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5/9
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]New kicker comes calling[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]By Reed Schreck
ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR
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LAKE FOREST -- The Chicago Bears’ phone rang.
“Hi. This is Josh Huston from Ohio State. Can I come kick for you?”
Maybe it didn’t go exactly like that. But Huston contacted the Bears for a free-agent tryout shortly after the 2006 NFL Draft ended.
He saw an opportunity even though fellow Big Ten alum Robbie Gould of Penn State returns.
“I like the city and the team,” Huston said at last weekend’s rookie minicamp at Halas Hall. “(Special teams) Coach (Dave) Toub is a very smart guy. He knows what he’s talking about.”
Huston spent six years with the Buckeyes, getting to kick occasionally as a freshman. Then he had to sit because of injuries and the presence of all-American Mike Nugent, now with the New York Jets, until last season.
“It was a good learning experience,” he said of being around Nugent. “He’s a great kicker. I got to sit and watch and learn a lot.”
Wouldn’t it have been better to be somewhere else, where he could have kicked regularly?
“I had those thoughts,” he said. “But I learned a lot from him.
“From a competitive standpoint, I might not have been as good of a kicker if I went somewhere else.”
He’s looking at his current opportunity in similar fashion give it his best shot and absorb all he can while he’s here.
“I played against Robbie for two years. One year I did kickoffs,” Huston said. “I was impressed with him at Penn State.
“It will be fun, a learning experience.”
Huston was 22-of-28 on field goals last season (.786) with a long of 47. He was 0-for-2 over 50 yards but 5-of-8 between the 40 and 49. He had two attempts blocked by an opponent.
Huston knows the transition to the pros won’t be easy. There’s the five additional yards to the end zone, the shorter tees and the “brand-spanking” new balls as he calls them.
“You’re not going to see the 75 percent touchback ratio you see in college,” he said.
You will see wind, too, in the Windy City.
“We had similar weather in Ohio,” he said. “People don’t know how windy it is in Ohio.”
Bears head coach Lovie Smith is glad to have Huston competing with Gould and fellow free-agent punter Joel Stelly of Louisiana-Monroe to keep Brad Maynard on his toes.
“Both guys have strong legs,” Smith said of Huston and Stelly. “We just like to get better.
“Brad and Robbie are excellent, but we like to have competition every practice. We want to do it like we do at every position. We’ll let them kick every day and then make decisions for the games.
“They’ve got a chance to prove if they can help us or not.”
Reed Schreck is the NFL Writer for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached at 815-987-1381 or rschreckrrstar.com
5/9
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]New kicker comes calling[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]By Reed Schreck
ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR
[/FONT]
OAS_AD('300x250_1');
LAKE FOREST -- The Chicago Bears’ phone rang.
“Hi. This is Josh Huston from Ohio State. Can I come kick for you?”
Maybe it didn’t go exactly like that. But Huston contacted the Bears for a free-agent tryout shortly after the 2006 NFL Draft ended.
He saw an opportunity even though fellow Big Ten alum Robbie Gould of Penn State returns.
“I like the city and the team,” Huston said at last weekend’s rookie minicamp at Halas Hall. “(Special teams) Coach (Dave) Toub is a very smart guy. He knows what he’s talking about.”
Huston spent six years with the Buckeyes, getting to kick occasionally as a freshman. Then he had to sit because of injuries and the presence of all-American Mike Nugent, now with the New York Jets, until last season.
“It was a good learning experience,” he said of being around Nugent. “He’s a great kicker. I got to sit and watch and learn a lot.”
Wouldn’t it have been better to be somewhere else, where he could have kicked regularly?
“I had those thoughts,” he said. “But I learned a lot from him.
“From a competitive standpoint, I might not have been as good of a kicker if I went somewhere else.”
He’s looking at his current opportunity in similar fashion give it his best shot and absorb all he can while he’s here.
“I played against Robbie for two years. One year I did kickoffs,” Huston said. “I was impressed with him at Penn State.
“It will be fun, a learning experience.”
Huston was 22-of-28 on field goals last season (.786) with a long of 47. He was 0-for-2 over 50 yards but 5-of-8 between the 40 and 49. He had two attempts blocked by an opponent.
Huston knows the transition to the pros won’t be easy. There’s the five additional yards to the end zone, the shorter tees and the “brand-spanking” new balls as he calls them.
“You’re not going to see the 75 percent touchback ratio you see in college,” he said.
You will see wind, too, in the Windy City.
“We had similar weather in Ohio,” he said. “People don’t know how windy it is in Ohio.”
Bears head coach Lovie Smith is glad to have Huston competing with Gould and fellow free-agent punter Joel Stelly of Louisiana-Monroe to keep Brad Maynard on his toes.
“Both guys have strong legs,” Smith said of Huston and Stelly. “We just like to get better.
“Brad and Robbie are excellent, but we like to have competition every practice. We want to do it like we do at every position. We’ll let them kick every day and then make decisions for the games.
“They’ve got a chance to prove if they can help us or not.”
Reed Schreck is the NFL Writer for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached at 815-987-1381 or rschreckrrstar.com
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