Burning Question No. 4: Which kicker(s) and punter will emerge from fall camp?

By Ryan Greene

Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009 | 2:30 a.m.

Editor's note: UNLV coaches are looking to answer several questions while the Rebels football team practices in Ely. Reporter Ryan Greene counts down these burning questions through Wednesday.

ELY — Don't let the little competitions on the side serve as a distraction.

For the most part, UNLV's kickers and punters have to find a way to kill the time during fall camp. Specialists like them aren't fully subjected to the physical grind that can be two-a-day practices.

Besides a few reps here and there, this group needs to find ways to occupy itself, and the things it concocts are, well, pretty creative.

One instance on Monday found senior kicker Kyle Watson practicing his long-snapping. About 12 yards behind him was junior kicker Ben Jaekle, sitting on his knees with his helmet on and an orange cone resting atop it. You can guess how the rest went down.

Sometimes they run sprints against one another, both for the sake of breaking a sweat and gaining bragging rights.

Other times, they'll run routes against each other, rotating who serves as the quarterback.

"It's a blast," Watson said. "Everyone's out here hating life. We get sore for five periods (of practice), then we're throwing the ball in the trash cans, lollygagging around and making fun of everyone else.

"I love it, personally."

Again, don't let it fool you.

Beneath the surface, peppered with laughs, jabs and one-liners, there are jobs on the line.

With still more than two weeks remaining before the Rebels' Sept. 5 opener against Sacramento State, the races are still open in determining who will handle the ever-so-crucial kicking and punting duties.

Wanting to hear the opinions of his two returning kickers, UNLV coach Mike Sanford met with Watson and Jaekle before the start of spring ball.

In 2008, things started off peachy, as the two split the duties. Watson would handle extra points and shorter field goals, while Jaekle would take care of longer attempts and kickoffs.

Each saw some ups and downs as the 5-7 campaign wore on, though, leaving the situation for 2009 up in the air.

"Me and Jaekle are pretty much best friends — we're roommates — we both love the competition and know what it's all about," Watson said. "We both kinda said 'Pick one or the other.' Because neither of us liked the 'Well, if it's 39 yards, then you're gonna kick it, but if it's 40 yards, you've got it.'"

But until the coaching staff gets to see both of them at full strength, no decision will be made.

"I think that's their opinion, but we're gonna do what I think is best for this program and what's best for us to win," Sanford said. "I don't know what that is yet, but whatever it is, we're gonna do that."

One reason for the delay is that Jaekle is still on his way from surgery in mid-June to repair a herniated disk in his back.

Jaekle said he began experiencing issues with his sciatic nerve before spring ball began. Eventually, it got to the point where the pain shooting down his right leg was 24-7 and wouldn't allow him to sleep comfortably at night.

After going 5-of-11 on field goal attempts last season — all of which were from beyond 40 yards — Jaekle is now close to returning, as he's again kicking Nerf footballs during his reps at practice. He could be back kicking at full strength by the end of the week.

But the 5-of-11 was what gnawed at Jaekle during the offseason. Due to the split duties between he and Watson, if he missed, say, a 50-yarder, he didn't have the luxury of booting an extra point or shorter field goal to get his confidence back on track. Getting into a rhythm came at a premium, too.

"We both started off good, I know I started off well," Jaekle said. "Towards the end of the year, then it was, 'OK, Kyle was gonna go out to 42 yards.' Mentally is what was kind of throwing me off at the end. That's when I started to go downhill at the end.

"I'm harder than anyone on myself."

While Jaekle was thrown off track some, Watson went 7-of-8 on his field goal tries — his lone miss was from outside the 40-yard range — and was a perfect 37-of-37 on extra point kicks.

Still, both have the goal right now of setting themselves apart as the guy.

As Jaekle works his way back, Watson is showing some range. On Sunday evening, he went 1-of-2 on 52-yard attempts, with his miss going just wide to the left and his make going dead down the center with at least 10 yards to spare. He then knocked home a 47-yarder from the right hash.

"Obviously I would say Ben has a little stronger leg, but I would say up to this point, Kyle has been a little more consistent," Sanford said. "But when we get them head-to-head, we'll see what happens."

With all of this going on, Watson's also competing to take on a dual role, as he's in a three-man race to be the Rebels' punter, along with junior Brendon Lamers and juco transfer Daniel Ayers — a junior from Laney (Calif.) College.

Watson hasn't punted regularly since his lone season at Texas Southern in 2005. In adjusting, he's regularly stretching with trainers at practice, since punting takes an entire different motion than place-kicking, which comfortably suits his soccer background.

"I'm not the thinnest kicker out there or the most flexible," the 5-foot-9, 215-pound Watson said. "I did some gymnastics when I was young. Back in the day, when I was 100 pounds lighter, I could do flips and stuff.

"I have to work on my flexibility a lot."

Lamers is the only punter on the roster with game experience as a Rebel, attempting four kicks over the first two games last season, averaging 30 yards per attempt. But he was relegated to backup duties when third-string quarterback Dack Ishii emerged as the team's most consistent punting threat.

"It was rough, but it was one of those things where you're a part of the team, so you have to keep your mindset to where you're still part of the team," Lamers said. "If he gets hurt, you have to be ready.

"It's kinda one of those things where it basically comes down to who's gonna be kicking consistently the best. It's hard doing that, but last year I did it — me and Dack split the first couple of games. It's just a head-to-head thing, but in the long run it makes both of us better. It's never a bad thing. It's a good thing."

Lamers was able to stay competitive with Ishii in camp last year despite battling a slight shin fracture and ankle injury.

This time, he's right in the thick of things without that weighing on him.

"Consistency-wise, I'd say Kyle has a little bit of an advantage," Sanford said. "I would say the power or ability to hit punts and then really go, Brendon is ahead in that regard, but right now he's not as consistent. And I'd say Daniel is right there."

Sanford added that kicking and punting responsibilities probably won't be decided upon until the week of the Rebels' first game.

The candidates for those jobs don't necessarily object.

"It's an interesting deal," Watson said. "I prefer it, because the coaches have no ones, twos or threes yet. It's all up in the air. It's great competition, and it's making me better every day."