POCATELLO — Idaho State was temporarily set into scramble mode early in fall camp.
Senior punter Sean Cheney was a last-minute no-show to the Bengals’ fall camp opener, leaving a hole at a vital position with less than one month until the Bengals’ season opener.
Thankfully for ISU, three new additions to the kicking and punting depth chart should allow the team to fill the void in time.
Freshmen Kevin Ryan, Campbell Sheidow and Kyle Taylor join redshirt sophomore Parker Johnson as rostered kickers during fall camp. Though all four are listed as kickers on ISU’s roster, Ryan and Sheidow have taken punt reps through the first four days of camp and are in the running to replace Cheney. It was announced Wednesday that Cheney would not return to the program.
Cheney punted 61 times last season and averaged 41.4 yards per boot over 26 games in three seasons. He also handled kickoff and point-after duties part-time, mostly last season when injuries shelved Johnson and his older brother, graduated former kicker Zak Johnson.
Moreover, Cheney helped revitalize a Bengals special teams unit that was once one of the worst in the FCS.
ISU special teams coordinator David Fiefia on Saturday said Cheney’s most-missed quality will be “the poise, as far as how much time he’s had to kick live. … Then, obviously he has a great leg, to say the least. He punted very well for us the last couple of years, and it’s unfortunate he’s not with us this fall.”
Sheidow, from Eugene, Oregon, earned second-team all-Southwest Conference kicker and punter honors last season. According to MaxPreps, he went 7 for 7 on field goal tries, including a long of 41 yards, 105 for 113 on PATs and punted 39 times for an average of 32.6 yards with a long of 56.
He also attended the 2015 and 2016 Kohl’s Football Kicking and Punting Camp, which is a major showcase for prospective college-bound kickers and punters.
A couple looks at the candidates to replace Sean Cheney at punter.
— Madison Guernsey (@MGuernsey_ISJ) August 4, 2018
(I’m sorry, I don’t know who’s who without numbers. Announce yourselves!) pic.twitter.com/TmIhvlvdIP
Ryan, a left-footed kicker from Mesa, Arizona, went 4 for 4 on field goals last season, according to MaxPreps. His long was 38 yards, and he added 40 of 42 PATs. Ryan also punted 30 punts for an average of 34.9 yards with a long of 52.
— Madison Guernsey (@MGuernsey_ISJ) August 4, 2018
Fiefia said ISU will open the season with either Sheidow or Ryan as the No. 1 punter, adding Sheidow had a slight edge as of Saturday.
“We’re starting to get better looks with our scout teams,” Fiefia said. “I anticipate guys are going to be coming faster off the edge. So it’s just a matter of them getting in a groove with timing with the long snapper to be able to get the kick-to-snap time down where we want it, where we feel like we’re not going to be threatened by a block.”
Fiefia also said that because of Ryan being left-footed, there’s a possibility of keeping both punters on the active roster to give opposing return teams varied looks.
“That’s something that I’m looking at that is a little bit different, that puts return teams on the edge,” Fiefia said. “Not very many punters are left-footed.”
Taylor, a 2018 Highland High graduate, was a first-team Journal All-Area and second-team all-5A District 5-6 kicker last season after connecting on 5 of 11 field goals and 32 of 36 extra points for the state champion Rams.
Parker Johnson went 7 for 8 on field goal tries last season, with a long of 40 yards. He was 4 for 5 from outside 30 yards and averaged 56.7 yards per kickoff.
Fiefia said that while Johnson is currently in line to retain his role as the team’s No. 1 kicker, all four players are being evaluated for the job.
“They’ve been able to match up fairly well with Parker,” Fiefia said. “As long as they’re able to come out there and perform in a situation where everybody’s looking at them, (head) coach (Rob) Phenicie is putting pressure on them, I’m totally fine with that. I’m not afraid to be able to give them a chance to shine.”
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