Mike Hammons hasn't kicked in a game since his senior season at Polk County High School, when he was named Tennessee's Mr. Football Kicker of the Year.
Hammons came to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga thinking he might kick and punt for the Mocs, but in his first two seasons he's been exclusively a punter. And coach Russ Huesman hopes that doesn't change.
Following the graduation of Southern Conference kicker of the year Craig Camay and walk-on Austin Bass's decision to leave the team, Hammons is the only kicker on UTC's roster this spring. The Mocs aren't doing a lot of special-teams work, but when they do Hammons has both jobs all to himself.
"I think right now I'm starting to strike them real good," Hammons said of his field goals. "Of course, I've been punting a lot so it's a little different motion, so I'm kind of getting back in the swing of it. I feel like I'm starting to hit them better."
Huesman said Hammons is "good enough to kick, there's no question about that," but he wants Hammons doing the punting and signee Nick Pollard place-kicking in the 2010 season. Pollard, who played at Father Ryan in Nashville, was the 2009 Mr. Football Kicker of the Year.
"I want Mike to be an all-conference punter," Huesman said following Monday's practice at Finley Stadium. "I want him kicking it high and deep, and that's what he's going to focus on. We signed a kicker and the kicker better be good -- that's the bottom line. If we're having to kick and punt (with) Mike, then we've made a bad decision, and hopefully we didn't make a bad decision.
"To me, it's two different things, it's two different leg swings, and if we're going to sign people they're going to do specific things."
Hammons, who traveled as the backup kicker last season, averaged 40.1 yards on his 49 punts, with 18 fair catches and 13 downed inside the 20-yard line.
A Fitzgerald setback
Running back Bryan Fitzgerald's return following foot surgery last October has hit a setback. Fitzgerald, who suffered a season-ending injury in the fifth game last season, will undergo surgery to remove the three screws that were inserted into the repaired foot.
Fitzgerald said the screws were causing him constant pain and will be taken out in the next week or two. Huesman said Fitzgerald, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA, is expected to be back in time for the season.
Extra points
Defensive tackle Nick Craig went down with an apparent left hamstring injury midway through practice Monday and did not return. ... Linebacker Wes Dothard (knee) practiced for the first time this spring, while defensive end De'Markus Lee (knee) is out for a few weeks. ... The Mocs spent much of Monday's practice working on deep balls, and the offense got the better of the defense quite often.