Warriors' Ayat fires up teammates with his foot

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i coaches believe kicker Justin Ayat can surpass Jason Elam's school-record kick of 56 yards. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Justin Ayat is carried off by mascot Vili Fehoko and shakes hands with Vince Manuwai after his game-winning field goal against Miami (Ohio). Advertiser library photo • Nov. 17, 2001

Kickers ...?

"... Weird," said Justin Ayat, the University of Hawai'i's placekicker.

"Everybody has that stereotype, like, I don't know, if you're a kicker you have some mental issues or something," Ayat added. "They think you're in your own world, that you're a dork. Mostly there are negative perceptions about the position."

Kickers usually have slighter builds than their teammates and never participate in contact drills. Linebacker Chad Kapanui agreed that Ayat, a fourth-year junior from Kamehameha Schools, is indeed different — but by a kicker's standard.

"How many kickers can bench 300-something pounds?" Kapanui said. "How many kickers work that hard in the weight room? He's not a normal kicker. He's built like a real football player. He's cut up."

Not only can the 5-foot-11, 192-pound Ayat bench press 365 pounds, he is unique in that he does not have a kicking coach and does not warm up before attempting field goals.

His kickoffs also are far from normal. In four games this season, 69.5 percent of his kickoffs (16 of 23) resulted in touchbacks. In a 41-21 victory over Rice last week, seven of his eight kickoffs were not returned.

"He helps us tremendously if the other team is starting off at the 20 all of the time," said Tyson Helton, who coaches UH's special teams.

Kapanui said: "He fires you up with his kicking."

Ayat said he has worked specifically on increasing the distance of his kickoffs. He said UH coach June Jones suggested a follow-through technique in which the right-footed Ayat firmly plants his kicking foot after making contact with the football. During offseason workouts, Ayat tried to strengthen his abdomen and lower back.

"I don't think people realize that you need more than leg muscles to kick," he said. "You use your abs, too."

Like most college programs, UH does not have a coach who specializes in kicking. Helton, who was a quarterback at the University of Houston, said: "I'm there to tell the guy, 'Make sure you get your kicks in.' I'm there to guide the guy, more than anything else, make sure he's doing what he's supposed to do."

In team drills, Ayat makes about 20 kickoffs each week. Then, while the rest of the team participates in contact drills, Ayat and the punters go to the adjacent soccer field to work on their kicking techniques.

"Of course, it would be better if there was an actual coach who could help me more one on one," Ayat said. "But coach Helton has helped me a lot."

Instead, Ayat relies on such offseason tutors as NFL All-Pros Jason Elam, a former Warrior, and Nick Lowery. Ayat said he learned from Lowery, although he was not familiar with the career of the future Hall of Famer.

"I kind of busted his ego," Ayat said, smiling. "No offense to him, but I honestly didn't know. I never really followed kickers' careers until I became more familiar with the position (in high school)."

Ayat acknowledged the loneliness of the long-distance kicker, saying, "Obviously, I'm away from everybody else, doing my own thing, kicking on the side, just hanging out sometimes. I try to stay involved with what the team does, even just staying out there watching the practice. I could do something else, but being involved with the guys, that's what makes it fun."

Kapanui said Ayat "is a cool guy. He's mellow, but he's funny at times."

Helton said Ayat also has earned the admiration of the coaches, who believe he can surpass Elam's school-record kick of 56 yards. When Ayat missed a field-goal attempt from 52 yards as time expired in the first half Saturday, he was lectured by the coaches.

"Heck, yeah, we expected him to make it," Helton said. "Everytime we put him on the field, we expect him to make it. We're not taking shots with him. When we put him out there to break the record, we put him out there expecting him to make the field goal, not hoping he'll make it. That's how much confidence we have in him."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.