Finding His Groove

Sept. 21, 2002

Recap | Stats | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery

By Chris Purser
Sports Information Student Assistant >

OXFORD, Miss. - Getting into the swing of things takes time, practice, hard work, and above all, patience. That applies to all things in life, and the game of football is no exception. The offense has to find a rhythm before they can score points; defense must get into a groove before they can stop the opposition. And getting into the swing of things definitely applies to special teams - whether it's lining up for a 40 yard field goal or hitting a crucial PAT that puts you ahead by seven.

In Ole Miss' 45-38 win over Vanderbilt Saturday, Ole Miss kicker Jonathon Nichols found his rhythm. The sophomore place-kicker from Greenwood, Miss., connected on all three of his field goals attempts, including one from 42 yards. His 13 points in Saturday's game placed him fourth in the record books for most points responsible for by a kicker in a single game. In fact, the entire special teams unit contributed in Saturday's win to open the Rebels' Southeastern Conference slate.

In the early season, Nichols and the place-kicking unit has been up and down. Prior to Saturday, Nichols had only hit 2 of his 5 previous field goal attempts, but was perfect on his PATs (13-of-13). On Saturday, the special teams unit - particularly the place-kicking group - came alive. That's something that Ole Miss deep snapper A.J. Kiamie said they, as a unit, had been working on all week.

"We have it down to tenths of a second when it comes to field goals and getting them off," Kiamie said. "If one of us gets hurt or is down, it can throw the whole thing off."

Against Louisiana-Monroe, Nichols started the season off right, hitting all his PATs and setting his career best with a 47-yard field goal. But the next week, the seamlessly flawless Nichols got out of his groove, going just 1-of-4 on his field goals. Against Texas Tech, Nichols didn't have a field goal attempt, and didn't know if he would get another one so soon after both Kiamie and holder Cody Ridgeway got hurt in that game.

In Saturday's game, it became obvious that Nichols had once again found his mark. That's something that head coach David Cutcliffe was happy to see.

"He just got off rhythm against Memphis," said Cutcliffe. "I don't think he realized just how important those points were until the score was tied today. I'm glad to see he is back in his rhythm. I hope it continues."

Both Kiamie and Cutcliffe said that while Nichols was in a little slump, his attitude in practice had not changed.

"He has worked hard in practice and continues to work hard," Cutcliffe said. "He is a very talented player."

"Jonathan works hard everyday in practice," Kiamie added. "He will go back out in practice and find out what he is doing wrong and work to correct it."

Problem solved on Saturday.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

Related Videos