By Mark Weizer / Savannah Morning News ATHENS — The NFL draft gets under way today from Radio City Music Hall in New York, but for kickers and punters hoping to hear their names called, it really begins on Saturday. Georgia’s Drew Butler and Blair Walsh will be waiting with anticipation when rounds four through seven are held. Butler and Walsh are viewed as players that have “a good chance” to be drafted late, according to Nolan Nawrocki, draft analyst for Pro Football Weekly, which rates Butler the top punter and Walsh the top kicker. “Obviously it would be a…

By Mike Wilkening / Pro Football Weekly Draft history is loaded with tales of teams surprising even those whom they select.  Such is Kevin Butler’s story. Let’s turn back the clock to 1985. Butler, then a highly regarded placekicking prospect from Georgia, expected the Bills or Dolphins to draft him. Instead, the Bears, who already had an established placekicker in Bob Thomas, took him, and in Round Four, earlier than Butler expected. “Wow, they’re just wanting me to push this veteran,” Butler thought at the time. Ultimately, Butler won the job for a team that would go on to win…

By MARC WEISZER / Savannah Morning News ATHENS, Ga. — One of Georgia’s biggest areas of emphasis this offseason wasn’t on display when spring practices wrapped up Saturday with its G-Day game: shoring up its special teams coverage units. “To put the urgency on it as a team and the players grabbing a hold of that is a big step in the spring,” said assistant coach Kirk Olivadotti, who oversees the kickoff coverage unit. “As a team and as players, we’ve put urgency on every play because special teams is a one-play series. There is no second down, there is…

By D. Orlando Ledbetter / The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Even for a kicker, Kevin Butler had major swagger back as he became a Georgia legend in the 1980s and plied his wares in the NFL for 13 seasons. Butler was known for his long-range field goals, his antics and for making clutch kicks. He was widely accepted by his teammates, who nicknamed him “Butthead.” Fast forward a few decades and three of Butler’s former Chicago teammates are NFL head coaches, and two are looking for a punter. “If you want somebody who’s been there and knows what to expect of it,…

Atlanta Journal Constitution MOBILE — Former Georgia punter Drew Butler has heard some war stories this week about his father, Kevin Butler, who played 13 seasons in the NFL. The younger Butler is set to punt and hold on field goals and extra points for the South squad in the 63rd annual Senior Bowl at 4 p.m. Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. “Some guys actually scouted my dad,” Butler said. “Some guys have coached my dad. Coach [Mike] Singletary and coach [Leslie] Frazier on the Minnesota Vikings staff played with him. “So there are a lot of connections for sure. Some…

Georgia punter and Prokicker alum Drew Butler was selected as one of 127 candidates for the National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Awards as announced by the NFF and College Hall of Fame. Butler and the other nominees also compromise the list of semifinalists for the 2011 William V. Campbell Trophy, endowed by HealthSouth, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best scholar-athlete in the nation. Butler is one of three selected from the Southeastern Conference, as Auburn quarterback Barrett Trotter and Kentucky offensive lineman Stuart Hines were also two of the 47 candidates from the Football Bowl Subdivision. Since the…

By MARC WEISZER / Athens Banner-Herald MACON, Ga. - From his years as an assistant coach at Florida State sitting high up in the booth, Mark Richt couldn't quite sense the impact of full-speed collisions on kickoffs. That changed when he got a sideline view as head coach at Georgia. That perspective is why on Tuesday he said he would vote to eliminate kickoffs, an idea suggested by Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. "It is violent," Richt said Tuesday at the Peach State Pigskin Preview. "It is very, very physical. You've got a bunch of guys that can run fast and…

ATHENS, Ga. - Georgia landed a commitment of a punter from within the state at Mark Richt camp over the weekend, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Cartersville High School punter Collin Barber pledged to sign with Georgia in February. The  Bulldogs now have eight commitments for their 2012 college football recruiting class. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Barber was both offered and accepted a Georgia scholarship within minutes on Saturday, according to the report. It was Barber's first offer, and he earned it after punting 25 times, including five with a hang time of more than 5.0 seconds, in front of…

By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com Editor BRADENTON, Fla. – Nathan Theus says he owes a lot to the Prokicker.com Ray Guy kicking Academy. Thesus, a veteran of 14 Prokicker.com kicking camps, made some history in the 2011 recruiting cycle by becoming the first long-snapper to be offered a scholarship out of high school during Coach Mark Richt’s tenure at the University of Georgia. The senior at powerhouse Bolles High School in Jacksonville, Fla., says the instruction he has received at the Prokicker.com camps over the past seven years, made the difference for him.  “Prokicker plays a huge role,” Thesus said…