A lot of local college football followers were surprised — shocked, actually — that Louie Sakoda didn't get more of a chance to play in the NFL.
The former Ute kicker and punter had NFL written all over him. He could do it all in college, couldn't he?
He was deadly accurate as a field goal kicker, making 22 of 24 last year and 57 of 66 for his career. That's 86 percent, for crying out loud.
He also was an excellent punter, averaging more than 42 yards for his career with an uncanny knack for dropping the ball inside the 20-yard line, which he did 24 times last year and 104 times in his four-year career as a starter.
Sakoda was Utah's first-ever unanimous, consensus all-American. He was so good he was named all-American as both a placekicker and punter. Certainly someone in the NFL could use his skills.
So why is Sakoda hanging around Ute football practices this fall, working as an undergraduate assistant instead of playing in preseason games for an NFL team?
Sakoda believes the two main reasons are kickoffs and kicker recycling.
When he performed in the combine last spring, Sakoda acknowledges his kickoffs weren't up to NFL standards, although he feels they are now after months of practice.
The other main problem is the way NFL teams recycle old kickers much the same way NBA teams seem to use the same coaches over and over rather than trying out new guys.
"They usually recycle the same people," Sakoda said. "They like the guys with three years of camp experience, even if they never made it as 'the guy.' But you don't get the experience because they don't take the guys without experience. So it's kind of a vicious cycle."
Sakoda isn't making excuses, just being realistic. He's the first to acknowledge he had "a bad showing" with his kickoffs at the combine prior to the NFL Draft.
"I don't know if it was nerves or not doing kickoffs much for three years," he said. "It was just a bad showing that week. Teams were scared to pick me up. If I would have been kicking off like I am now at the combine, I'd definitely be somewhere."
Sakoda said he never expected to get drafted but felt certain he'd get a lot of attention as a free agent. But the initial hours after the draft were the most surprising to him.
"Right out of the gate, post-combine, I had the impression that worst case scenario I would be walking on as a free agent somewhere," he said. "My agents were saying, if you don't get drafted you'll have this team or that team."
It made perfect sense. After being the top placekicker in America last year, Sakoda was the top placekicker at the combine, making 19 of 20 field goal tries. The fact that so many games are won on last-second field goals, you'd think Sakoda would be a wanted man.
He did get three tryouts, however. The first was in San Diego and after a "pretty good weekend" he was surprised when the Chargers went with another player. He next went to Chicago and had a "rough" tryout and then to Buffalo where he had another good tryout.
Another reason for Sakoda's failure to stick is the economy. Any other year, Sakoda would likely at least have stuck with a team through the preseason. However, NFL teams have eight fewer roster spots and can't afford to keep more than one kicker.
"It's a product of bad timing," said Sakoda. "The story right now is there's no spots open and teams aren't looking to replace their guys. They're actually cutting their camp kickers to make room for other positions."
It's not just Ute fans who are shocked that Sakoda didn't get more of a chance in the NFL.
Even my father-in-law, a diehard BYU fan, was flabbergasted that Sakoda isn't playing somewhere. In fact, also being a diehard Green Bay Packer fan, he was going to try to convince someone in the Packers' organization to give Sakoda a look, while he was in Green Bay over the weekend.
There's still an outside chance that Green Bay or another team might give Sakoda a second look, so he'll stay ready. Being involved with the Ute program gives him the opportunity to practice kicking, while showing the Ute kickers some of his secrets.
"I don't want to be that guy that bounces around for six years without getting on with his life," he said. "Having this opportunity here is awesome, perfect, because it gives me a chance to help the program and hopefully influence some guys."
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