LEXINGTON - Kentucky is still looking for its punter and he's likely still in high school in Tennessee, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Phillips said possible punters Joe Mansour and Jay Wilmott haven't shown themselves to be viable options this spring.

"Our punter probably isn't on campus," Phillips said. "There might be somebody out in the fraternities or the dorms, but he has not been out here. I'm really disappointed in the way we've kicked the ball this spring.

"I'm not talking about field goals. (Craig McIntosh) has been outstanding, but our punting situation is not up to standards."

Both Phillips and special teams coach Greg Nord acknowledged that they've been spoiled by having high-quality punters the past few seasons in Tim Masthay and Ryan Tydlacka.

"Joe and Jay both have good legs, they just have to bring the consistency," Nord said last week.

He said UK anticipated this and signed highly touted kicker Landon Foster out of Tennessee in response.

LEXINGTON -- Kentucky's kicking game got a boost on signing day with the signing of kicker Landon Foster out of Thompson Station, Tenn. Foster is listed as both a kicker and a punter.

Kentucky will be looking at all options next season with the graduation of long-time punter Ryan Tydlacka, who made the Cats one of the best punting units in the SEC.

Coach Joker Phillips told the Lexington Herald-Leader that the Kentucky coaches knew Foster was a good kicker, not from the moment they saw his 6-foot-1, 198-pound frame, but from the moment they heard him meet the ball.

"You know an SEC punter when you hear him," Phillips said of Foster, who averaged 41.3 yards per punt last season for Independence. "You know an SEC kicker when you — you don't have to see it, you can close your eyes and walk past and it's going to sound different than a pee– wee punter. This guy is an SEC punter, high character kid, intelligent, right look in his eyes."

Foster also had 50 of his 56 kickoffs last season go for touchbacks. Four of the others were on-side kicks.

By Michael Grant / The Courier-Journal

Punters have more free time than their football teammates. When the University of Kentucky’s Ryan Tydlacka isn’t practicing his craft, he is cooking up ideas.

Tydlacka: soon-to-be former UK punter turned future restaurateur? The college football career for the Trinity graduate will end Saturday when the Wildcats (4-7, 1-6 Southeastern Conference) play host to Tennessee (5-6, 1-6).

Tydlacka, one of 21 seniors playing his final game, has enjoyed a strong final season.

Tydlacka is second in the SEC and 20th in the FBS (43.7 yards per kick average). He leads the league with 18 punts of 50-plus yards, including a 63-yarder at Georgia last week. Tydlacka has helped the Wildcats rank second in the league in net punting (39.3).

Perhaps he will follow in the professional footsteps of his predecessor, Tim Masthay, who punts for the Green Bay Packers. But Tydlacka is thinking about life after football. He graduated with a business management degree last year and will pick up a second major in business marketing in May. He aims to use his education to enter the restaurant business.

“I’ve always been into food,” Tydlacka said. “I’d like to get into the restaurant industry, as a manager and maybe someday after years of experience, opening my own restaurant. I have a few friends who are in it, and it’s something I’ve always been intrigued by.”

Tydlacka has a few different ideas for a restaurant. He doesn’t have a name yet but would like to emphasize healthy, local food and eventually develop a chain.

“Everything would be organic and freshly made ... farm-raised turkey from around the area,” he said. “You would have wraps and different salads. (The menu) would change wherever the location was so you would get the food that was specific to that area.”

It’s a homegrown concept from a homemade talent. Tydlacka stayed in-state and chose UK over the University of Louisville out of high school. At Trinity, he was the punter and place-kicker and helped the Shamrocks to a pair of state championships.

After red-shirting in 2007, he punted and kicked as a freshman. In 2009, Tydlacka took over for the departed Masthay and has been stellar since. He was named a Ray Guy Award candidate earlier this month. In a season where the UK offense has struggled, Tydlacka routinely bails the team out.

Only four FBS punters have booted the ball more times than Tydlacka (70 attempts): Memphis’ Tom Hornsey (84), Idaho’s Bobby Cowan (83), Kent State’s Matt Rinehart (78) and Louisiana Tech’s Ryan Allen (74). Earlier this season, UK coach Joker Phillips called Tydlacka a team MVP.

Special teams coordinator Greg Nord looks for punts around 40 yards with a hang time of 4.2 seconds. Nord said Tydlacka has helped the Wildcats with field position with his distance as well as directional punting. At Georgia, Tydlacka had eight punts for a 46.4 average. The Bulldogs had only one punt return for 22 yards.

“He’s done everything we’ve asked of him,” Nord said. “He’s punted the ball fairly well. He’s done a good job for us. We’re proud of the way he’s played.”

Tydlacka expects to have six to 10 family members and friends at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday. That will include his brother Wade, who punted for U of L. Tydlacka expects to feel a little sad playing his final home game.

“I’m sure I’ll probably be a little emotional at the beginning when I go out there with my family,” he said. “I’m sure everyone does. Other than that, I’ll be ready for the game. It’s been five years of hard work. Hopefully it ends with a Tennessee win.”

Three University of Kentucky football players, including senior punter Ryan Tydlacka, junior kicker Craig McIntosh and senior linebacker Danny Trevathan, have been named honorable mention players of the week by the College Football Performance Awards for their impressive performance against Mississippi State on Saturday.

This is the second-consecutive week Tydlacka has taken home honorable mention player of the week honors. The native of Louisville, Ky., punted four times against Mississippi State, averaging 47.2 yards per punt, including pinning MSU within its own 10-yard line once. Tydlacka is having a fantastic season for UK, ranking third in the Southeastern Conference in punting and 19th in the nation.

McIntosh had a perfect game on Saturday, going three-for-three in field goals hitting from 22 yards, 32 yards and 35 yards. The native of Lexington, Ky., is 9-for-10 this year in field goals and 15-for-15 in extra points, which leads Kentucky in scoring with 42 total points.

Trevathan had a fantastic game for Kentucky, tying a career high with 17 tackles, his third interception of the season, and also caused his third fumble of the season. The native of Leesburg, Fla., has earned an interception in two-consecutive games, becoming the first player to notch back-to-back games with picks since Winston Guy in 2010 against Auburn and South Carolina. Trevathan leads the SEC in tackles with 94, while he ranks tied for fifth in the nation.

Kentucky returns to action on Saturday when it concludes a three-game homestand against Ole Miss at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com

PAINTSVILLE, Ky. – Trent Davis had a choice to make.

The two-sport star at Johnson Central High School led the state in scoring in soccer this season with 51 goals. The Golden Eagles were in the 16^th Region semifinals in that sport in London, Ky.

On the same night, the state-ranked football team was playing rival Ashland, Ky., for a district championship on the road.

The soccer game started at 6 p.m. but the site was about a three-hour drive from Ashland where the football game began at 7:30 p.m.

Davis chose soccer and the Golden Eagles fell 3-0 to South Laurel. His father, who owns a helicopter, flew him to the football game. He came running onto the field after Johnson Central had scored its first touchdown in the third quarter.

Central had gone for a two-point conversion and made it but it was negated by a holding penalty.

The sideline erupted as Davis trotted out of the locker room and onto the field. He rushed out and set up for the extra point – a 32-yard kick – and it barely missed to the right.

Ashland ended up beating Johnson Central 22-6 but Davis had accomplished the rare feat of playing in two big events – one for the soccer team and one for the football team – on the same night despite about 180 miles of distance between them.

Davis has been a prolific kicker for the football team for three years. He’s an even bigger star in soccer where he scored 51 goals this season.

By Mark Maynard / Prokicker.com Editor

PIKEVILLE, Ky. – Zach Burgy-VanHoose, the top-ranked kicker in the Ray Guy Prokicker.com rankings, is a weapon for his high school team in Kentucky. He booms kick after kick through the end zone on kickoffs.

Burgy-VanHoose, a senior at Pikeville High School, is also automatic when it comes to extra points. “I haven’t missed one since my sophomore year,” he said.

His long-range goal is to kick for somebody in college next fall but for now he’d like to win a game with a field goal.

“That’s my dream, to win a big game on a field goal,” he said. “Everything is going good and school is going great. It’d be amazing to go to state (finals).”

Kentucky begins its playoff season on Nov. 4. Pikeville will be playing Paintsville at home in the first round.

He has made only one field goal this season but looks toward making a difference in the postseason. Burgy-VanHoose is working with a new holder after last year’s partner suffered an ACL injury and didn’t come out for football.

“That’s definitely a factor (not having the holder) but it’s not all him,” Burgy-VanHoose said. “We haven’t been able to practice as much as we needed to. But we’ve had a successful season.”

Pikeville has an 7-2 record going into a game Friday against Shelby Valley.

Burgy-VanHoose has noticed improved distance on his kickoffs after working hard this summer, including attending three Prokicker.com camps.

“In the summer, it’s all I did,” he said. “Last year I had a lot of touchbacks but they wouldn’t go out of the end zone like they do now. I’ve kicked two through the uprights.”

He’s also been punting for the Panthers but says kicking is his future.

“I haven’t had any (college) offers, which is a little surprising,” Burgy-VanHoose said. “We’ll wait and see what happens.”

By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Offenses may not have been in midseason form in the season opener between Western Kentucky University and the University of Kentucky on Thursday, but the punters sure were.

Senior punter Ryan Tydlacka boomed seven punts for a 47.1 average for Kentucky in a 14-3 victory over the Hilltoppers. He had three kicks inside the 20-yard line and a long of 59 yards. The special teams boost was just what the Wildcats needed as the offense got off to a sluggish start.

Tydlacka averaged 43.8 yards per punt last season as a junior.  He was named Southeastern Conference Special Teams Player of the Week after UK’s win over No. 10 South Carolina, as he helped control field position by placing three punts inside the 20-yard line.

Tydlacka, who came to UK from Trinity High School in Louisville, averaged 37.1 yards per punt as a freshman.  He improved to an average of 40 yards during his sophomore year. 

Tydlacka also has been diligent in the classroom.  He completed his degree in business management last week and plans to work toward a second major in marketing during the fall semester.

WKU sophomore punter Hendrix Brakefield was just as important. He punted eight times for a 44.6 average, knocked two inside the 20 and had a long kick of 58 yards. Like UK, the Hilltoppers struggled to get much going offensively. Brakefield’s punting was a bright spot.

In fact, if the two teams needed to find something positive about the opening game it would have to be in the punting game where both of them shined. The game was played at the home of the Tennessee Titans but considered a home game for WKU, which is only about an hour outside of Nashville.

LEXINGTON - Kentucky picked up a commitment from Tennessee punter-kicker Landon Foster on Tuesday, according to CatsIllustrated.com.

Foster, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound kicker for Independence High School in Franklin, Tenn., said via text message to CatsIllustrated.com he committed to UK because "it felt like home."

He weighed offers from Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Western Kentucky before choosing UK.

Foster will have an immediate opportunity for playing time since UK will lose starting senior punter Ryan Tydlacka after this season.

By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Kyle Federico, the winner at the 2010 Ray Guy Prokicker.com National kicking Championship, is sold on his college destination.

The strong-legged placekicker committed to Rutgers University on Wednesday, becoming the first player in Ponte Vedra High School history to verbal to a Football Bowl Subdivision school.

Federico, who was born in New Jersey, chose to go East with the Scarlet Knights. Miami (Fla.), Auburn and Kentucky were among the schools looking at Federico, who is also a top-notch soccer player.

“I feel more relaxed not having to rush around and find a school that I could love,” Federico said. “Now that it’s done I’m going to enjoy my senior year.”

He kicked at camps at Miami, Auburn, Kentucky and Rutgers which, Federico said, was the perfect fit.

“I became interested in it through a couple of family members going to the school,” he said. “I’m originally from New Jersey. I have a lot of family up there. They gave me big interest.”

The early commitment also clears up his plans for his final soccer season. Federico said that with a football plan in place that he's planning on playing his senior season with Ponte Vedra, which is coming off one of its best seasons.

On the football field, Federico’s strong leg resulted in 39 touchbacks last season. He was 10 for 12 on field goals as a sophomore and 8 of 13 last season. His longest kick in a high school game is 50 yards although he said he’s connected from 60-plus in practice.

Federico likes the chances of contributing immediately for Rutgers. Fifth-year senior San San Te is entering his final season and Federico should have an inside track on the starting job in the fall of 2012.

“There’s a really good chance of being a four-year starter,” he said. "That's their plan, too."

Federico trained under former NFL kicker Mike Hollis and his high school coach, Paul Eddinger, also helped him develop his kicking leg.

He said kicking a soccer ball is completely different than football.

“I feel like if you have a leg, you can always get the technique down,” he said.

Federico does both very well. He led Ponte Vedra with 13 goals as a junior, leading the team to the state semifinals.

WLEX Lexington

Derek Abney is not a fan of getting rid of the play that helped him rewrite the record books at the University of Kentucky.

"To eliminate that would be pretty disappointing for me," Abney said of getting rid of the kickoff from college football, a drastic adjustment to the rules that has garnered some support from several coaches and officials since first being suggested by Rutgers coach Greg Schiano earlier this month.

Abney returned two kickoffs for touchdowns while becoming an All-American special teams player at Kentucky as a kick and punt returner.

Georgia coach Mark Richt also has spoken out in support of eliminating the kickoff from college football. Safety concerns as players barrel 60 yards down the field towards each other is behind the radical change to the game. Both Richt and Schiano have had players seriously hurt in recent years during kickoffs.

According to Abney, removing the kickoff would eliminate the most exciting play of the game - the opening kickoff - and limit participation.

"A lot of the kids that play ball, especially the younger ones, that's their opportunity to get on the field. So it would be a shame to take that away from them," said.

"Not having the kicking game is a travesty if you took that from the football game."