And who would have thought it early in the season, when the “daily shank” was as inevitable as the coin toss.
Right now, after back-to-back monster performances, Donahue ranks fourth in the conference with an average of 41.2 yards per punt. That’s up from 37 after five games. And he's done that on 73 punts, 19 more than the next guy in the Big Ten. He had a 76-yarder against Northwestern. He had an 82-yarder against Michigan State, a game in which he averaged 52.6 yards per punt, a performance for which earned Big Ten special teams player of the week honors. It’s been amazing to watch. As amazing as it was entertaining early in the year to guess when Donahue would send the 12-yarder off the side of his foot or the 8-yarder into the stands or the 55-yarder out the back of the end zone. We’ve seen this kid grow up on the field.
After his Tuesday news conference, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz had some great things to say about Donahue, who was ranked as the top punter in the nation coming out of St. Rita High School in Evergreen Park, Ill., in 2006.
Turns out, Donahue is a bit of a screwball. Not that I’m shocked to hear that, kickers and punters in football are a bit like goalies in hockey or closers in baseball. They’re all a few fries short of a happy meal, a tree short of a forest. You get the idea. I guess Ferentz has had some run-ins with his punter off the field. He called him "a bit of a free spirit."
“He’s got his ideas about things at times,” Ferentz said. “Not that he tells me he does. I just judge what I observe. We’ve had some conferences and conversations. That can be a real good thing. He’s a strong-minded guy.”
Ferentz didn’t get specific about what Donahue does that gets under his skin, saying only, “It’s nothing major, just little stuff that would annoy me.
“He’s a bit of a maverick. He’s a strong-willed, strong-minded guy. But that’s a good trait. There was some negotiating. It was a process. Because he’s a strong-willed guy, a lot of good performers are built that way. I think that’s an asset for him.”
Ferentz pointed out that former Iowa kicker Nate Kaeding had a similar personality.
Regardless of what Donahue is like off the field, Ferentz finally is at ease with his performance on it. Just a few weeks ago, he had no idea what he would get sending Donahue out for a punt — remember his 12-yarder late against Illinois that set the Illini up with good field position for a potential game-winning drive.
And Donahue is starting to get some recognition. He might even get some mention when the All-Big Ten teams filter out next month.
“The next thing will be can he handle success,” Ferentz said. “He’s a young guy, people are saying nice things about him, what’s he going to do? I think he’ll handle it well.”
Comments
Drew Tate is my favorite golfer wrote on Nov 8, 2007 12:02 AM:
" Donahue came to the right place to exercise his leg. "
