Punter was stellar against Gamecocks last fall
According to Vanderbilt's official athletics website, punter Richard Kent is an "accomplished cellist."
The redshirt junior makes sweet music with his right foot as well. Just ask South Carolina.
The Gamecocks defeated Vandy 21-7 last fall in Nashville, Tenn., but at no fault of Kent, who was stellar. The Marietta, Ga., native punted nine times for a total of 417 yards against USC, averaging 46.3 yards per kick. Four of Kent's punts against the Gamecocks went for 50-plus yards, including a 60-yard kick.
USC started four drives after Kent punts inside their own 20-yard line. The Gamecocks' average starting field position was the USC 27.
Remarked USC coach Steve Spurrier of Kent's performance after the game: "Jiminy Christmas."
The effort against USC was just part of the bigger picture for Kent, who emerged as one of the best punters in America last fall. With an astonishing 84 punts for the woeful 2-10 Commodores in 2010 — the second-most in the nation — Kent led the country in both total yards punting (3,511) and average yards per game (292.6).
Despite the heavy workload, Kent nevertheless was defined by quality rather than quantity. Less than a third of Kent's kicks were returned. In fact, Kent had more kicks downed inside the opponent's 20-yard line (27) than were returned (26).
And it's not like Kent simply muscled the ball for a touchback every time. His leg is strong — Kent connected on kicks of at least 50 yards in 10 of 12 games last season — but only 10 of his 84 punts reached the end zone.
USC's first-year special teams coordinator John Butler said Kent's ability jumped right out at him when he began to analyze USC game film from last season.
"When I came here and was doing my breakdowns [of USC's 2010 games], I noticed him," Butler said. "I said, 'Man, this guy was bombing the ball last year.'"
Kent has continued to do the same this year. His numbers have dropped slightly — the Commodores, as would be expected of a 3-0 team, haven't punted as much — but they are nevertheless impressive. Kent is currently 19th in the nation with an average of 43.88 yards per kick and 11th in total yardage with 746.
Butler said there isn't much that can be done strategically when dealing with a punter like Kent other than being mindful of his ability.
"He's a weapon for them," Butler said. "It doesn't necessarily change the game plan, but we have to be aware of how far he's punting the ball."
Punt returner Stephon Gilmore agreed with Butler's assessment. Gilmore said that when facing a "great punter" such as Kent, "you've just got to be smart about knowing when their players are in your face; call a fair catch when you can."
Chances are, Kent will provide plenty of opportunities for Gilmore or receiver Ace Sanders, who also catches punts for USC, to do just that. Rarely, if ever, do Kent's punts get returned. Of his 17 punts so far this season, only five have been returned.
Of the 12 unreturned, only one has been a touchback. Five have been downed inside the opponent's 20-yard line. Five punts have gone for 50-plus yards.
The combined yardage for the five returned punts of Kent's is 22, or an average of 4.4 yards per return. According to Butler, USC's goal is to get at least 10 yards per punt return and hold an opponent to a net punt of 35 yards.
"But if a guy like [Kent] comes up that's punting the ball 55 yards, it's going to be a big challenge," Butler said.
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