Kicking game a bright spot for Duke

As the 2010 football season opened, a follower of Duke football would not have expected to see redshirt-junior kicker Will Synderwine and junior punter Alex King atop the special teams depth chart. But the duo is there, combining to form a stabilizing force in the kicking game.

For Synderwine, a rugby and soccer player while at the Landon School in Bethesda, Md., football was not even on his mind until midway through his freshman year of college. That was when Ted Roof, Duke’s head coach in 2007, placed an ad in The Chronicle announcing an open tryout for the kicking position. At the time, Synderwine was on the club rugby team and was coaxed into attending with a few of his friends from that squad.

“My freshman year, they were having struggles in the kicking game,” Synderwine said. “My friends and I came over for the tryout, and I hit the ball pretty well that day.”

The coaching staff was impressed enough that their new kicker was dressed and on the sideline for that week’s game. Snyderwine wouldn’t see game action in either the 2007 or 2008 season, but he still stuck with the team.

His efforts would eventually be rewarded, though, as he became the starting kicker early in the 2009 campaign after then-starter Nick Maggio struggled. The former rugby star rewarded the coaching staff’s faith, connecting on 17-of-20 field goal attempts and nailing all 24 of his PATs. With a five-field-goal game on his record and a 51-yarder against Wake Forest, Synderwine garnered some national attention and was a Lou Groza Award semifinalist.

Even with all of his success last season, Snyderwine stumbled a bit this spring, and his struggles continued over the summer, perhaps due to his increased focus on kickoffs. In fact, after missing a chip shot in the Blue-White scrimmage, Synderwine was passed on the depth chart by Maggio.

“There was definitely a time when I lost the job,” Synderwine said. “Fortunately, Coach Cutcliffe gave me another chance, and I think I’ve made him proud.”

The Thursday before the season opener against Elon, Snyderwine was informed that we would be that week’s starter and never looked back. On the season, he has booted of 11-of-12 field goals and made all 18 of his extra points. After missing a 47-yarder in the opener, he has converted on nine consecutive attempts. Additionally, he has already recorded more touchbacks this year than last and even successfully converted two onside kicks in the last two games.

Last season against Georgia Tech, King got his first start with regular punter Kevin Jones struggling. But he didn’t perform well enough and soon ended up back on the bench. After being outplayed by Jones in spring ball, King didn’t expect a great deal of opportunity this year. However, Cutcliffe was more optimistic.

“Alex has really exceeded expectations,” Cutcliffe said. “We always knew he was somewhat of a factor. We gave him a shot last year, but this year he has taken it and run with it.”

As a result of the offense’s struggles this year, King has been busy. Having already recorded 36 punts since taking over for Jones midway through Duke’s loss to Wake Forest, King posts a respectable average of 42.1 yards per attempt. More impressively, he has pinned the opponent inside their own 20-yard line on 12 different occasions.

Just like his kicking partner Snyderwine, King has had exposure to the game of rugby. He now incorporates the rugby punt in his regimen, allowing him to confine the dangerous returners in the conference.

While there has not been a lot of consistency associated with the Blue Devils this year, one area that has exceeded expectations is the kicking game. Not bad for two walk-ons.