sharpen his technique, he applies fundamentals from other sports with similar principles to those of field goal kicking.
"[I] relate a lot of it back to golfing in kind of how they swing and their tempo, and it's more about how smooth you are instead of how much power you have," Randolph said.
He also has an extensive background in soccer, the ideal crossover sport for kickers and the sport of choice for Randolph, who stressed, "I'm a soccer player but I play football."
Randolph's persistent thirst to improve seemingly has elevated his game to another level and boosted his belief in his abilities during the first two games of 2011. "Confident" was the single word Randolph employed to describe his mindset before he casually split the uprights to topple Indiana on the game's final play.
"I've made that field goal a thousand times in practice, and I've run that scenario through my head just like every other kicker has," Randolph said. "I was mainly just very excited to have that opportunity. I'm just glad that our team got us the ball and gave me an opportunity to help us win."
London has praised Randolph as much for the kicker's early brilliance as for his self-assurance, which could become invaluable assets when Virginia plunges into the rigor of ACC conference play.\n"With Randolph being older and more of an experienced player, it's been, 'Coach, I've got this,'" London said. "He's worked hard at it. His leg is a weapon for us, and we have just got to continue to make sure we get the ball into position where we can continue to keep using it."
Randolph's football career in Charlottesville will conclude as a strong one. He has started each of the past three years for the Cavaliers, and he currently ranks second in ACC history in percentage of field goals made at 84.4 percent. Still, Randolph said he is inspired purely by helping the team win in his final season.
"Along with my fellow senior class, we really just wanted to have a good season," Randolph said. "It's been a tough three years that we've gone through and we just didn't want to keep that going."\nIf Randolph continues his play from the past two weeks, he won't need to score touchdowns on bizarre trick plays to do his part.
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