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Local kicker vies for top spot
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Three seconds left in the game, on the road in San Jose, Calif., trailing the Spartans by two. Boise State Head Football Coach Chris Petersen calls to the kicking net for senior Anthony Montgomery to bring the Broncos home. Montgomery hasn’t missed a field goal since the first game of the season, but the 37-yard attempt still appears to be the only thing standing in BSU’s path to a BCS game.
As Bronco fans now know, Montgomery hit the game winner as time expired, which propelled the Broncos into the Fiesta Bowl and eventually proved victorious against the University of Oklahoma Sooners. A memory pushed to the background behind the statue of liberty play and the hook and ladder.
Anthony Montgomery misses that kick – and the Broncos never make it to Phoenix.
Kickers live unglorified lives – usually forgotten until they miss the game-winning field goal and become the goat. Their job, however, is one that takes a cool-customer to do it well.
Replacing a kicker that had it figured out is one of the biggest jobs coach Petersen has this off-season. Enter Kyle Brotzman.
Brotzman, a freshman kicker from Meridian High School, is one of two players coach Pete has called upon to fill the void left by Montgomery. After gray-shirting a season, walking onto the team in 2006 and red-shirting that same season – Brotzman is now hoping to beat out walk-on place-kicker Brock Jaramillo to become the new "leg" of BSU football.
"It was a goal coming out of high school," Brotzman said about becoming the starting kicker at BSU. "I wasn’t really recruited and I ended up not going to a smaller school and came and walked on here. Right now it’s just amazing to be here and it’s going to be fun to play in front of my family and friends."
Brotzman’s only suitor during high school was NAIA University of Montana State-Northern. The MSU-Northern Lights failed to win Brotzman’s confidence, however, causing him to commit to a school that had yet commit to him. Fast-forward two years and Brotzman is in a position to be the next overlooked Bronco star.
"I’m going to have a long time here," Brotzman said. "I’m going to improve on everything I can. There’s still a lot of work I need to do. But I have a while to work on every aspect I need to improve on kicking."
Perhaps the biggest help in Brotzman’s development will come from freshman punter Brad Elkin, who will take over the punting duties for the 2007 season. Brotzman was spending his spring practice as the only kicker and punter on the Bronco roster. By adding Elkin to the mix, however, Brotzman will now be able to focus solely on making field goals and point after attempts.
"I’m feeling really good," Brotzman said. "I struggled a little bit in the spring but I came back and I had a really good end of spring. I feel good right now coming back in."
Replacing Montgomery won’t be an easy task. He finished the season with an All-Western Athletic Conference First Team selection and a 92.9 field goal percentage. Montgomery made his last 13 field-goal attempts of the season and 56 of his 58 PAT’s.
Brotzman hasn’t stepped on the field in a Bronco uniform yet. As a senior at Meridian he went 6-of-11 in FG tries – hitting a 52-yard attempt. He also made 52 extra points on the season. More importantly, however, he made nine touch back’s throughout the season, which will be crucial in establishing good field position for the Broncos all season.
"Make the team better," Brotzman said. "That’s one of my personal goals. That’s what I’m here for."
Whether or not Brotzman finds the consistency to beat out Jaramillo by opening night is yet to be seen. Regardless of who is attempting field goals and point after attempts, their role on the team impacts football games every time they step onto the field – just ask Anthony Montgomery.
Who is Brock Jaramillo?
Brock Jaramillo is a walk-on place kicker who has joined the Boise State football team for fall camp with high hopes of becoming the starting kicker for the 2007 season. Jaramillo transferred to BSU from Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, Calif.
In his sophomore campaign last year Jaramillo made 8-of-15 field goal attempts. On Monday, Aug. 7, he caught the coaching staff’s attention with a 50-plus yard field goal during workouts.
Freshman Kyle Brotzman was expected to be the only place kicker on roster this season but Jaramillo is not only expected to be on the final season roster, but compete for the starting job.
Jake Garcin
