Appalachian State's Doug Middleton (31) gets to the loose ball before UTC kicker Nick Pollard (30) as ASU scored a touchdown from the Mocs' mishandled field-goal attempt during the Mountaineers' 14-12 win last year at Boone, N.C. The two Southern Conference teams meet again this Saturday at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga.University of Tennessee at Chattanooga punter/kicker Nick Pollard answers three quick questions about pulling double duty this season:
1. After a very strong performance at Furman - a 48.5-yard average and four punts downed inside the 20 - do you feel like you're finding your punting rhythm?
Pollard: "I'd say so. It was the first game where I was trying to hold on to the ball longer and get more drive out of it. I'm working on it again this week, and it's working. I'm hitting the ball well and we're doing great on the coverage, too."
2. Are the field goals (Pollard is 4-of-8 this season) the only frustrating part of your season right now?
Pollard: "Kickers go through slumps and they have great days and not great days. It's just piecing it all together. The punting's great, the kickoffs are great and now I've just got to get field goals going and we'll be set to go."
3. Does it surprise you, just like it probably did Joel Bradford last year, how effective the rugby punt can be?
Pollard: "You hear about it and you're like, you've got to rely on the bounce? But once you get that roll going and keep doing the same thing, obviously it really works. You figure out it's deadly. It wins games and can switch the whole field."