ISU's Mahoney shooting for perfection

He didn't expect it, nor did he need it, but Grant Mahoney received it anyway.

His coach offered what amounted to a public apology.

Iowa State Coach Paul Rhoads felt he owed his senior place-kicker something because he's put him in some tough spots.

"What I've asked of Grant has been over the top, from the standpoint (that) I put him out there with a lot of long field goal situations," Rhoads said. "That has probably hurt his overall percentage of being successful."

It certainly didn't help.

Mahoney, a former Linn-Mar standout, is determined to improve his percentage this season after connecting on only eight of 17 field goal attempts in 2010. Four of those misses came from 50 yards or beyond, and that's where Rhoads said he went too far.

He sent Mahoney out to try field goals of 57, 55, 53, 51 and 50 yards. Mahoney nailed the 57-yarder, the longest of his career, but missed the others. He feels he should have made those as well.

"That's my job. I've got to go out and make those no matter how far it is," Mahoney said. "There's no excuse for missed kicks. Whether it's not a very good snap, a decent hold, I've still got to put it on my foot and kick it and knock it through. I put that solely on my shoulders last year."

Besides, he added with a smile, "I like it when he lets me try the deep ones."

Long ones aside, what Mahoney needs to do in his final season is make more shorter kicks and improve his consistency. Last year, he missed his first field goal attempt, then made seven in a row. But he finished in a prolonged slump, missing eight of his last nine. Seven of those attempts came from at least 45 yards.

"What we're looking for from Grant is when we get to a 40-yard field goal or less, we're looking for points on the board," Rhoads said. "That's where Grant Mahoney has to become more consistent for us as a weapon.

"He's a mentally tough young man, nobody works harder on his craft on our football team than Grant and I have high expectations for him."

Mahoney expects the same of himself.

He begins the season eighth on Iowa State's career scoring list with 205 points, putting him within reach of Jeff Shudak's school record of 266. In 2009, Mahoney became the first Iowa State kicker to hit three field goals of 50 or more yards in a season, knocking through two from 50 and another from 52.

"I don't want to settle for anything less than perfect," Mahoney said. "Eighty-five percent would be good, but I'm shooting for perfect. Even if I do go perfect, I'll probably be mad because I didn't kick enough."

While Mahoney's accuracy dropped off last year, he got more leg into his kickoffs, sending 16 of 52 deep enough into the end zone for touchbacks. He had only two touchbacks in 2009 and just three the previous year.

Defenses love touchbacks because they force the opponent to start from its own 20 as opposed to having a chance to return a kick to the 30 or 40 - or even for a touchdown. Mahoney's share of touchbacks - almost 31 percent - was the third highest in the Big 12.

"Coaches put up different slides to show scoring percentages when they start from the 20 or start from the 40," Mahoney said. "It's a big thing that people forget about. It can change a game."

The other half of Iowa State's kicking game was sensational last season. Punter Kirby Van Der Kamp earned second-team all-Big 12 honors as a freshman after averaging 45.2 yards a kick, which ranked ninth nationally and was the second-best figure in Iowa State history.

Van Der Kamp opened a lot of eyes with that performance, including his own.

"I had no clue what to expect," he said.

Van Der Kamp dropped 22 of his 60 punts inside the 20 and had 19 that traveled at least 50 yards. He boomed a 74-yarder in the Cyclones' stunning upset at Texas and had punts of 61 yards against Colorado and Oklahoma.

"We feel ... Kirby has a chance to leave here, I don't know if decorated is the right choice of words, but as an outstanding punter at Iowa State," Rhoads said, "maybe the best that's come through here."

Van Der Kamp wants to improve his hang time and directional punting, which is kicking the ball to a spot on the field that gives his teammates the best chance of limiting the return. The Cyclones have room for improvement in their punt coverage. While opponents returned only 19 of Van Der Kamp's punts, they averaged 12.3 yards a return and Utah's Shaky Smithson took one back 78 yards.

"Getting no return yards throughout the year, that would be perfect," Van Der Kamp said.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Projected starters:  PK - Grant Mahoney, 6-0, 185, Sr.  P - Kirby Vander Kamp, 6-4, 193, So.  DS - Dakota Zimmerman, 6-1, 239, Sr.  Holder - Brett Bueker, 6-4, 237, Jr.  KR/PR - Leonard Johnson, 5-10, 202, Sr.;  Josh Lenz, 6-0, 197, Jr.; Shontrelle Johnson, 5-9, 187, So.

Backups:  PK - Zach Guyer, 6-3, 195, Sr.

Cyclones need:  Mahoney to become more consistent on field goals inside 40 yards and Vander Kamp to repeat his sensational performance as a freshman.

Iowa State depth chart