University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Football Resurfaces In Amherst
August 18, 2006 | Football
Aug. 18, 2006
By John Connolly
Boston Herald
AMHERST - No player on the UMass football team enjoys the new $800,000 FieldTurf playing surface that has been installed at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium more than senior Division 1-AA All-America punter Christian Koegel.
"Oh, man. This is like night and day," said Koegel yesterday following the Minutemen's first practice on the playing surface. "This is like Christmas all over again, really."
Off the field, the personable Koegel is an eclectic, modern-style athlete, who has been known to sport a flashy wardrobe. On the field, the 6-footer from Deerfield Beach, Fla., is a throwback, a mudder who relishes playing the game as conditions worsen. In last year's game against James Madison, on a field that could best be described as total slop, Koegel's footwork was as adept as Nureyev. He punted eight times for a 41.5 average, including consecutive kicks of 56 and 55 yards in the fourth quarter.
"What I do before games is visualize on situations that I might have and you always visualize the worst," Koegel said. "Obviously, you have to change things and I'd end up only taking one step and didn't have as much room due to slipping. It's really knowing what you're going to do in the moment before the moment actually happens.
"I look ahead now. If it rains I don't even have to worry about footing now. It's an incredible advantage, and looking back at those games it's amazing to see how hard it actually was punting it. This will help me out incredibly."
Koegel, a bona fide NFL prospect, is coming off a year when he averaged 43.0 yards, including a season's best boot of 60 yards at Maine. He put down 18 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line.
"I stayed up here the whole summer and really have been trying to focus in on skills that I thought maybe I'd been lacking a little bit last year," Koegel said. "It helped me out immensely with hang time and everything. Jason Leonard (of Stoughton) is snapping incredibly as he did last year and I'm really looking forward to having another good year with him. We're all putting in extra work."
UMass notes
Minutemen coach Don Brown points to depth as a weapon heading into the Sept. 2 season opener. UMass, which finished with a 7-4 record (6-2 Atlantic 10), opens up at home against Colgate.
"I feel like 0-90 our roster is as deep as it's been since I've been here," Brown said. "Guys are competing really well. I feel really good about our depth. I really like our chemistry." . . .
Senior center Alex Miller will serve as team captain.
"There's nothing better than having Alex at center. He makes my job so easy," starting quarterback Liam Coen said.
