No. I mean I don’t think of it like that. I don’t really read into what people are talking about and all of that nonsense. So, to me, in my mind it’s just another year. – Tom Hackett
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah punter Tom Hackett doesn’t really get what the fuss is all about.
“I just kick a ball, you know, it’s kind of stupid,” he said. “I mean, how hard can it be? I just do it.”
Hackett, though, does it better than anyone else. The senior from Australia is the reigning Ray Guy Award winner and earned consensus All-America honors last season. He played a pivotal role in the Utes going 9-4 overall and posting the program’s first winning record (5-4) in Pac-12 play.
“A lot our games, if you really look at them, were won because of Tom and that’s why he won that award last year,” said senior linebacker Jared Norris. “He’s a great punter, he’s a good guy. I love him to death.”
Norris added that the Utes are an attacking punt team that looks to pin the ball deep every time.
“Tom trusts us and we trust Tom to put it in the right spot,” Norris said.
Hackett became just the fifth player in team history to become a consensus All-American (earning first-team recognition from SFCA, the Associated Press, FWAA and Walter Camp, plus second-team honors from Sporting News) after leading the nation with 19 punts inside the 10-yard line and 36 inside the 20. He topped the Pac-12 and ranked third in the country with a punt average of 46.7 yards.
“I think that special teams last year, in particular, was a huge reason why we were able to win nine ballgames — in a field position game that Tom Hackett allowed us to play with his exceptional punting and pinning people inside the 10-yard line,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said at Pac-12 Media Days.
Hackett’s ability to flip the field and the accuracy of kicker Andy Phillips, Whittingham explained, were certainly big factors.
And like Phillips, who has noted that he can get even better, Hackett is working hard to improve his skills. As usual he has spent time in the offseason working with Nathan Chapman of Prokick Australia, whose clientele also includes 2013 Ray Guy Award winner Tom Hornsey of Memphis.
“Every time I go back that’s who my main man is,” Hackett said. “It’s tricky. I guess technically speaking, my technique that he teaches in particular is pretty sound.
“However, whenever I go home there are a few things that I do change subconsciously. It’s stuff that if I could watch myself through his eyes that I would be able to see,” he continued. “It’s just smaller things like, you know, dropping my right shoulder while I’m dropping the ball or stuff like that — that he just picks up on and balance and all of that kind of stuff.”
Hackett worked with Chapman when he went home in May and has also seen him in America this summer, most recently last weekend in Southern California.
Despite being more of a known commodity this season, Hackett insists he isn’t feeling any extra pressure.
“No. I mean I don’t think of it like that. I don’t really read into what people are talking about and all of that nonsense. So, to me, in my mind it’s just another year. Last year was awesome. I was able to, I guess, implement what Coach Chapman and Coach Whitt have both wanted me to do,” Hackett said. “This year is going to be more challenging I think. I can almost bet my life’s funds that I’ll have two returners for a majority of the season and I’m prepared to work with that and counteract, counteract certain scenarios in my head that might come up in a game. So it’s going to be a different year, for sure.”
Hackett added that within his head space, though, he’s just going to go about his business. The focus is on the task at hand.
A future in the NFL, Hackett explained, is in the back of his mind and nowhere near the front. However, it is something he plans to pursue.
“I think you’ll find a majority of people that do make the NFL have exceptional college careers. So there’s no doubt that’s where a lot of the big money is at and I guess that’s the epitome of the sport. So if I made it this far, I’d be stupid not to give it a crack,” Hackett said. “However, there’s no point in giving it a crack if you haven’t had a good college career. Granted my college career, thus far, has been OK but there’s always room for improvement.”
The same goes for team success. Whittingham acknowledged that Hackett and Phillips are among the team leaders as Utah gears up for its fifth season in the Pac-12. Hackett, though, noted that the specialists have different leadership qualities.
“Andy’s quite vocal around the team. He speaks to the guys and has a pretty easy time doing it. He enjoys getting up and motivating the players and just opening the floor up to thoughts,” Hackett said. “I’m not really that kind of guy. I try and lead, I guess if I am classified as leader, then probably on-the-field behavior is kind of what I like and in the weight room and everything like the running in practice and I joke around with everyone. But when it comes to game day they all know that they can trust me. So I’m assuming that’s really my leadership quality.”
As one of the leaders of the pack, Hackett is confident the Utes can take another step forward this year.
“Well, we all know that it’s not going to be an easy task and there are going to be times throughout the season where maybe we wish we were playing better. Hopefully that’s only for a quarter here and there,” he said. “It’s just a matter of grinding it out. We’re not going to blow every team out of the water because the opposition is just too good for that to happen.”
Utah was picked to finish fifth in the Pac-12 South in the conference’s preseason media poll. The competition between USC, Arizona State, UCLA, Arizona and Utah is expected by many to be quite competitive.
“So it’s just a matter of mentally preparing, trusting in what the coaches implement weekly and just executing, really,” Hackett said. “And if we do all three of those things I see no reason why we can’t win every game that we play this year.”
It’s part of a big picture the 23-year-old envisions.
“I just want the team to be like one big happy family that wins a lot of games. I had 80 punts last year. If I had 50 punts this year I’d be OK with it. But I want to go to like the Rose Bowl,” Hackett said. “The Vegas Bowl was cool but at the end of the day the Rose Bowl and the Vegas Bowl kind of don’t compare to each other. So I want to go to a big bowl game, have a successful year, punt well.
“I don’t know. I just want it all together,” he continued. “Easier said than done, I know, but dreams do become reality sometimes I guess.”
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