Turner's Take: Call Me Tommy

October 7, 2011 | Football, Featured Writers, Turner Walston

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Oct. 7, 2011

The first thing you should know about Thomas Hibbard is that he'd prefer you called him Tommy. Carolina's punter is among the Atlantic Coast Conference's best. Hibbard, a freshman walk-on, has punted 20 times for 798 yards, averaging a shade under 40 yards per punt.

"I didn't even think I was going to play college football," Hibbard says this week. A two-sport athlete each of his final three years at Charlotte's Butler High School, Hibbard earned an invitation to be a preferred walk-on at Carolina. After he arrived on campus, Hibbard's consistency won him the starting job.

Hibbard's story is the classic example of `always have a back-up plan.' For him, it has paid off. "I've been punting and kicking since I was four years old. I always had the thought that if I don't make it at any other position, I could just fall back on kicker or punter and try to get into college that way," he says. "That's pretty much what happened, since I didn't get the height." All of 5'10 and 185 pounds, Hibbard made it happen.

A specialist must be well-versed in self-motivation. While the offense is on one field practicing against scout defense, and the defense is on another practicing against scout offense, the kickers and punters are often out of sight, out of mind. They are steps away but yet a world away, at Henry Stadium practicing their crafts. "We don't necessarily have a kicking coach, so we get film and then we pretty much critique our own selves on the film that we get at practice," Hibbard says.

And yet Hibbard is relied upon for one of the most important jobs on a football team. He can single-handedly, or single-leggedly as it were, affect the field position and set the tone for both the defense and the offense. "They expect you to be ready to go," he says of his teammates and coaches. "They don't want you to shank any kicks. That's why you've got to concentrate on what you're doing."

So far, so good. If a team is going to tell its excitable first-year starting quarterback that `Sometimes, it's OK to punt,' it better be able to rely on its punter. Of Hibbard's 20 punts, nine have been downed or caught inside the opponent's 20 yard line, and eight have been fair caught. That doesn't just happen accidentally; it's the distance Hibbard is getting and the hangtime that allows his coverage team to get to it. That means there's more to punting than simply booting the ball downfield. "When we're trying to pin them down deep, you don't want to kick it as far but you want a lot of hangtime, so guys have time to run down there and get on the goal line so the ball doesn't bounce in the end zone .When we're on the far side of the field you just try and kick it as far as you can, but you also want to get enough hangtime because you don't want to outkick your coverage," he says.

Thought and preparation goes into directional kicking as well. "We never try and kick it in the middle of the field. We always try to kick it to the side the ball's on," he says.

It hasn't all been easy. The second punt of Hibbard's career was blocked after he dropped the snap from Mark House. Hibbard says he wasn't yet accustomed to the speed at which the ball would come. "That's the first time that's ever happened to me," he says. "It wasn't because of the snap though."

Since that misstep, Hibbard has shined. Last week at East Carolina, Hibbard punted four times. Three of his punts were downed inside the 15-yard line, two of them inside the five.

The freshman walk-on has been perhaps an unlikely contributor to Carolina's 4-1 record entering Saturday's game against Louisville. He's done so by developing a rapport with his teammates and staying self-motivated. "You don't want to go out there and embarrass yourself, and you don't want to embarrass your team, so that's the motivation. "You want to do the best that you can possibly do."

Briefly:

•It's the time of the season when injuries begin to mount, and 13 players made the injury report this week. Kicker Casey Barth remains out with a nagging thigh. Center Cam Holland is having some back trouble and is questionable. Russell Bodine got some snaps at center last weekend and will likely play the bulk of Saturday's game even if Holland were available. With Bodine, head coach Everett Withers says, "We shouldn't miss a beat as far as technique and fundamentals." Tailback A.J. Blue, safety Jonathan Smith and linebackers Ebele Okakpu and Kevin Reddick are all questionable with high ankle sprains. In the linebacking corps, that means opportunity for players like Travis Hughes, Fabby Desir and Darius Lipford.

•With Jabari Price returning last week from a finger injury, he is likely to start at cornerback. Tre Boston, who began his career at corner, then moved to safety in the off-season, had moved back to corner in training camp to help compensate for Price's absence. Boston moves back to safety this week.

•With Barth out and Reddick doubtful, Carolina named three additional captains for the week. Defensive tackle Sylvester Williams, who had three tackles and an interception at East Carolina, was honored. So too were wide receiver Dwight Jones (six catches, 93 yards, two touchdowns on Saturday) and safety Matt Merletti (seven tackles, forced fumble).

How have prior captains fared in their games?

Merletti vs. James Madison: Had three tackles, two of them unassisted. Combined with Zach Brown on a tackle for loss on JMU's first play from scrimmage. Forced a JMU fumble in the third quarter.

LG Jonathan Cooper vs. Rutgers: Helped pave the way for 405 yards of total offense. Had a solo tackle after a Rutgers fumble recovery

DB Pete Mangum vs. Virginia: Appeared on kickoff teams. Had a tackle on kickoff return after penalty pushed the kickoff back to the Carolina 15. The tackle combined with a holding penalty forced Virginia to start at their 22.

LB Dion Guy at Georgia Tech: Did not record a stat.

DE Quinton Coples at East Carolina: Five tackles, one solo, credited on half a sack for a loss of four yards.

Turner Walston is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly. Turner's weekly Tar Heel football podcast, The Walkthrough, is available on iTunes.
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