By Hunter Ansley
Hunter is a freelance writer who has been published by ESPN the Magazine. He runs Draft Zoo.com
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Here’s a list of the top college fantasy football kickers for 2009.
2009 College Fantasy Football Rankings – Kickers:
Last Updated: July 18, 2009
Just to clarify, I’m not a big fan of drafting kickers in any fantasy league at any level. I’d rather take a late-round flier on someone with great upside in an NFL league, and in a college league, you can get starters at the skill positions throughout the entire draft. So when you play college fantasy football this year (if you do…) then this is probably not a big deal. However, if you do want a kicker on your team, these are the guys to take. Of course, you’d probably be just as well off taking a strong offensive team’s kicker like Oklahoma’s or Texas’ or Texas Tech’s or… you get the point.
- Morgan Flint, Oregon
Flint is big-time risk/reward here, but since we’re talking about the least-important position on your team, I’m ranking him No. 1. The Ducks are probably going to score a good bit this year, especially considering LeGarrette Blount did so 17 times on his own last season. So Flint should get plenty of extra point opportunities. He came in for the final four games last season and hit on 7-of-9 field goals and all 28 of his extra points, including three field goals and eight extra points against Oregon State. Not bad to get 17 out of your kicker. However, Oregon apparently signed two pretty highly touted kickers this offseason, so he’s not a complete lock. He’s just got great upside.
- Dan Bailey, Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is another team that looks like a legit contender for the season scoring title. This offense should hum along with a great ground game and the most productive receiver in the country. The lack of defenses in the Big 12 is another reason to give Bailey a nice long look. He’ll appreciate it. He put up 110 points last season in his first year as the starter, and should best that total in 2009 with most of the offensive pieces returning. He was 15-of-19 on field goals (with two misses coming from 50-plus) and he hit all 65 of his extra points.
- Alex Henery, Nebraska
It’s never a bad thing to be the most accurate kicker in school history. It’s even better when you’re the most accurate returning kicker in the nation over the last two seasons. Henery’s 26-of-29 over that time, which is good enough for a .897 accuracy rating. He was 18-of-21 last season and only missed one of his 57 extra point attempts, giving him 110 points for the season, or 8.5 per game. Nebraska’s offense could struggle some this year, but they should be good enough to stall out in Henery’s range.
- Leigh Tiffen, Alabama
Tiffen is a great kicker and he’s got plenty of experience. I’m just worried about Alabama’s ability to score. Still, he’s a great option if you want to waste a pick on a kicker or if your league requires you to draft one. He made 25 field goals as a sophomore, and then followed that up by scoring 106 points last season. He’s a definite Groza Award candidate, and Alabama’s defense should be good enough to give the offense great field position, which they’ll probably squander, leading to Tiffen taking the field.
- Kyle Brotzman, Boise State
Here’s one of those guys who is lucky enough to play for a high-powered offense in a defense-deficient conference. Brotzman should get plenty of opportunities this season. Brotzman averages 8.3 ppg over his career, and has scored at least 100 points in each of the last two years. He’s also 116-of-116 for his career when it comes to extra points, which he should be kicking a lot of this year with Kellen Moore back to lead the offense.
- Aaron Pettrey, Ohio State
Pettrey will definitely benefit from the graduation of Ryan Pretorius. Last season, Pettrey was the guy who kicked the longer field goals from 35-plus yards. He went 7-of-8 on those, and should really get going now that he has the job full-time. If Terrelle Pryor can move the ball, Pettrey will get plenty of opportunities to score, and he definitely has the leg strength to make the big ones. He’s 15-of-19 for his career, so he’s got some good accuracy to go along with that impressive range.
- Jordan Mannisto, Houston
Mannisto is on here because Houston should score in droves in 2009. Case Keenum is back at quarterback to lead the nation’s most potent passing attack, and Mannisto will benefit. That’s about it. He’s not the most accurate guy on this list, but he’ll have so many opportunities with no real goal-line back that it shouldn’t matter.
- Sam Glusman, Troy
And yet another kicker who benefits from playing with the strongest offense in a weak conference. Glusman nailed 20 kicks last season, and was pretty impressive on a national scale. He was top 25 in the country in scoring and top 15 in field goals. I don’t expect the Troy offense to slow down, and Glusman should be a nice waiver-wire guy for you so that you don’t have to draft a kicker.
- Matt Bosher, Miami
Bosher was a semifinalist for the Groza Award last season, and was easily the leading scorer for the Hurricanes with 94 points. Sure he only hit 18 field goals, but that came on only 20 attempts, and his pedestrian total of 40 extra points attempts (even though he hit them all) should rise as the Miami offense gets better. Jacory Harris looks like he could – and I stress could – be the real deal at quarterback, and if he can get the offense going, Bosher should end up with about 20-30 more extra point attempts. Not a bad draw for a guy who scored 94 points on a team that only scored 40 touchdowns.
- Blair Walsh, Georgia
Walsh is flying way under the radar because everyone expects the Georgia offense to take a huge step back. Well, I don’t think that’s the case. Joe Cox should cut down on the interceptions because he’ll be asked to do less, and the three-headed rushing attack of Caleb King, Washaun Ealy, and Carlton Thomas should really keep the chains moving. I’ve seen Walsh listed as a “No. 2 fantasy kicker option,” but that notion is almost as stupid as having two kickers on your roster in the first place. Walsh earned all-SEC freshman honors last season, and while he only hit 15-of-23 attempts, it’s good news that he got that many chances. He’ll be more accurate this season, and he has a strong leg. Trust me.
- Jimmy Stevens, Oklahoma
- Whoever ends up starting for Texas (Ryan Bailey or Hunter Lawrence)
- Matthew Williams, Texas Tech
- Joshua Shene, Ole Miss
- Josh Jasper, LSU
MISSING
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