If anyone other than Anthony Cantele is handling Kansas State’s kicking duties on Sept. 3, it will be a surprise. Same goes for the the Wildcats’ punting responsibilities and Ryan Doerr.
K-State appears set in both areas.
Cantele, a junior from Wichita, is coming off a season in which he mostly backed up Josh Cherry on field-goal tries. He connected on one of his two attempts (making a 35-yarder against UCLA) but wasn’t as accurate as Cherry overall. So he spent most of his time with the kickoff team. On the year, he booted 72 kickoffs, with 15 leading to touchbacks.
This season, he will likely see some competition from freshman Dillon Wilson (a top-20 kicker coming out of high school) in the preseason, but he should win the job. His challenge will be learning how to use his strong leg in scoring situations.
For Doerr, the challenge will be building on what he has already accomplished. The junior kicked 52 punts a year ago with a long of 57 yards and an average of 41.3 yards. He pinned the opponent within the 20-yard line 17 times.
Helping him this season will be new special teams coach Sean Snyder. A former K-State All-American punter for the Wildcats, Snyder should be able to teach Doerr new mechanics in his motion and provide leadership in difficult situations.
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