USD Football 1992

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Not Once, But Twice The most signifi– cant phase of Joe Wood's college place– kicking career oc– curred during his first two months at the Air Force Academy. While enduring the unrelenting pressure of cadet basic train– ing, the linebacker hopeful's weight dropped from an acceptable 212 pounds to a scant 179. No surprise, then, that the coaches were unimpressed when he showed up for the first practice that fall. As a

which earned him AT&T's weekly Long Distance Award and ultimately placed him second to Washington State's Jason Hanson (62 yards) for all of last season. "I never thought it would turn out this way," concluded Wood, who was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the 12th round and hopes to kick in the NFL after he finishes his five-year active duty com– mitment, "not in a million years." AT&T salutes the best Long Distance players The AT&T Long Distance Award hon– ors Division I-A players in six Long Distance football categories each week. A $400 scholarship contribution is made each time a student athlete is recognized. At the conclusion of the season, AT&T will present six Long Distance Awards based on season-long statistics, plus donate an additional $6,000, for a total of approxi– mately $40,000 in scholarship contributions by the end ofthe football season. All contri– butions are directed to the NCM's Degree Completion Award program, to help deserving senior student-athletes "go the distance" to obtain their college degrees. At AT&T, we honor players who have reached their goals on the field and we help others reach their goals off the field. Look for announcements in your local paper each week to see if your favorite players win the AT&T Long Distance Awards.

linebacker, they told him, he would make a good placekicker, a skill he had pretty much forgotten about since early in his senior season in high school in California when a torn stomach muscle benched his kicking potential. But no matter, Wood just wanted to make the team. He approached his new duty with an assiduous work ethic that quickly paid dividends. By his sopho– more season in 1989, he was the Falcons' best kicker. By the end of his junior sea– son, he was first team all-Western Athletic Conference and developing into Air Force's most accurate placekicker ever. Consequently, Head Coach Fis her DeBerry confidently turned to Wood last season against Notre Dame with one second left in the first half and the Falcons trailing 21-6. Though the holder was kneeling 53 yards from the goal– posts, three yards more than his longest kick, Wood was unfazed. "For one, we needed the points," he remarked later. "We wanted to go into the locker room with a little enthusiasm. And second, I usually don't know how long the kick is. It doesn't matter. Long or short, I kick the same way." Yet in the rush to get on the field, the long snappe r got left behind. Guard Walt Rice quickly moved over and snapped the ball to prevent a delay of game penalty. Wood got off a solid kick, but almost immediately he heard a whis– tle. The Falcons did not have the

required seven men on the line of scrim– mage. As the kick sailed through the uprights, the officials doused the cele– bration by marking off five yards. Disappointed? You bet, "but I wasn't too concerned," Wood recalled. "I knew I'd make the longer distance if I just kicked the ball the same way." At this point he still wasn't sure of the length of his attempt. With the long snapper in place and no time on the clock, Wood's leg once again powered the ball through the uprights. Only later would he find out the distance,

1991 WEEKLY WINNERS: LONG DISTANCE KICKERS

Week 1

Week 8

....... Jason Elam. Hawaii

...............Joe Wood, Air force

2......

..........................Mike Brown. Colorado State

9 ... .Roman Anderson, Houston 10 ....................................... Doug Pelphrey, Kentucky 11 .Jason Hanson. Washington State 12 ....................................... Doug Pelphrey, Kentucky 13 .... ..............TimWilliams, Ohio State 14... . ...... Scott Sisson. GeorgiaTech

3 4

.... Dan Eichloff, Kansas

...... Chris Boniol. Lousiana Tech 5.............................Jason Hanson, Washington State 6... .......................... Doug Brian. California 7 ... ...................................Jeff Ireland. Baylor

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