Five yards of turf has made all the difference for Ball State kickoff specialist Scott Secor this season.
Due to a new rule in college football, Secor is kicking off from the 35-yard line instead of the 30-yard line. The difference was immediately noticeable.
"Especially standing there, it kind of reminds you of high school, being at the 40 almost," he said.
The result was visible in Ball State's win over Eastern Michigan on Aug. 30. Secor recorded four touchbacks on eight kickoffs in the game after only managing to produce five touchbacks on 56 attempts in 2011.
Part of that can be attributed to kicking five yards closer to the end zone.
But it can also be attributed to Secor's growth as a player.
"We saw early on in camp that [Secor] had gotten a little bit stronger with his leg and had made some improvements over the summer," special teams coach Justin Lustig said. "We really challenged his with his consistency, and he did a great job against Eastern Michigan."
Secor wasn't as satisfied.
"Not as good as I could be," he said.
And how can he be? Secor said he expects to kick at an 80 percent rate of touchbacks this season, which is still unheard of numbers under the new collegiate rules.
But Secor didn't blink. He truly believes he can reach that goal, as well as achieve new goals as a special teams unit.
And his confidence in himself is spreading to the coaching staff.
"Another good sign in terms of where we're going as a program [is] when Scott Secor can come to Justin Lustig and say, 'Hey, I feel good about this,'" coach Pete Lembo said. "And Justin Lustig has enough trust in him to say, 'OK, we're going to give you a chance to make this happen.' And he goes out there and executes it."
Ball State gave up an average of 20.3 yards on kick returns last season. With the new rule placing touchbacks on the 25-yard line, it raises the question on how badly the team should strive for touchbacks instead of making the opposing team bring the ball back deep out of the end zone.
Secor dismissed any notion that Ball State would attempt that.
"We figured if I can put it in the end zone and get a touchback every time, why make it harder on ourselves?" he said. "Why make our team have to cover an entire field and make a play when I can single-handedly help our team and not have to make the other 10 guys [do it]."
Several players have helped Secor get to his current level of kicking, both currently on the team and former players.
He said his roommate and travel partner, long snapper Garrett Mack, has always been the first person he's gone to for advice. Mack's encouragement helped most when Secor was first told he had lost the battle with Steven Schott as the team's field goal kicker.
"Especially when I found out, 'Hey, you're only doing kickoffs,' he was always there," Secor said. "He was like, 'Hey, your time is going to come. Don't worry about it. Do what you can now for the team.'"
Former Ball State punter Chris Miller, who played from 2004-2008 and left the school as the record-holder for best punting average (44.8 yards), has been another source of inspiration for Secor.
Secor said he's only spoken to Miller a few times, but he made an impact on his career each time they talked.
"He reiterates how much pride we have in special teams here," Secor said. "Seeing him and how well he did when he was here, it kind of makes you want to be even better."
During the Eastern Michigan post-game press conference last week, when asked about Schott's 52-yard field goal, Lembo said Secor could be used on some longer field goal attempts in the future.
Secor comes prepared.
"Those are my favorite kicks," he said. "I'd rather hit a kick from 55 than from 30."
Secor was then asked if he knows the longest field goal he's ever made.
"Longest field goal I've ever hit was 67," he said.
He said he thinks he'd max out around 64 or 65 and was quickly reminded that kicks like that would break records.
"Hopefully," he said, laughing.
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