by Rusty Burson
Most Valuable Punter
Lechler could be A&M's biggest weapon

He's possibly the most dependable defensive weapon the Aggies possess. Of course, he contributed just one tackle last year.

He is the player whom head coach R.C. Slocum singled out as the team's MVP for the last several years. But rest assured, he won't win many foot races against teammates and probably won't be confused with Hercules in the weight room.

He is senior Shane Lechler. And for all the things he is not, Lechler is, plain and simple, the best player in all of college football at his position.

Preview Sports, Playboy, Athlon's, Lindy's, The Sporting News and many other publications and services agree, naming Lechler a 1999 preseason All-American punter. Barring a disastrous senior season, Lechler will also leave A&M as the greatest punter in the 104-year history of Aggie football.

Not bad for a guy who taught himself how to punt in his backyard and only began doing it to kill some time around the house.

"I never really set out to be a punter," said the level-headed, laid-back Lechler. "Nobody ever taught me how to punt or kick. It just happened. Really, I learned how to punt and kick in the backyard with my brother. I played quarterback and linebacker in high school and punting just kind of happened. I never dreamed of anything like this."

Now, Lechler is a coach's dream. A first-team All-American last year and a two-time All-Big 12 selection, Lechler enters 1999 with a 44.2 career average - nearly two yards ahead of his closest competition in the A&M record books.

He has averaged more than 50 yards per punt in seven games during his career, and he is usually at his best when the pressure is at his highest. In 1996, for example, he had a pair of crucial 70-yarders that helped A&M win a close game over Iowa State. In '97, his booming 62-yard punt put the wraps on a 16-10 win over Colorado.

Last year, he had at least one punt of 57 yards or more in close wins over Nebraska (64), Missouri (69) and Kansas State (57) and had 21 "coffin corner" punts for the season.

"As I've said before, Shane Lechler has been the most valuable player on this football team, by far, for a couple of years now," Slocum said. "He's the best punter I've ever coached. I'd like to keep him around for another four or five years."

Unfortunately for the Aggies, NCAA restrictions prohibit 10-year collegiate careers. NFL scouts would also be opposed to granting Slocum's wish.

Among the current seniors on the A&M roster, Lechler may be the closest thing the Aggies have to a can't-miss pro prospect. In fact, Lechler says he gave some serious consideration last January to leaving school early.

"I thought about it pretty seriously," Lechler said. "I had about nine days to decide (whether to declare for the draft) when we got back from the Sugar Bowl. During that time, I talked it over with my dad. We made a list of pros and cons, and there were so many things that could happen this year at A&M that I wanted to come back and be a part of it all. I didn't want to leave here and watch my part of the game suffer or leave here and wish I could have been a part of a great season. I couldn't pass that up."

Once he made his decision to return to A&M, Lechler committed himself to improving on past performances. Despite all the preseason accolades and honors he has received and the records he has produced, Lechler says he was extremely disappointed with his performance last season.

In fact, he calls 1998 a bad season for him personally. In comparison to his '97 numbers, it was at least a somewhat down year for Lechler.

He went from averaging a school-record 47.0 yards per punt in 1997 to averaging 43.6 yards per boot last year. He also had a couple of shanks last fall, including an 11-yarder against Nebraska that led to the Cornhuskers' first score.

A perfectionist at heart, Lechler says such mistakes are unacceptable. Even if he did return to hit a 64-yarder against Big Red.

"I was a junior, and the way I look at it is that I had already punted over 150 balls in college games," Lechler said. "A shank like that is simply not acceptable. It really got to me, and if we would have lost that game it really would have gotten to me. Fortunately, we won that game. I don't want to go out there and try to win games by myself, but I sure don't want to be the person that is responsible for a loss.

"The Nebraska game was one of the biggest games I've been a part of, and before that punt, I was thinking, 'This is my chance to change field position' instead of just thinking about easing in to it, taking the right steps and hitting it well. I was hoping to kick it over The Zone, and instead I shank it. When I got to the sideline, I said to myself, 'Shane what in the hell were you doing?' But I think I learned for that."

As for last season in general, Lechler says he may have pressed too much. That's one of the main reasons why he spent a tremendous amount of time this past summer seeking the advice and help of perhaps the greatest NFL punter of all-time, Ray Guy.

Lechler attended three summer camps with Guy - in Kentucky, Dallas and Houston - and says he benefited tremendously from the experiences.

"Ray Guy was able to talk me through some of the tricks of the trade," Lechler said. "Punting is such a matter of technique. Once you have the leg strength, it just boils down to the fine points. He taught me some things that helped me out a lot, especially with angle punting.

"Ray Guy, especially now that I've gotten to meet him, is really someone that I look up to. I got to watch some videotape of him, and our form is a lot alike. They showed us a highlight tape of him hitting the speaker in the Superdome. That ball was in the air for something like 5.6 seconds. If you can hang a football in the air that long, you're really something special. I think I'll be better this year because of the time I spent with him. But what I don't want to do is put a lot of pressure on myself because this is my senior year."

As far as Lechler is concerned, the pressure on him eased considerably with the arrival of two new freshmen quarterbacks, Mark Farris and Colby Freeman, and the development of redshirt freshman quarterback Vance Smith.

Lechler says he can be at ease while punting the ball in any situation. Playing quarterback in the Big 12 Championship Game, however, is quite another story.

Originally recruited out of East Bernard High School as a quarterback/punter, Lechler once envisioned being the Aggies' signal-caller. He had even seen some time at quarterback as a redshirt freshman in 1996.

But as Randy McCown and Branndon Stewart continued to develop, Lechler began spending more and more time focusing solely on kicking. Prior to the 1998 season, Lechler willingly relinquished all duties - and dreams - of playing quarterback at A&M.

In the final regular season game of last year, however, McCown went down with a season-ending shoulder injury while scoring the go-ahead touchdown against Texas. And in the first quarter the following weekend, Stewart went down with what initially appeared to be a serious knee injury against Kansas State.

Stewart was injured on a third-down play, and as Lechler went out to punt, his eyes were about as wide as the TransWorld Dome roof.

"I looked over at (Stewart)," Lechler said, "and thought to myself, 'There's no way he's going to get up.' That was the only punt in my college career that I don't even remember punting the ball. I saw on film that I had a pretty good punt, but the whole time I was thinking, 'What pass routes am I going to be throwing, what I am I going to do?'

"When I got to the sideline, they were talking me through things, and I heard somebody say 'Branndon's feeling a lot better.' I was just thinking, 'Thank you.' I didn't want to be in that situation. I still had my kicking shoe on, which is a regular grass shoe. I would have slipped all over the place. When Branndon walked back onto the field, I was the happiest guy in the state of Missouri."

Despite his desire to stay out of the quarterback situation, Lechler's arm is still a weapon Slocum has at his disposal. Last year, for example, he completed 100 percent of his pass attempts (2-for-2). His 12-yard touchdown pass on a fake field goal (Lechler is also the holder for extra points and field goals) against Texas Tech was one of the key plays of the game. And his 29-yard pass against Baylor on a fake punt led the Aggies' final score.

Lechler also did a nice job handling all kickoff duties for A&M last year, although - and here's the perfectionist coming out in him again - he says he was not at all pleased with his performance in that department.

"There were way to many ball landing inside the 5-yard line instead of landing in the end zone," Lechler said. "I've made some adjustments, and hopefully, you'll see a lot more balls in the end zone this year."

Regardless of whether that happens or not, Lechler's primary role in 1999 is as the punter. And in that department, the Aggies have no concerns.

"He really impacts the game like few people can, because he is such a force," A&M tight ends/specialists coach Tam Hollingshead said. "He can change field position in a heartbeat, and what he does for our football team is critical. He pins people back inside the 20, he booms balls out of our own territory, he changes momentum, and he is a real weapon. We're very fortunate to have him."

The Aggies have him for one more season. But Lechler says A&M fans shouldn't worry about punting being a problem in 2000 and beyond. After all, Lechler's younger brother, redshirt freshman Derek, is just waiting to take over that responsibility.

"It's great to have (Derek) here," the older Lechler said. "There are a lot of things that I would like to work with him on, especially technique things. He has just as strong a leg as I do, but he formed some bad habits in high school. Once he gets some techniques down, I think he'll have it all ironed out. Hopefully, he can follow what I've done and can keep Texas A&M's kicking game in good shape for years to come."

He should. Derek, after all, learned in his backyard from the best - the best in the nation and in the history of A&M football.

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