No Need to Run -- Whitehead Punts to Big Ten Impact
10/25/2017 6:03:00 PM | Football
By: Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana punter Haydon Whitehead ain't running.
Let's get that straight.
He punts on the run, rugby style, which might lead you to believe that one day he'll run on the run via one of those trick plays that sometimes changes games if it works, generates blistering criticism if it doesn't.
If you believe Whitehead, an Australian native who seems like a straight shooter, it's not happening.
"I look at some of the guys on the other side of the ball," he says, "and it doesn't really cross my mind. There are some pretty big dudes on the other side. Unless it's a designed play, which it hasn't been so far, I don't really get the urge."
So what that the 6-2, 205-pound Whitehead isn't much of a runner, although his 15-year Australian Rules Football background included plenty of running. He's also not much of a thrower, but does have a brother who once played quarterback for a small club team in Melbourne.
That was enough for Haydon to give American football a try.
"I can't throw a ball, and I'm not very fast or strong," he says, "so the only position I could really play was punter. I thought with an Australian football background, I'd give it a crack."
That crack has put him on the watch list for the Ray Guy Award, which goes annually to the nation's best college punter.
Seventeen of his 53 punts (tied for the most of any of the Big Ten leaders) have been downed inside the 20-yard line, eight inside the 10. He averages 41.4 yards.
Not bad for a guy who never played in an American football game until the season opener against Ohio State.
"He's one of the hardest working specialists I've ever been around," coach Tom Allen says. "As a matter of fact, we have to hold him back. If he doesn't have the kind of day he wants, he'll be out here practicing at night. I have to go out there and say, 'You've kicked enough.' He's a very, very hard-working young man."
There have been a few glitches along the way, which is what you'd expect from someone still adjusting to a new kind of football.
During one fourth-and-long situation against Ohio State, IU's punt team ran onto the field -- which is what you'd expect. Whitehead didn't at first because, as a newcomer to the sport, he'd lost track of the downs.
No one expected that.
"I knew he was nervous," Allen says. "We ran out to punt, and he didn't run out. He's standing there. I look, and I'm like, 'Where's the punter?' He's standing right there, two feet away from me, and I yell, 'Get out there!'"
Whitehead did, and had a heck of a day -- three of his nine punts went inside the 20-yard line.
It didn't surprise Allen.
"He's such a detailed guy for his craft."
Whitehead talks the way you'd think a guy from Australia should talk, with the kind of accent to bring back Crocodile Dundee memories for those who have seen those 1980s' movies.
"Everyone wants to hear him talk," Allen says. "He says 'mate' a lot. He calls everybody 'mate.' He calls his shoes 'boots,' not 'cleats.' (Australians) call them boots. That's not what I picture when I think of our cleats."
Kicker Griffin Oakes knows what that accent can do.
"It's his voice," Oakes says. "You'll be talking to someone and they hear his voice in the corner and say, 'Oh I'm going to talk to this person.' He has that voice that sticks out."
His approach to a new country and culture also sticks out. Quarterback Richard Lagow remembers Whitehead's reaction to his first trip to Walmart.
"He had never heard of Walmart," Lagow says. "When he got back, he was raving about it. He thought it was the coolest thing ever. I was like, 'Dude, there are Walmarts on every corner. It's not that big of a deal.'"
It was to Whitehead.
"It's a whole new world to him," Lagow says. "We've had a lot of moments like that. We went through a lot with him, teaching him things. It's a lot of laughs. He's awesome."
Whitehead learned to punt at Prokick Australia, which has produced the last four Ray Guy winners. Allen has recruited Prokick Australia punters for years.
"Australian football is a lot more running, and it's kind of like soccer in the sense you're running the whole time and there's no real breaks in the game," Whitehead says. "So it's been nice to get over here and just sort of have one kick, run on and run off every now and again."
IU started recruiting Whitehead last season through Skype video chats. They included former Hoosier coach Kevin Wilson, Allen and special teams quality control assistant Jeff McInerney.
Whitehead made his official visit to IU, which was also his first time in the United States, last December.
"It was a long way to fly for a 42-hour visit or whatever it was," Whitehead said. "I think I was on the plane longer than I was actually here."
Whitehead is part of IU's formidable 1-2 kicking punch. The other is Oakes, a senior who has returned to form after a disastrous junior season. Oakes is a Big Ten-best 10-for-11 this season.
"I look out for him and he looks out for me," Oakes says. "He's learning a whole new sport and new culture.
"He's doing a great job. He didn't need me that much. He acts like a seasoned vet. He freaks out less than I do. He's been impressive."
How's this for impressive -- if necessary, Whitehead can punt with either foot. Mostly, it's with the left.
Whitehead was at his best last Saturday at Michigan State. He pinned the Spartans inside the 13-yard line a career-best four times while averaging 43.6 yards a punt.
That showcased why Allen, who has a strong special teams coaching background, wanted Whitehead.
"He's proven to be as valuable as I'd hoped he'd be," Allen says.
"It's not about having these great high spiraling punts. That's not really what it's about. It's about ball placement. That's the thing a young man like Haydon with his skill set gives you."
Because Whitehead catches the snap and moves before punting -- what Allen calls changing "the kick point" -- he can move the ball around and limit a team's ability to break a big punt return … or any return at all.
"He has the ability to move around because of the ball control a lot of Australian punters have," Allen says. "That, to me, is what makes him.
"You get these returners in our league and they're good. You sometimes get a beautiful kick, and it's too good, too far, too high, and it out-kicks your coverage and sets up a big return. I'd much rather have a shorter, well-placed kick.
"Haydon has proven to be a big weapon, which is huge."
That weapon, and the rest of the Hoosiers (3-4), head to Maryland (3-4) Saturday in a huge game for winning-record hopes.
Whitehead will get ready the way he always does -- check the weather forecast, "prepare myself for whatever conditions are there," listen to pre-game music (rap and "a little bit of Bon Jovi") and focus on the ball-placement details.
"After Week 2, I started feeling more confident," he says. "That builds every week. I feel comfortable out there."
Just don't expect him to run.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana punter Haydon Whitehead ain't running.
Let's get that straight.
He punts on the run, rugby style, which might lead you to believe that one day he'll run on the run via one of those trick plays that sometimes changes games if it works, generates blistering criticism if it doesn't.
If you believe Whitehead, an Australian native who seems like a straight shooter, it's not happening.
"I look at some of the guys on the other side of the ball," he says, "and it doesn't really cross my mind. There are some pretty big dudes on the other side. Unless it's a designed play, which it hasn't been so far, I don't really get the urge."
So what that the 6-2, 205-pound Whitehead isn't much of a runner, although his 15-year Australian Rules Football background included plenty of running. He's also not much of a thrower, but does have a brother who once played quarterback for a small club team in Melbourne.
That was enough for Haydon to give American football a try.
"I can't throw a ball, and I'm not very fast or strong," he says, "so the only position I could really play was punter. I thought with an Australian football background, I'd give it a crack."
That crack has put him on the watch list for the Ray Guy Award, which goes annually to the nation's best college punter.
Seventeen of his 53 punts (tied for the most of any of the Big Ten leaders) have been downed inside the 20-yard line, eight inside the 10. He averages 41.4 yards.
Not bad for a guy who never played in an American football game until the season opener against Ohio State.
"He's one of the hardest working specialists I've ever been around," coach Tom Allen says. "As a matter of fact, we have to hold him back. If he doesn't have the kind of day he wants, he'll be out here practicing at night. I have to go out there and say, 'You've kicked enough.' He's a very, very hard-working young man."
There have been a few glitches along the way, which is what you'd expect from someone still adjusting to a new kind of football.
During one fourth-and-long situation against Ohio State, IU's punt team ran onto the field -- which is what you'd expect. Whitehead didn't at first because, as a newcomer to the sport, he'd lost track of the downs.
No one expected that.
"I knew he was nervous," Allen says. "We ran out to punt, and he didn't run out. He's standing there. I look, and I'm like, 'Where's the punter?' He's standing right there, two feet away from me, and I yell, 'Get out there!'"
Whitehead did, and had a heck of a day -- three of his nine punts went inside the 20-yard line.
It didn't surprise Allen.
"He's such a detailed guy for his craft."
Whitehead talks the way you'd think a guy from Australia should talk, with the kind of accent to bring back Crocodile Dundee memories for those who have seen those 1980s' movies.
"Everyone wants to hear him talk," Allen says. "He says 'mate' a lot. He calls everybody 'mate.' He calls his shoes 'boots,' not 'cleats.' (Australians) call them boots. That's not what I picture when I think of our cleats."
Kicker Griffin Oakes knows what that accent can do.
"It's his voice," Oakes says. "You'll be talking to someone and they hear his voice in the corner and say, 'Oh I'm going to talk to this person.' He has that voice that sticks out."
His approach to a new country and culture also sticks out. Quarterback Richard Lagow remembers Whitehead's reaction to his first trip to Walmart.
"He had never heard of Walmart," Lagow says. "When he got back, he was raving about it. He thought it was the coolest thing ever. I was like, 'Dude, there are Walmarts on every corner. It's not that big of a deal.'"
It was to Whitehead.
"It's a whole new world to him," Lagow says. "We've had a lot of moments like that. We went through a lot with him, teaching him things. It's a lot of laughs. He's awesome."
Whitehead learned to punt at Prokick Australia, which has produced the last four Ray Guy winners. Allen has recruited Prokick Australia punters for years.
"Australian football is a lot more running, and it's kind of like soccer in the sense you're running the whole time and there's no real breaks in the game," Whitehead says. "So it's been nice to get over here and just sort of have one kick, run on and run off every now and again."
IU started recruiting Whitehead last season through Skype video chats. They included former Hoosier coach Kevin Wilson, Allen and special teams quality control assistant Jeff McInerney.
Whitehead made his official visit to IU, which was also his first time in the United States, last December.
"It was a long way to fly for a 42-hour visit or whatever it was," Whitehead said. "I think I was on the plane longer than I was actually here."
Whitehead is part of IU's formidable 1-2 kicking punch. The other is Oakes, a senior who has returned to form after a disastrous junior season. Oakes is a Big Ten-best 10-for-11 this season.
"I look out for him and he looks out for me," Oakes says. "He's learning a whole new sport and new culture.
"He's doing a great job. He didn't need me that much. He acts like a seasoned vet. He freaks out less than I do. He's been impressive."
How's this for impressive -- if necessary, Whitehead can punt with either foot. Mostly, it's with the left.
Whitehead was at his best last Saturday at Michigan State. He pinned the Spartans inside the 13-yard line a career-best four times while averaging 43.6 yards a punt.
That showcased why Allen, who has a strong special teams coaching background, wanted Whitehead.
"He's proven to be as valuable as I'd hoped he'd be," Allen says.
"It's not about having these great high spiraling punts. That's not really what it's about. It's about ball placement. That's the thing a young man like Haydon with his skill set gives you."
Because Whitehead catches the snap and moves before punting -- what Allen calls changing "the kick point" -- he can move the ball around and limit a team's ability to break a big punt return … or any return at all.
"He has the ability to move around because of the ball control a lot of Australian punters have," Allen says. "That, to me, is what makes him.
"You get these returners in our league and they're good. You sometimes get a beautiful kick, and it's too good, too far, too high, and it out-kicks your coverage and sets up a big return. I'd much rather have a shorter, well-placed kick.
"Haydon has proven to be a big weapon, which is huge."
That weapon, and the rest of the Hoosiers (3-4), head to Maryland (3-4) Saturday in a huge game for winning-record hopes.
Whitehead will get ready the way he always does -- check the weather forecast, "prepare myself for whatever conditions are there," listen to pre-game music (rap and "a little bit of Bon Jovi") and focus on the ball-placement details.
"After Week 2, I started feeling more confident," he says. "That builds every week. I feel comfortable out there."
Just don't expect him to run.
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