Ask any Texas A&M fan what the biggest bugaboo from last football season was, and you will nearly-unanimously hear that it was the kicking game. Though the Aggies brought in a very experienced kicker last season in Randy Bond, the consistency in that third phase simply wasn’t there through too much of the year, and it heavily impacted the way things went for Texas A&M— especially down the stretch of the year.
That’s why the additions of David Olano and Asher Murray were so significant over this past offseason. Murray was an all-star kicker during his high school career, and demonstrated especially in the spring game that he had what it takes.
However, when the depth chart was released, it was not Murray who headlined the position, but Olano, the Illinois transfer. His reliability was clear from looking at the stats, and he’s a guy that has faced down some big environments to make clutch plays for his team. Mike Elko was asked today about that kicking battle, and though he demurred from saying too much, Aggie fans can read in between the lines to know that this could be a massive improvement coming into this year.
Mike Elko’s confidence in kicking game improvement is understated but clear
Elko discussed the battle between the two of these players in his first weekly presser of the season, answering a question from Travis Brown:
"[Olano] is just a really good kicker. He was hurt in the spring, and didn’t really get to kick much, and so Asher got his opportunity and really did a nice job. That created a competition, not because David didn’t do anything, but just because you had this other guy really step up all spring. They went back and forth, and it was very, very close, and very, very tight, because both guys were phenomenal. I think we have a really, really strong kicking situation, and we decided to go with the guy who has done it a little more at the college level at this point. Both of them were really, really good this fall."Mike Elko
When he was later asked again about it, he fell back to his normal Elko-isms of having to go out and prove it on the field, which is entirely fair, and the right mindset to have as a coach, but you can tell the level of excitement that he as about this room compared to last year just from this simple quote.
If Olano is the guy, then that solves one of the biggest issues for Texas A&M from last season. Think about how differently the Miami game could have gone had Texas A&M made all of their kicks— that final drive that ended in an interception could have been a bleed-out-the-clock and kick the game winner situation rather than a hasty, score-as-fast-as-you-can one.
Having that consistency and improved accuracy can even affect the way that Mike Elko and company call their plays elsewhere in the game. This will be a huge help to Texas A&M this year, and fans are no doubt extremely excited to see it take place.
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