K Drew Basil (Cleveland Gladiators)

[Buckskin86]

Basil punter for now

With Ben Buchanan having graduated, and with former commitment Johnny Townsend having signed with Florida, the Buckeyes are in the market for a punter. After the first day of spring practice, Meyer said kicker Drew Basil is capable of punting, too.

?Drew did a good job,? Meyer said. ?Fundamentally, I saw that last year. Drew could have punted last year. The only thing he?s lacking is consistency because of experience.

?But, fundamentally, I thought maybe he was our best punter. Obviously, Ben had so much experience and was such a great guy that you counted on to get the job done. But Drew, he?s got a strong leg. So I feel good with Drew. Obviously, we?re still keeping our eyes and ears open.?

One player to watch is receiver Frank Epitropoulos, who appeared to have the better showing during the punt session, banging several kicks into and sometimes through the girders high above the indoor practice field.

http://buckeyextra.dispatch.com/con...-recruiting-score-pittman-leaves-program.html

 

[LitlBuck]

Place-kicker Drew Basil has been asked to be the punter this year, and yesterday proved to be a mixed bag in both areas. He missed a 28-yard field-goal attempt early. Meyer interrupted the scrimmage to give Basil more kicks from various distances. With the wind at his back, he missed three from beyond 50 yards. Basil did make a 25-yarder later in the scrimmage. He punted three times for an average of 34 yards.

Asked about Basil’s progress, Meyer replied, “Good, not great. I’m very happy with him as a field-goal kicker.

“Punting, I have some concerns. He certainly can do it. When you watch him hit one, it’s a beautiful thing. But he doesn’t have the experience, so I’m very concerned.”

http://buckeyextra.dispatch.com/con...to-challenge-earns-starting-receiver-job.html

 

[maximumblitz]

The same article states the problem, and further down, one potential solution:

Asked about Basil?s progress, Meyer replied, ?Good, not great. I?m very happy with him as a field-goal kicker.
?Punting, I have some concerns. He certainly can do it. When you watch him hit one, it?s a beautiful thing. But he doesn?t have the experience, so I?m very concerned.?

On fourth down, Niehoff picked off Jones? pass. ?Isn?t that cool?? said cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs, a Cincinnati native. ?You?ve got a walk-on kid from Cincinnati and a walk-on kid from Cleveland. They?re obviously trying to jam that ball in there to a talented receiver. They rise up, and they stop him.
?For Niehoff, that?s just a great play. He came to Ohio State as a walk-on punter, and now he?s playing safety. You have to be proud of a kid like that.?

We have a walk on punter that I didn't know about? We are in better shape than I thought!

 

[Buckskin86]

Ohio State football: Kicker Basil won't be on double duty

MENAFN - - 8/26/2013

Ohio State football: Kicker Basil won't be on double duty

Aug 26, 2013 (Menafn - The Columbus Dispatch - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --Drew Basil probably was looking forward to being a double-duty man for second-ranked Ohio State in his senior season, charged with handling kicking and punting. He considers himself a football player first, and players like to be on the field as much as possible.

But Ohio State coaches went to great lengths -- all the way to Australia -- to import Cameron Johnston, a 21-year-old former Australian Rules Football player, to do the punting. By all accounts, he has brought the thunder from Down Under, which has allowed Basil, projected in the spring to do both jobs, to concentrate on his specialty.

"It is nice," Basil said. "I still work on my punting, but not as often. I'm really going at it with field goals and kickoffs now; it's given me the chance to focus on that.

"With how hard Cameron is working at punting, I feel like I have to work just as hard with the kicking game. I think what drives us both is seeing everyone else out there working as hard as they can."

There are at least two reasons why coaches prefer specialists over dual performers, the first being that one job usually takes away from the other because they are distinctly different swings of the leg. The second reason is obvious.

"I've done it once before when we had a punter get hurt, and a guy had to do both, and it's not the easiest thing," said OSU cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs, in his first year as special-teams coordinator.

"Then you really have concerns about, 'What if he gets hurt?' Obviously, Drew gives us a great comfort level because he can do both, and can do both exceedingly well."

cont...

http://www.menafn.com/c4789cd3-c5dd...-Kicker-Basil-wont-be-on-double-duty?src=main

 

[Buckskin86]

Meet a Buckeye: Drew Basil
Basil has proved self to coaches
Enlarge Image
Jonathan Quilter | Dispatch
Drew Basil (24) lines up to try a field goal last Saturday at Northwestern.


DREW BASIL
Kicker


Age:21

Year:Senior

Vitals:6 feet 1, 212 pounds

Hometown (high school):Chillicothe, Ohio (Chillicothe High School)

Major:Communications

ByBill Rabinowitz
The Columbus DispatchFRIDAY OCTOBER 11, 2013

• 
  
  Urban Meyer isn’t a big fan of field goals, but the Buckeyes coach has become a big fan of his field-goal kicker. Drew Basil has proved to be reliable for Ohio State, making all five of his field-goal attempts and all 31 of his extra-point attempts. He’s just as valuable on kickoffs. His high, well-directed kicks repeatedly allow the Buckeyes to stick opponents with poor field position. Kicking for Ohio State is the fulfillment of a dream for Basil, who had to overcome a tough transition to the new coaching regime.
  
  Question:Tell us about your family.
  
  Answer:I have a mom, Elaine, and a dad, Brad, and two older brothers, Josh, 26, and Kyle, 25. My mom is a buyer at the paper mill down there (in Chillicothe). My dad is a retired schoolteacher.
  
  
  Q:Did your older brothers pick on you, or were they protective?
  
  A:More protective. They were good older brothers, just treating me like I was one of them. I always got to hang out with them and their friends; they wouldn’t complain about it.
  
  cont...

http://buckeyextra.dispatch.com/content/stories/2013/10/11/gameday/meet-a-buckeye.html

• 
  
  

 

[Buckskin86]

 

[HorseshoeFetish]

I really hope he's in Super Troopers 2!!!

 

[Buckskin86]

OSU's Basil contributes with leg, pursuit of tackles on kickoffs





Nov. 14, 2013

Ohio State kicker and Chillicothe graduate Drew Basil kicks off against Florida A&M during a Sept. 21 nonconference game. Basil is among a rare breed of kickers who enjoys trying to make a tackle. / Jay LaPrete/AP
Written by
A.J. Atkinson
Gazette Staff Writer


COLUMBUS — While most college football players at major Division I programs entertain dreams of playing on Sundays, senior kicker and Chillicothe graduate Drew Basil has more immediate concerns than what the future holds after his Ohio State career.

Besides being the starting placekicker on a Buckeye team that is No. 3 in the nation and hasn’t lost a game since 2011, Basil has the chance to leave his mark on school lore.

He has been involved in Ohio State’s special teams unit all four years of his career, being used primarily for kickoffs as a freshman and as the placekicker the past three seasons. If he plays in the remaining three regular-season games, a likely Big Ten championship game and a bowl game, Basil would tie Bryant Browning, Chimdi Chekwa, Marcus Freeman and Cam Heyward for second place all-time at the school with 52 games played. That would only be behind Ross Homan’s 54 games.

Heading into the season, Basil was sixth all-time among Buckeye kickers with a 97.8 point-after percentage, going 92 for 94. Thanks to an aggressive offense under coach Urban Meyer, Basil is perfect on 52 extra points and seven field-goal attempts, accounting for 73 points.

Basil is quick to credit others, knowing his accomplishments wouldn’t be possible if his teammates didn’t score.

“I wouldn’t get any of those opportunities if it wasn’t for the offense,” Basil said. “It’s just being a part of the team and taking advantage of all the opportunities that I do get.”

cont...

http://www.chillicothegazette.com/a...asil-contributes-leg-pursuit-tackles-kickoffs

 

[TheStoicPaisano]

I really hope he's in Super Troopers 2!!!

Who wants a mustache ride?

 

[TheStoicPaisano]

Basil and Makridis will be trying out for the Falcons at their rookie minicamp this weekend.

 

[calibuck]

31 pro teams with kickers, 214 (?) college teams with kickers. Pretty steep odds, especially since the pros don't recycle players every four years like college. Here's hoping both our guys start receiving a paycheck. By the way, of the graduating (or just moving on) seniors from last year's tOSU team, I firmly believe that Drew will be missed the most. Auto-magic 3 points, this year, maybe not so much. Go Bucks

 

[LordJeffBuck]

Browns should have taken Basil up on his offer.

 

[brodybuck21]

Drew is listed on the Cleveland Gladiators (Arena Football) roster