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CHERUBINI CHIMES IN
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One-on-One with the
Pirates
Friday,
August 27, 2010
By Ron Cherubini |
Matt Millisor
By
Ron Cherubini
©2010 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
A year ago, Matt Millisor was a
preferred walk-on as a multi-talented kicker. He had had the same offer from
other major colleges – South Carolina for one – but had sized up the
situation at East Carolina and felt it was his best opportunity to get an early shot
at a starting role. A year later, Millisor finds himself in the mix for all
three starting positions at kicker, battling senior Ben Ryan for the place
kicking duties, leading the mix for the punting duties and looking to lock
down the kick-off duties. He knows that a lot of attention will be paid to
the position and is eager to be the man.
Matt was kind enough to
sit down for a chat with Bonesville to share his insights on the
upcoming season.
Q: You came into the program
a year ago as a preferred walk-on with two senior kickers firmly
established. Now, you find yourself in the running for not only the
place-kicking, but also the punting and kickoff roles. Share your thoughts
on your chances and what you're doing out there in practice?
A: I am batting for three
jobs… the punting job with Trent Trignor and then place-kicking, of course,
with Ben Ryan and Mike Barbour, and kick-off too. I am in there, trying to
win a position.
 Q:
Do you have a preference in terms of the job you want to do out there?
A: I don’t really have a
preference. I probably feel most comfortable punting right now to be honest.
That is what I worked on the most during the off-season. It’s not really a
surprise. Last year, when I first got here, I talked a lot to Matt Dodge and
he told me he thought I had the most potential as a punter. He’s pretty
good, you know, so I took that advice and kind of ran with it.
Q: Where would you say you are
performing best right now?
A: I am probably doing best
at punting… yeah, punting I think is where things are going best.
Before I came in here, I had never
really focused on punting. Matt talked to me a lot about technique. He
taught me all about the fine points of the drop and steps and how to be
successful.
Q: When you saw what Ben
Hartman went through last season at the bowl game, what were your thoughts?
How do you work through those moments?
A: Well, you know, it
happens. You need to pick up and try to forget your last kick and have a
short memory. I try to think of it that way. You have to focus on the next
kick and making that one good. It was tough on Ben and I felt for
him.
Q: What are the coaches saying
about special teams and the focus that must be paid to it.
A: These coaches put a major
emphasis on special teams because it is one-third of the game and it is very
important to the offense and the defense and it is a huge factor in our
success.
 Q:
Is this competition going to go to game week, you think?
A: Coaches have not said
much. We will have a pretty good idea by game week and could go to that
point. Whoever is kicking the best at that point. We’ll find out pretty
soon.
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