Notre Dame Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman was correct in assessing his kicker Mitch Jeter prior to the Orange Bowl game on Thursday evening. All Jeter did was hit two clutch field goals, including the game-winner with less than 10 seconds left in the game to propel Notre Dame to the College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 20.
Mitch Jeter Gains Coaches Confidence, Nails Game-Winner Thursday Night
You can’t spell “special teams” without “special,” that’s a statement of fact. Kickers, punters, long snappers, and every component of punt and kick units have a critical impact on the outcome of games. They’re a different breed and run on a unique brand of confidence. Right now, there’s no College Football Playoff team more confident in its kicker than Freeman is in Jeter.
The Notre Dame special-teams standout has been golden in the biggest moments for the Fighting Irish this season. The latest was a two-FG outing against the Penn State Nittany Lions, one of which was the margin of victory in the Irish’s 27-24 victory.
“We were going down there driving. I was getting prepared to go out there and kick,” Jeter said after the game. “They had the ball through the interception. That’s when it was like ‘Alright, it’s going to come down to a kick. Let’s go make it.’ So, I was able to go out there and I was happy to execute.”
His quarterback, Riley Leonard, was pleased as punch after the game with his kicker, who overcame an injury during the season to come back and perform well.
“It’s hard to describe the emotion,” Leonard said. “We all knew the kick was going to go in. He’s always money.”
Confidence is something that can often come in short supply. Kickers are oft-maligned, especially at the college football level, and one miss can quickly become a series of shanked attempts and an eventual benching. That is fueled by a social media witch hunt that sees fans calling for the abolition of the position if things don’t go their way when a kicker is called upon.
Christian Gray, who made the interception deep in the Penn State end to give Jeter the shot at the game-winning kick, said he had full confidence in Jeter. He was worried about the protection breaking down and the kick getting blocked.
“I was more concerned with the protection,” Gray said. “I had no doubts about Mitch.”
Jeter said his confidence was in no short supply Thursday night.
“Coach Freeman talks a lot about delayed gratification. He’s been talking like that all the way to Week 2, when the NIU game happened,” Jeter said. “So its kind of been my mindset going through an injury, having the delayed gratification now to be able to come out and give our team a chance to go win a national championship.”
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