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ORONO – Place-kickers and punters are specialists. That’s why most college football teams have at least one of each.
At the University of Maine, all the kicking chores are handled by one versatile man.
Mike Mellow serves as the Black Bears’ punter and place-kicker. It’s a demanding job, but one the senior from Stonington, Conn., relishes.
“I’ve been doing it for three years now and I’ve kind of gotten used to it,” Mellow said. “It’s tough, not only physically but mentally.”
Never have Mellow’s contributions been as significant as last Saturday night. His booming punts (eight for a 46.5-yard average), his critical 31-yard field goal and his deep kickoffs helped UMaine earn a stunning 9-7 victory over Division I-A Mississippi State.
“Michael was a savior,” said UMaine coach Jack Cosgrove. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a kid do as much in the kick game, individually, as he did.”
Mellow rides on the defense bus at away games, but he is the only UMaine player who is a weapon for the Bears on both offense and defense.
The 6-foot-2, 214-pounder ranks second in the Atlantic 10 so far this season with a healthy 43.6-yard punting average. UMaine’s 41.3 net punting average (punt yardage minus return yards) is tops in the league. Mellow has made both of his field-goal attempts this season and is 7-for-9 on PATs. Both misses were blocked.
Cosgrove and his staff went into the 2004 season hoping to take some pressure off Mellow by finding someone else to punt. But his experience and consistency have made him invaluable.
“Ideally, you want to have a punter and a kicker,” Cosgrove said. “Mike has done so well we said, ‘shoot, there’s no sense messing with this.’ ”
UMaine has helped Mellow be more effective this year by reducing how much kicking he does during practices.
“It’s a long season and doing all three things you kind of get tired a little bit, so I’ve been working with the coaches and we’ve learned what we need to do during the week in order to maximize what we get on Saturdays,” Mellow said.
Scaling back Mellow’s practice kicks have “resulted in Michael being much more productive than he’s ever been,” Cosgrove said.
It takes a special personality to stand isolated on the field and try to convert field goals and extra points, knowing you’re walking a tightrope between being a hero or a “goat.”
Mellow is a man who exemplifies his name. He’s soft-spoken and businesslike. How does he maintain his sanity?
“Having a short memory is definitely one of the biggest things,” said Mellow, who concentrates on using proper mechanics as the best way to deal with unsuccessful kicks.
“You’ve got to get back to the technique and just trust it, trust that you’re going to be able to fix it the next time out,” he explained.
Mellow has been involved in UMaine’s kick game since his freshman season in 2001 when he punted and kicked off. Now he does it all.
Mellow has converted 85 of 89 career PATs (.955) and has made 19 of 34 field goals (.559). His punting average has increased each year.
He is forced to pay close attention to game situations so he’s ready for his next assignment, whatever it might be.
“You have to be ready at any point,” Mellow said. “It definitely keeps you in the game.”
Mellow said his most important kick came back in 2002.
“The field goal in the third quarter [at MSU] wasn’t bad. Other than that, I would say the extra point my sophomore year [in the NCAA playoffs] at Appalachian State. We won 14-13,” Mellow said.
The quest for Mellow is to remain accurate on all his kicks while extending the distance when necessary.
He hopes he might take his kicking skills to the next level and the biology major envisions himself doing some type of laboratory research when his kicking days are done.
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