2014 Missouri Walkthrough: Baggett is a field position weapon and ... college kicker

Andrew Baggett

6'1, 215, Jr.

2012: 33-37 PAT (89%), 9-11 FG <40 yards (82%), 5-9 FG >40 yards (56%); 32 kickoffs, 34% touchback rate
2013: 66-69 PAT (96%), 12-17 FG <40 yards (71%), 6-8 FG >40 yards (75%); 100 kickoffs, 62% touchback rate

BST: Baggett has a career .711 FG percentage and .934 XP percentage. I’m sure lots of people will bring up that missed FG in OT against USCe, but we are very lucky to have a solidly reliable PK returning with range out to 45+ yards.

The Beef: Baggett had a tough middle of the season last year, but certainly came on at the end and was very solid to the finish. Of course, his true value has to be what he provides in field position (which I am sure Bill C. will mention) and his touchback percentage. Keeping teams to starting at the 25 yard line around 85-90% of the time is of HUGE importance, and I look forward to continuing this.

Bill C.: Indeed, nearly two-thirds of Baggett's kickoffs last year resulted in touchbacks, and that had a direct role in Mizzou ranking in the top 30 in Field Position Margin (average start: 31.1, average opponents' start: 27.5) in 2013 despite minimal help from the return game.

countrycal: Baggett had a few misses last year which was difficult for Mizzou fans who had grown accustomed to every field goal inside of 50 yards being almost automatic. If I remember correctly, David Yost was the kicking coach before he left, and the change in coaches may have in some way changed Andrew’s pre-game or in-game preparation in some way. Whatever the case, he regained his rhythm by the end of the season and there is no reason to believe he will be anything but accurate this year. The two previous kickers, if I remember correctly, only kicked field goals and let someone else kickoff. Andrew’s strong leg is very valuable on the kickoff ... I wonder if doing both in some way threw him off for a while; or if a change in holders may have come into play.

switzy227: Everyone else has mentioned the numbers and the kickoffs, so I’ll just add this: Andrew has shown tremendous poise in the face of a few ill-timed misses and some pretty nasty public shaming efforts from less enlightened fans. The mental side of kicking is vital, and I think he has what it takes to stay focused and within himself. I will be rooting like crazy for him to bump up those averages BST mentions above, and for Pinkel to let him use that big leg just a little more often.

AlaTiger: Baggett did indeed show some great mental fortitude coming out of his slump. My hope for this year is that he can take the next step and not let a miss become a slump. Also, keep booming those kickoffs, Andrew.

Bill C: From my SB Nation Missouri preview:

Andrew Baggett was bascially four different players in 2013. First, he was the shaky guy who made just three of six field goals in non-conference play. Then he went 8-for-8 against Vandy and Florida. Then he went 2-for-5 against South Carolina and Tennessee (including the miss off the upright in overtime against S.C.) and shanked a PAT against Kentucky. And just when it appeared he was a lost cause, he went 4-for-4 in the postseason, bombing in a 46-yarder with room to spare in the fourth quarter of the Cotton Bowl.

Good Andrew Baggett is one of the best kickers in the country; his powerful leg is evident in his 62 percent touchback rate on kickoffs and his 6-for-8 showing on FGs longer than 40 yards.

Bad Andrew Baggett is almost too shaky to see the field.

College kickers, man.

He's only a junior, by the way. At the very least, we get the field position help from his kickoffs for two more seasons. We've heard good things about backup place-kicker Nick Coffman, but I can't imagine what it would take to unseat Baggett for place-kicking duties; if he wasn't demoted last year, the job's his for two more years.

wooderson: wet badger tang

Bill C.: Um, PG-13, please.