Duncan, Coluzzi got kicks on and off field for Hawkeyes

IOWA CITY — Iowa's punter and placekicker celebrated their football team's 14-13 upset of Michigan Saturday night by messing with Hawkeye fans' heads.

The placekicker, Keith Duncan, is a first-year freshman. That means, under coach Kirk Ferentz's jurisdiction, he is off-limits to media all season. The punter, Ron Coluzzi, is a senior. So he can talk to the press, and on Tuesday, he indeed did.

'When we were walking home (after the game), Coluzzi said, 'some people had a No. 16 jersey on, and I'm like, 'Who's your favorite player, Coluzzi or Beathard?' '

Coluzzi and Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard both wear that number. No one but a Coluzzi family member has purchased a No. 16 Hawkeyes jersey because of the punter.

'They're like 'Coluzzi!' I'm like 'You sure, man? That guy's not that good.' They're arguing with me and they have no idea who I was.

'Same thing happened with Keith. Keith went home and he was like 'Go Blue!' They're all Iowa fans (saying) 'Who is this kid?' They had no idea who Keith Duncan was or what he looks like.'

They just knew they loved Duncan after he made a 33-yard, last-second field goal to decide the contest. They just knew they loved Coluzzi after he had six punts for a 47-yard average, headlined by the second-quarter beauty his teammates downed at the Michigan 2. That set up Jaleel Johnson's tackle for an Iowa safety that turned the game around.

Duncan was previously committed to Furman University. He went to Iowa largely because a former Carolina Panther helped another. One was a punter, one a placekicker.

Ex-Iowa punter Jason Baker played 11 years in the NFL, the last seven at Carolina. He continues to make Charlotte his home.

Baker likes to steer high school kicking prospects Iowa's way and offer input to Hawkeyes special teams coaches. Duncan was recommended to Baker by former Panthers kicker John Kasay, a 21-year NFL veteran who now is the athletic director and football special teams coach at Charlotte Christian School.

Kasay's team lost 16-6 to Duncan's Weddington High club last fall. Here's what Kasay said Tuesday:

'As I was preparing for the game, I thought Keith was a very good kicker and he was a strength on their team. Around the same time, Jason Baker called me about another kicker in the area who he had heard some good things about.

'I was familiar with the kicker in question, and I also had just finished watching Keith on film. I thought Keith was a more consistent performer and I told Jason that Keith had the type of swing that would translate well in college.

'After our game against Weddington, I told Jason I thought even more highly of Keith than what I saw on film. He has a very professional demeanor and he was focused throughout the game. He made three field goals (including a 45-yarder) that were the difference in the outcome of our contest.

'The way he kicked reminded me of my friend, Jason Elam, from the Denver Broncos. I highly encouraged Jason Baker to take a closer look at Keith and I endorsed him as a kicker who I thought could do very well in college.

'Jason took me up on my recommendation and let the coaches at Iowa know about him. I think you know the rest of the story.'

Now, for the rest of the story on Saturday's game-winning kick in which Coluzzi served as Duncan's holder:

'I was on the sideline,' Coluzzi said. 'I got a handwarmer from Cedrick (Iowa freshman defensive tackle Cedrick Lattimore). It was a little chilly, so I wanted to make sure my hands were good. I went out on the field and I realized I had it in my hand, so I threw it to the sideline and it didn't quite make it. I don't really have the best arm. You move on.

'Keith took his normal dry swing away (where they would spot the ball for the kick), that I taught him at the beginning of the season, because I did the same thing when I was kicking field goals (at Central Michigan).

'Then he came back to me. I said 'Have fun, buddy, keep your eyes back, and swing to the right upright.' What I always say to him. A handshake. He took three steps back, two over. A timeout.

'Then everybody was trying to go over and talk to him. So I said 'Hey, hey, leave him alone. Keith, go do another dry swing, let's repeat our rep.' And the same thing happened. I gave him a handshake. 'Have fun, buddy, eyes back, swing to the right upright.'

'(Long snapper Tyler) Kluver gave me a dime, it was great laces. I didn't have to mold it at all. It was perfect. I put it down. The rest was history.'

All there was left to do after that was survive the dogpile at midfield, then goof on Hawkeye fans on the walk home.

'That's just who we are, we're different,' Coluzzi said. 'We don't go by the status quo, for sure.'