Extra Points: Noah’s Arc
November 23, 2023 | Football, Featured Writers, Lee Pace, Extra Points
With an 82 percent NFL field goal success rate and a long ball of 57 yards, Connor Barth knows a thing or two about kicking. And the former Tar Heel (2004-07) can distill the kicker's life down to one quote from Ted Lasso, the star of the TV series about an American college football coach who tries his folksy leadership style on an English soccer team.
"You know what the happiest animal on Earth is?" Lasso asks. "It's a goldfish. It has a 10-second memory. Be a goldfish."
"As a kicker, that's what you have to do," Barth says. "I'm proud watching Noah Burnette this year. He had a bad kick at the end of last year, kept his head down and has had a phenomenal year."
Burnette considers the quote himself and smiles.
"That's exactly what you need," he says. "It's the exact mindset. There's nothing you can do if you miss one. Go make the next one."
What a 12-month arc it's been for Burnette:
The agony of hooking a 35-yard field goal left of the uprights last November, giving N.C. State a 30-27 double-overtime win in Kenan Stadium.
And the joy of converting a 43-yarder as the gun blew against Duke 11 months later, tying the game and allowing Carolina to win in overtime, 47-45.
"That was rock bottom after the State game last year," he says. "You try to forget it but you can't, really. You just have to put it behind you. I trusted in God and knew my parents and teammates had my back. The coaches brought in some competition, and that made me a better kicker.
"This year? I never expected anything like this. I've had a good year up to this point, but none of that matters if you don't finish the year. I want to finish the season strong."
Burnette breaks the mold of the prototypical kicker in that his background is as a football player and not just a kicker-only or soccer crossover. He was a starting wide receiver and cornerback at Leesville Road High in Raleigh, and during his senior year in 2019 had 40 catches for a 21.2-yard per catch average and seven touchdowns. His team made it to the State 4-AA championship game, coincidentally played in Kenan Stadium against a Power Echols-led Vance team (Vance won 24-3).
"After my junior year, I really wanted to try playing receiver in college," Burnette says. "But I wasn't big enough to play at this level. The summer before my senior year is when I really focused on kicking."
Burnette entered Carolina for the 2020 season and took his spot behind Grayson Atkins on the depth chart. He won the starting job in 2022 and had a solid year, hitting 71 percent of his kicks and being 5-of-5 between the 40 and 49-yard lines. Curiously, he was only 5-of-9 from 30-39, that distance where he missed against N.C. State.
During the spring and summer, he worked with kicking coach Dan Orner, also a former Tar Heel kicker (2002-03), on technique but focusing on the mental component of kicking. Like hitting a golf ball, serving a tennis ball or shooting a free throw, kicking involves making an athletic move starting from a quiet, static position. Routine and blocking out distractions are huge.
"I call them 'pillars for success,'' Orner says. "Break it down to one or two thoughts as you go onto the field. Then once you lock into your stance, it's more about execution than thought. I think Noah has done a really good job of that this year."
Transfer Ryan Coe won the starting job and kicked against South Carolina and App State, but an injury against the Mountaineers sidelined Coe and gave Burnette a second shot.
This year, he's made 18-of-19 for 94.7 percent, which ranks No. 5 nationally. He's on track to beat Kenny Miller's school record for single-season field-goal percentage of 89 set in 1984. He's still three back of the mark for most field goals in a season (21 by Clint Gwaltney in 1990 and Casey Barth in 2009).
"Noah's been a great lesson—don't pout, don't quit, don't get down, wait for your opportunity," Mack Brown says. "Now he'll be remembered for making one of the biggest kicks in school history."
Burnette is 6-for-6 from 40-49 yards, giving him a two-year total of 11-11 from that distance. And he was perfect against Duke on six kicks. Both figures from Burnette have impressed his Carolina predecessors.
"I'm a big stats guy, and that 6-for-6 number from 40 to 49 is huge," Barth says. "A 50-yarder is great, but the money is made in that 40 to 49 range."
"He's proven himself as one of the most elite kickers in UNC history," Orner says. "I've talked and texted with other college kickers, and everyone marvels over what he did against Duke. Six-for-six is rare. Typically if you get six kicks in a game, you're going to miss one. That is elite."
The Tar Heels close their regular season on Saturday night at N.C. State, leaving Barth looking on from his home in Wilmington with mixed emotions on the best story angle.
"Hopefully, we score a bunch of touchdowns and it never comes down to a field goal," he says, then considers option No. 2.
"Actually, what would be fun is a walk-off. Noah Burnette with a walk-off field goal. That would be perfect."
Chapel Hill writer Lee Pace (Carolina '79) is in his 34th season writing about Tar Heel football under the "Extra Points" banner. Look for his columns throughout the season. Write him at leepace7@gmail.com and follow him @LeePaceTweet.
"You know what the happiest animal on Earth is?" Lasso asks. "It's a goldfish. It has a 10-second memory. Be a goldfish."
"As a kicker, that's what you have to do," Barth says. "I'm proud watching Noah Burnette this year. He had a bad kick at the end of last year, kept his head down and has had a phenomenal year."
Burnette considers the quote himself and smiles.
"That's exactly what you need," he says. "It's the exact mindset. There's nothing you can do if you miss one. Go make the next one."
What a 12-month arc it's been for Burnette:
The agony of hooking a 35-yard field goal left of the uprights last November, giving N.C. State a 30-27 double-overtime win in Kenan Stadium.
And the joy of converting a 43-yarder as the gun blew against Duke 11 months later, tying the game and allowing Carolina to win in overtime, 47-45.
"That was rock bottom after the State game last year," he says. "You try to forget it but you can't, really. You just have to put it behind you. I trusted in God and knew my parents and teammates had my back. The coaches brought in some competition, and that made me a better kicker.
"This year? I never expected anything like this. I've had a good year up to this point, but none of that matters if you don't finish the year. I want to finish the season strong."
Burnette breaks the mold of the prototypical kicker in that his background is as a football player and not just a kicker-only or soccer crossover. He was a starting wide receiver and cornerback at Leesville Road High in Raleigh, and during his senior year in 2019 had 40 catches for a 21.2-yard per catch average and seven touchdowns. His team made it to the State 4-AA championship game, coincidentally played in Kenan Stadium against a Power Echols-led Vance team (Vance won 24-3).
"After my junior year, I really wanted to try playing receiver in college," Burnette says. "But I wasn't big enough to play at this level. The summer before my senior year is when I really focused on kicking."
Burnette entered Carolina for the 2020 season and took his spot behind Grayson Atkins on the depth chart. He won the starting job in 2022 and had a solid year, hitting 71 percent of his kicks and being 5-of-5 between the 40 and 49-yard lines. Curiously, he was only 5-of-9 from 30-39, that distance where he missed against N.C. State.
During the spring and summer, he worked with kicking coach Dan Orner, also a former Tar Heel kicker (2002-03), on technique but focusing on the mental component of kicking. Like hitting a golf ball, serving a tennis ball or shooting a free throw, kicking involves making an athletic move starting from a quiet, static position. Routine and blocking out distractions are huge.
"I call them 'pillars for success,'' Orner says. "Break it down to one or two thoughts as you go onto the field. Then once you lock into your stance, it's more about execution than thought. I think Noah has done a really good job of that this year."
Transfer Ryan Coe won the starting job and kicked against South Carolina and App State, but an injury against the Mountaineers sidelined Coe and gave Burnette a second shot.
This year, he's made 18-of-19 for 94.7 percent, which ranks No. 5 nationally. He's on track to beat Kenny Miller's school record for single-season field-goal percentage of 89 set in 1984. He's still three back of the mark for most field goals in a season (21 by Clint Gwaltney in 1990 and Casey Barth in 2009).
"Noah's been a great lesson—don't pout, don't quit, don't get down, wait for your opportunity," Mack Brown says. "Now he'll be remembered for making one of the biggest kicks in school history."
Burnette is 6-for-6 from 40-49 yards, giving him a two-year total of 11-11 from that distance. And he was perfect against Duke on six kicks. Both figures from Burnette have impressed his Carolina predecessors.
"I'm a big stats guy, and that 6-for-6 number from 40 to 49 is huge," Barth says. "A 50-yarder is great, but the money is made in that 40 to 49 range."
"He's proven himself as one of the most elite kickers in UNC history," Orner says. "I've talked and texted with other college kickers, and everyone marvels over what he did against Duke. Six-for-six is rare. Typically if you get six kicks in a game, you're going to miss one. That is elite."
The Tar Heels close their regular season on Saturday night at N.C. State, leaving Barth looking on from his home in Wilmington with mixed emotions on the best story angle.
"Hopefully, we score a bunch of touchdowns and it never comes down to a field goal," he says, then considers option No. 2.
"Actually, what would be fun is a walk-off. Noah Burnette with a walk-off field goal. That would be perfect."
Chapel Hill writer Lee Pace (Carolina '79) is in his 34th season writing about Tar Heel football under the "Extra Points" banner. Look for his columns throughout the season. Write him at leepace7@gmail.com and follow him @LeePaceTweet.
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