Iowa kicker Drew Stevens ‘not going to shy away from’ any long field goal opportunities

IOWA CITY — Tory Taylor’s All-America-caliber punting might not do any favors for Drew Stevens’ opportunities for especially-deep field goal attempts.

“Dang Tory, man,” Stevens said in jest during the bye week.

All kidding aside, should Iowa need a deep field goal attempt — a situation the Hawkeyes could have faced last week with a more fruitful final drive — Stevens has plenty of confidence in his ability to hit from deep.

“If I’m called upon, I’m not going to shy away from an opportunity,” Stevens said.

The farthest Iowa’s coaching staff has greenlit a Stevens field goal attempt was 54 yards last season against Northwestern. (The kick was good.)

Iowa’s second-year kicker has been “hitting 65s” in the indoor facility, he said, although that number does not directly translate to his in-game range.

“Outside, the conditions vary,” Stevens said. “If there’s wind in your face, it would be shorter. If there’s wind with you, it’d be longer. Plus, you got to take the adrenaline factor into account.”

Asked if he has tried to convince special teams coordinator LeVar Woods of letting him kick from 65 yards out, Stevens paused, smiled and said ‘the convincing is done in practice.“

“We’re starting to get out there in practice,” Stevens said. “Hit like a 61 in practice a week ago maybe. That was the furthest back we’ve gone so far.”

Stevens is 13-of-16 on field goals this season after going 16-of-18 last season.

He has been a perfect 19-of-19 on attempts of fewer than 40 yards in his Iowa career. He has had no issues hitting 51, 53 and 54-yard attempts either.

Four of his five misses have been from 40-45 yards out. (The only other miss was from 49 yards, and that was because Purdue blocked it.)

It is a trend Stevens has noticed as well.

“It’s that range where it’s still a pretty tough kick, but everybody expects you to make it,” Stevens said. “Once it gets back to the 50-yarders … it’s just a natural, less-pressure feeling.”

It goes back to Stevens’ mental approach to kicking that he recognizes “might sound messed up.”

“I try to not care,” Stevens said. “That sounds so bad, but I try to just go like, ‘All right, it’s just another kick.’”

That approach seems to have mostly served Stevens well considering he was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award as a true freshman last year.

His 45-yard attempt in the fourth quarter against Nebraska last year was “the most pressure I felt on a kick.” Aside from it being in Stevens’ “trouble range,” the Hawkeyes badly needed points as they trailed by 10 with fewer than six minutes remaining.

“If we miss that, the game is basically over,” Stevens said. “If you make it, you have a chance. So it’s essentially a game-winner before a game-winner.”

As for any fourth downs on the edge of field goal range versus punting territory, Stevens said Taylor “almost wants me to go out there more than him.”

“Because whenever it’s a shorter punt, it hurts him on the stat sheet,” Stevens said lightheartedly. “He’s almost a bigger advocate to Coach Woods than I am.”

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