OT: Never-punt coach steps down after one season at Presbyterian

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OT: Never-punt coach steps down after one season at Presbyterian

Post by BrentVU »

Kevin Kelley is the former coach at Pulaski Academy (H.S.) in Arkansas who ran up an amazing 216-29-1 record over 21 seasons. His coaching philosophy: never punt, but go for it instead on fourth down (with a few rare exceptions); never kick field goals, always go for a first down or TD; kickoffs should always be onsides.

Presbyterian College hired him as head coach for 2021. He stepped down unexpectedly after a 2-9 season. His next move is unclear. Here were his team's stats for 2021:
- Did not attempt a field goal all season
- Punted 13 times … total
- Attempted 48 onside kicks
- Went for it on fourth down 84 times

Vanderbilt played the Presbyterian Blue Hose in a paycheck game in 2012 and won 58-0.


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Re: OT: Never-punt coach steps down after one season at Presbyterian

Post by Go Vandy! »

Takeaway: philosophy works in h.s., not in college? Admittedly, VERY SMALL sample size.
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Re: OT: Never-punt coach steps down after one season at Presbyterian

Post by FayetteDore »

Or, the old adage: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of...."
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Re: OT: Never-punt coach steps down after one season at Presbyterian

Post by Johnmn555 »

There could be some rethinking on this issue. In an offensive era, teams should not punt as often as they used to. I think a good example would be when CCL went for it on 4th and 1 from his own 13, which seems outlandish. However, considering the pretty high probability of UT scoring if it got the ball around midfield, it was a rational decision. How many times do I see teams take a no risk running approach when they get the ball on their own five, not get a first down as a result, and then watch the opposition move in for a pretty easy score after a short punt?
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Re: OT: Never-punt coach steps down after one season at Presbyterian

Post by MrMemorial »

Presbyterian's 2 wins should not have counted, they were vs a couple of "pretend" programs called St. Andrews and (worse) Fort Lauderdale. They hung 84 on "St. Andrews"

"University of Fort Lauderdale" has a "college basketball team" too!

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Re: OT: Never-punt coach steps down after one season at Presbyterian

Post by FayetteDore »

In my opinion, it was a "pretend game" when VU played them in 2012 (and as Brent said, beat them 58-0). I remember checking at the time and PC's website reported enrollment of just under 1,000. It's a little higher now but for comparison, Sewanee enrolls about 1,800.

A month after blowing out the Blue Hose, VUAD announced the cancellation of the Ohio State and Northwestern games contracted for 2013. It was not a good look. However, the 'Dores went on to win the final 7 games of the 2012 season, including the great wins over Auburn, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Tennessee, Wake Forest and N.C. State (in the MCB), and finish 9-4 in CJF's second year.

In VU's defense, I believe the paycheck game was scheduled at the request of PC's athletic director, who had recently been an assistant AD at Vanderbilt. And PC also played at Georgia Tech that season (the Yellow Jackets defeated the Blue Hose 59-3).
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Re: OT: Never-punt coach steps down after one season at Presbyterian

Post by MrMemorial »

Presby is FCS which used to be called 1aa. That is a legit NCAA football classification.

It's just those two opponents they played to start the season were a joke. That "St. Andrews" is some lowest level NAIA football while that other school is a member of something called "NATIONAL CHRISTIAN COLLEGE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION" (remember that little bible college on West End Ave. near Bowling Ave. that disappeared? It moved to Gallatin and is a member of that "athletic association")
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Re: OT: Never-punt coach steps down after one season at Presbyterian

Post by AuricGoldfinger »

FayetteDore wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 4:58 pm In VU's defense, I believe the paycheck game was scheduled at the request of PC's athletic director, who had recently been an assistant AD at Vanderbilt. And PC also played at Georgia Tech that season (the Yellow Jackets defeated the Blue Hose 59-3).
Yes, it was Brian Reese, who had also worked with Bobby Johnson at Furman.
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