ASU punter Matt Haack responds to Graham challenge
It wasn't that Matt Haack was punting poorly in the first quarter against UCLA -- pinning the Bruins inside their 20-yard line three times -- but Arizona State coach Todd Graham demanded more of the junior.
"He kind of got on me a bit and really fueled me and got me going," Haack said. "Just something along the lines of playing with emotion. He's a very passionate guy, so he challenged all of us to play with the same kind of passion and emotion that he shows."
Whatever Graham stoked in the low-key Haack elevated his play to a level comparable to what he'd been showing in practice but not always during games.
Haack's 63-yard punt early in the second quarter, flipping the field from the ASU 25-yard line to the UCLA 12, charged up Graham so much that Fox TV analyst Joel Klatt reacted: "I haven't seen a guy this excited over a punt in a long time."
Haack came up even bigger late in the game when UCLA, after trailing 29-10, came back within 29-23 then stopped ASU just past midfield to force another change in possession. What at the end of the third quarter appeared to be a clear Sun Devil win was in jeopardy of turning into a second straight Pac-12 loss.
"It felt good coming off my foot," Haack said of his eighth and final punt at the Rose Bowl. "I saw it go up and heading sideline right. Coach was telling me the whole game to kick it out of bounds so that's what I was trying to do. I was just praying I'd get the roll."
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The punt banked like pool shot, going out at the 1-yard line. UCLA gained just four yards on three plays then intentionally took a safety with 4:16 left, believing that was its best route to at least force overtime. Instead, ASU rammed in another touchdown for a 38-23 upset of the then No. 7 Bruins.
Fox play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson said Haack is "deserving of a game ball for his performance" before the game-saving kick then made this call: "Look at that English. It gets into the end zone ... wait a minute, it's marked at the 1. What a punt."
With 30 punts already this season, the left-footed Haack is averaging 43.6 yards, third in the Pac-12 behind Utah's Tom Hackett (47.8 on 15 punts) and Arizona's Drew Riggleman (46.2/17). He has dropped 12 punts inside the 20 and booted eight over 50 yards.
"He cleared his mind and just went out and trusted what he had prepared to do and did it," ASU first-year special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum said.
Haack averaged 43.1 yards against UCLA with his net punting slightly better (43.5) thanks to coverage.
"You can't cover what you don't punt," Slocum said. "The protection has got to be there, the coverage has got to be there and the punt's got to be there. It all works together."
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Against Texas A&M and USC, ASU's net punting average was 33.8 and 33.0 with Christian Kirk and Adoree Jackson hurting the Sun Devils on returns. That's why ASU's punt return defense still ranks No. 120 nationally despite the improvement against UCLA that brought Haack honors as the Ray Guy national Punter of the Week and Pac-12 special teams Player of the Week.
"I was having a tendency to pick my eyes up a little early the last few games," Haack said. "I really focused on keeping my eyes down and my drop straight."
He said special teams are starting to click under Slocum, formerly with the Green Bay Packers, in part because players are not trying to do too much.
"In previous games, everyone was trying to make a play almost to a fault, trying to do someone else's job," Haack said. "The biggest thing is everyone just buying in to what they've got to do."
Slocum has brought a "new perspective," Haack said, "and he challenged me a lot, too. He'll get on me because he knows the potential I have. I can't thank him enough for everything he does helping me master my craft. He's made a big difference."
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