WR Danny Coale on how he is becoming a better punter, since the Hokies might need him there as well
Darryl Slater
Jul 24, 2011
Tomorrow’s paper includes a story from down here at ACC media days in Pinehurst, N.C., about Virginia Tech senior wide receiver Danny Coale spending this summer practicing his punting. Coale had a bunch of interesting things to say about this – not nearly all of which could fit in the print edition.
Before we get to Coale’s comments, a bit of background on the situation, which you probably already know …
Tech coach Frank Beamer, who supervises the kickers and punters, didn’t see enough from his punters during spring practices to pick one. He had Coale do some punting, something he hadn’t done since high school. Beamer said late in the spring that if none of the other punters (redshirt freshman Ethan Keyserling, junior Scott Demler and sophomore Grant Bowden) demonstrated some progress, then he would go with Coale.
Beamer’s logic: Coale has been in lots of big games, since he has started since his freshman year. And he is a fairly good punter, too.
It will be interesting to watch incoming freshman Michael Branthover during August practices to see how much he factors in to the punting battle. But for now, Coale continues to work on a skill that could result in him being a rare two-position guy.
He said his punting routine this summer has depended on how his leg feels.
“If it’s a heavy squat day, I might back off a little bit,” he said. “Usually, I’m out probably 40 balls a week, which probably doesn’t sound like a lot compared to what punters do. They might go out there and kick 40 balls a day in just one session. I’m still running a lot of routes, doing all the strength and conditioning and punting, so I want to limit it a little bit, just to take care of my body.
“I try to go at it every single week, for a little bit. I’m certainly not polished by any means, but I think I’ve become more comfortable with it throughout this summer. During spring ball, I had done it before, but it was still new to me. I had to shake off the rust a little bit. Now, it’s a little bit smoother out there. I feel a little bit better about it.”
Beamer wanted him to go from being a three-step punter to a two-stepper.
“I experimented with it a lot in the beginning,” Coale said. “It’s tough if you’ve been doing something for so long and then you’re kind of asked to change it. It’s tough to get that down. But I experimented with a few things, and once I get into camp I’m going to have to test it out – to try to rock my third step into it on the snap.
“So I don’t catch it – one, two, three. It’s while the ball’s being snapped, I take my first one. It’s a little bit different because it’s just so natural for me to take that first step with my left foot that I’m trying to do it that way. If that doesn’t work in camp, then we’ll try to tweak it a little bit more.”
NCAA rules prohibit Beamer from supervising the kickers during the summer, and Coale said he hasn’t consulted with the coach either. But that’s not a huge issue.
“I understand what I need to do and how to go about it,” Coale said. “It’s just getting comfortable with it. I’ve been out there with a couple punters, just picking their brains. That’s helped a little bit. The thing that they keep telling me is: You have to do what’s comfortable.”
A potential issue is Coale being tired while punting because he just ran a long third-down route.
“It was a concern of mine,” he said. “If I run a deep route, how is that going to affect my punting? I don’t want to have to take a timeout. But I also want to be able to help the team on third down. I don’t want that to become an issue. So I’ve been really working at it, conditioning-wise. I don’t foresee it to be a problem. But then again, it’s going to be something I’m not going to really know until we get into those first few scrimmages of the fall and see how that goes.”
Coale did his extra conditioning earlier this summer, when he was home in Lexington. He went over to Virginia Military Institute, where his dad is the strength coach.
“I’d punt a ball and then run and punt it back and run and go get it – to try to see what it’s like to kick with a tired leg,” he said. “Once I got into the thick of coach [Mike] Gentry’s conditioning program [at Tech], that backed off a little bit because that’s pretty intense. But if I’m out there goofing off [on Tech’s practice field], I’ll try to hit a couple, run, get them and just try and kick while I’m breathing somewhat heavy so I can get used to that.”
In high school, Coale pretty much just booted the ball – never realizing the importance of things like holding it straight in front of you, at waist level, and not cupping it from underneath. Tech’s punters have caught him up on all those pointers. Of course, they are also competing against him.
“I don’t know if they’re telling me the wrong thing,” Coale joked. “What they’ve been telling me has been working a little bit. It’s not just foot and ball. There’s a whole lot of technique.”
It’s important to note that Coale – as well as fellow three-year starting receiver Jarrett Boykin – should shoot up Tech’s all-time receiving record lists this fall. Granted, these numbers aren’t eye-popping, since Tech has long used a running-focused offense. And both Coale and Boykin were fortunate enough to get major action as freshmen, because the Hokies needed them. So they have had opportunities to make a lot of catches.
But here is where Coale and Boykin rank on the catches and yards lists …
CATCHES
Ernest Wilford, 126
Jarrett Boykin, 123
Josh Morgan, 122
Antonio Freeman, 121
Eddie Royal, 119
Ricky Scales (three seasons), 113
Danny Coale, 105
YARDS
Ricky Scales (three seasons), 2,272
Antonio Freeman, 2,207
Jarrett Boykin, 2,123
Ernest Wilford, 2,052
Andre Davis, 1,986
Josh Morgan, 1,817
Danny Coale, 1,778
Barring a disaster, Boykin will leave Tech as the all-time leader in catches and yards. If Coale replicates his numbers from last season (39 catches, 732 yards – both career highs), he will be No. 2 in catches and yards, trailing Boykin in both categories.
So while Coale as a punter is an interesting storyline, playing receiver remains his top priority – as it should.
“If I’m the guy for the [punting] job, if I’m the guy that’s going to help the team in that area, I’m all for it,” he said. “Come camp, if one of those other guys is better, I’ll still do it and try and push them. But my primary role is receiver. Without a doubt, that’s my first priority. But if I can help with punting and it doesn’t really hurt me in the receiving area, then I’m all for it.”
