Herb Ramirez, Kicker (TCY/FOF)

[51ichiro51]

Well my last dynasty kind of fizzled out. Turns out the player I chose was too much of an underdog, and never really got any experience in college. So with his career over, here's the start of a new dynasty where I follow a single player throughout his career.

I decided to choose someone good this time (so he'll probably make it to the NFL). One guy that immediately stood out was a kicker from Utah named Herb Ramirez...he's the #16 prospect in the nation. (The #2 kicker in the country is #235)

I don't ever remember seeing a kicker rated that high, so he's the guy I'm gonna go with. Here's some basic information:

HERB RAMIREZ, K
5'9", 173lbs
Clearfield High School (Clearfield, Utah)
#16 Overall, #1 Kickers, #1 Utah

Intended major: Kinesiology
GPA: 3.31
Test: 1315
Selection Emphasis: Academics, Distance


Herb really seems to be in a league of his own. He's widely regarded as the best high school kicker in the nation, and the best prospect out of the state of Utah. Nobody else on his high school team is even being considered for college ball. But now it's his senior year, and finally time for him to really prove himself to all the scouts out there.


(I'll just get the recruiting done in this first post, so at least we'll know where he's going to play)


WEEK 2
Oklahoma and Tennessee have both made offers, Herb is considering both of them. It's worth noting that Oklahoma is ranked #2 in the nation, with Tennessee ranked #11. Tennessee seems to need a kicker the most; their star kicker Cris Rogers graduates after this year, and their only backup is a freshman rated at just 20.


WEEK 3
Add Florida State and Ohio State to the list. Herb has four offers now, all by schools with an athletic prestige rating of at least 90.


WEEK 4
Herb has now visited with Brigham Young University, his first visit of the year. Still no change with the other four schools...


WEEK 5
Iowa State has made an offer, bringing the total to 6 schools. Brigham Young is still the only one he's visited.


WEEK 6
And it's official! Herb Ramirez has committed to Brigham Young University, of the Mountain West Conference. BYU's main kicker Grady Turnbull is in his last year of eligibility, leaving them with only one backup (who'll be a senior in 2005).


OK, so that's all for the introductory stuff. If Herb is redshirted next year, I'll just sim ahead and give a brief recap of the year. But when he plays, I'll try and make this as interesting as possible. (for a kicker at least)

[51ichiro51]

2004
NFL Recap

SUPERBOWL XXIX:
Indianapolis Colts 45, Philadelphia Eagles 20
SUPERBOWL MVP: QB Peyton Manning (25/35, 356yds, 2td)

LEAGUE MVP: QB Peyton Manning (IND)
OFFENSIVE P.O.T.Y: QB Matt Hasselbeck (SEA)
DEFENSIVE P.O.T.Y: LB LaVar Arrington (WAS)
OFFENSIVE ROOKIE: QB Ben Roethlesberger (PIT)
DEFENSIVE ROOKIE: DE Jared Allen (KC)



2005
NFL DRAFT

#1 Pick: RB Robert Petrie, Penn State (DET)

Players from BYU drafted:
CB Kendall VanCaeyzeele (MIA) 4th Round, 25th Pick

...and that's it. Kendall was the only one to be drafted.



2005
Pre-Season

Good news for Herb, he didn't get redshirted and will be on the active roster for 2005. The other kicker on the team is senior Andrew Zulkowski, and they're rated pretty close, so i'm not sure who's going to get the start. We'll have to see.


MOUNTAIN WEST PRE-SEASON RANKINGS:
#22 Utah
#44 Colorado State
#56 Brigham Young
#61 UNLV
#65 Air Force
#99 New Mexico
#105 San Diego State
#118 Wyoming

2005 SCHEDULE:
W2 vs. Bellingham (Solecismic 8)
W3 vs. Illinois
W5 @ Air Force
W6 @ Rutgers
W7 vs. Wyoming
W8 @ San Diego State
W9 vs. Notre Dame
W10 vs. UNLV
W11 @ New Mexico
W12 @ Colorado State
W13 vs. Utah

[51ichiro51]

2005
Week 2

vs. Bellingham (W, 31-6)
1-0, 0-0

At the beginning of the second quarter, with BYU up 14-0, Herb Ramirez got to attempt his first college field goal. It was a 37-yard attempt on a clear, windless day, so it was sort of a shock when the ball missed wide left. Not a very good way to start out his career.

Herb got another chance in the 4th quarter, this time a 32-yard try. This one was right down the middle, but at that point the game was pretty much over. Herb's kick made the game 31-6, and Bellingham never responded.

BYU gets a win in their first game of the season. It wasn't a conference win, and this was probably their easiest opponent of the year, but a win is a win. They face Illinois next week. That game should be more of a challenge.


2005
Week 3

vs. Illinois (L, 24-30)
1-1, 0-0

Herb kicked a 19-yard FG in the 1st quarter, and BYU led 3-0 at the start of the 2nd. Illinois fought back and the game was 17-10 Illinois with 2 minutes left in the 4th. BYU worked quickly and QB Bill Meier found TE Ross May in the end zone with just 52 seconds left.

The game went into overtime, and Illinois immediately scored a TD. But BYU came back just as quickly when Meier delivered another perfect pass with time running out. Double overtime came and again Illinois scored, but this time BYU couldn't do anything about it. They walked away with a 24-30 double-overtime loss. The 19-yard FG was Herb's only attempt in the game.


2005
Week 5

@ Air Force (W, 31-17)
2-1, 1-0

Herb got the scoring started again with a 24-yard FG on the opening drive. BYU never gave up the lead and won their first conference matchup of the year. Herb got only the one attempt again, and that puts him at 3 field goals in 4 attempts. His longest attempt was that 37-yarder against Bellingham, so it's still much too early to really tell how he's doing I think.

[Young Drachma]

A kicker dynasty. Fun. Go Herb.

[DaddyTorgo]

Herb's an idiot - or a Mormon. For a guy with a 1315 SAT score to choose to go to BYU over those other schools...I dunno.

[51ichiro51]

2005

Week 6
at Rutgers (L, 21-27)
2-2, 1-0

Well it was a see-saw battle all the way, but in the end Rutgers came out on top. An impressive 4th quarter rally allowed them to overcome a 21-14 deficit. BYU's offense seemed pretty stagnant this week; the top receiver was FB Darrin Money with 36 yards, and two of BYU's three touchdowns were via interceptions. Herb didn't have any FG attempts, so he couldn't really help the cause.


Week 7
vs. Wyoming (W, 52-7)
3-2, 2-0

Not only was it a conference win, but it was an absolute slaughter. BYU was up 21-0 at the half, and things only got uglier and uglier. Wyoming QB Spooner went 8-for-17 with 56 yards. And their rushing game was plagued by 4 fumbles. Seriously, this one was more one-sided than the opening game vs. Bellingham.

Herb helped out the cause in the 3rd quarter with an easy 23-yard field goal. But in the 4th quarter, with the ball on Wyoming's 16 yard line, Herb was brought in to attempt a 33-yard FB...and missed wide on his second attempt of the day. That means he's 1/3 in attempts over 30 yards. That's definitely not good.


Week 8
at San Diego State (W, 24-9)
4-2, 3-0

Another easy win...and another tough day for Herb. He kicked a 34-yard FG in the 1st quarter to tie the game at 3-3, but missed a 32-yarder late in the 4th quarter. Of course, the game was already decided at that point, but you just can't miss easy field goals like this. This one was wide left, but again no wind or anything.

In fact, I've checked and the only game BYU has played so far where there was significant was Week 6 at Rutgers...the only game where Herb didn't attempt a FG, so that doesn't explain his poor start.


On a lighter note, Herb does seem to be doing pretty well in school so far. His courseload is a strange one: Nuclear Engineering, Political Science, Statistics, and Linguistics are 4 of his classes (the 5th is Kinesiology, his major). He's at about a 3.5 GPA at this point, and hardly spends any time in "study hall". Did he just pick those classes at random or something?

[51ichiro51]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Herb's an idiot - or a Mormon. For a guy with a 1315 SAT score to choose to go to BYU over those other schools...I dunno.

I doubt TCY takes this into consideration, but that's really the only possible explanation I can think of. I know his main priority was academics, but BYU is ranked about in the middle as far as his major goes. And as for athletic prestige, every other school had BYU beat by a lot. But for some reason they contact him one week, the next week he's visiting, and next week he's committed. Strange.

[Young Drachma]

Well, BYU is probably considered a local school since he's a Utah kid?

[51ichiro51]

2005

Week 9
vs. Notre Dame (L, 6-28)
4-3, 3-0

BYU never really had a chance in this one; they were shut out until halfway through the 4th quarter. Herb put BYU on the board with a booming 42 yard field goal. Notre Dame fumbled on the kick return, and a short time later Herb was sent out again, this time at only 23 yards away. He made that one too to finish off a 2/2 day. Herb's 6 points are really the only meaningful stat to mention actually. The whole team just kind of stunk this week.


Week 10
vs. UNLV (L, 20-23)
4-4, 3-1

The pattern continues as Herb shined while the rest of the team struggled. He broke a 0-13 shutout in the 2nd quarter with a 40 yard FG.

And in the 4th quarter, he kicked what was definitely the most important field goal of his young career. BYU was down 17-20 with 3 minutes left, and Herb tied it with a monster 47-yard field goal. But UNLV kicker Jamie Keillor stole the spotlight and ended up kicking the game-winner, handing BYU their second straight loss.

So while the past couple of games have been disappointing, it's nice to see Herb recover from his shaky start.


Week 11
at New Mexico (W, 30-21)
5-4, 4-1

Herb made an easy 19-yard attempt in the 3rd quarter to put BYU up 17-7. New Mexico made it interesting however, and cut the lead to 24-21 with 2 minutes left in the game. Herb quickly made a 39-yard attempt. New Mexico then turned the ball over on downs with 20 seconds remaining. That was just enough time for Herb to make his 3rd FG of the day: a 27-yarder.

He's on a streak of 8 straight, including 3 over 40 yards. It's nice to see that while he may need work on his accuracy, he's got good power and can kick a long one in the clutch if he needs to.


Week 12
at Colorado State (L, 9-24)
5-5, 4-2

Herb's only real contribution was a "meaningless" field goal to break a 0-21 shutout. But still...another 40+ yard field goal, and his streak is now nine in a row.

But things aren't looking so good for BYU as a whole right now. Next week they face Utah, who's undefeated and ranked #8 in the nation. A win would be absolutely huge.


Week 13
vs. Utah (L, 3-38)
5-6, 4-3

Shit. Looks like BYU's bowl chances are about zero now. And Herb went 1-3 in FG opportunities.

But it's not quite as bad as it seems. His two misses were each 51 yards. The first one was short, but the second had the distance...it was just a bit wide though. He finally made one his third attempt, an easy 20-yard FG. Those 3 points were all BYU would get.


Final stats, season recap etc. in next post.

[bbgunn]

Location counts for a lot in TCY. Either they want to stay as close to home as possible, or they want to get as far away as possible. No middle ground.

[51ichiro51]

2005
END OF SEASON

BYU was not one of the 3 teams eligible to play in a bowl game, so their season is officially over.

-Utah won the conference, and their final ranking is #6, so they will play in the "Dore Schary" Bowl vs. #8 Georgia Tech.
-Colorado State came in second and will face the Big-10's #3 team Michigan State in the "Anachronism" Bowl.
-UNLV is the third team, they'll face Notre Dame in the "Forged Document" Bowl.


RESULTS:
Georgia Tech 28, Utah 20
Michigan 44, Colorado St. 0
Notre Dame 31, UNLV 0

Wow...2 shutouts. Only Utah put up a fight it looks like.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
Texas 21, Georgia 19


HERB'S AWARDS:
-League-wide all-Freshman team
-Mountain West all-Freshman team

GRADES:
Kinesiology (A-)
Linguistics (B+)
Nuclear Engineering (B)
Statistics (B)
Political Science (B-)
GPA: 3.2


2005
NFL

SUPER BOWL XL: Philadelphia 30, Indianapolis 27
SUPERBOWL MVP: QB Donovan McNabb

NFL MVP: QB Peyton Manning (IND)
OFFENSIVE POTY: QB Peyton Manning (IND)
DEFENSIVE POTY: LB LaVar Arrington (WAS)
OFFENSIVE ROOKIE: RB Ricardo Richardson (TEN)
DEFENSIVE ROOKIE: SS Kyle Brennan (DAL)

No BYU players were selected in the 2006 draft.

[bbgunn]

McNabb wins one! How about that.

[51ichiro51]

2006
PRE-SEASON

CONFERENCE RANKINGS: (last year ranking in parentheses)
#15 Utah (22)
#37 Colorado State (44)
#67 Brigham Young (56)
#69 UNLV (61)
#70 Air Force (65)
#98 New Mexico (99)
#120 San Diego State (105)
#123 Wyoming (118)


BYU SCHEDULE:
W2 vs. Bellingham (solec. 8)
W3 vs. Houston
W5 vs. New Mexico
W6 @ Rutgers
W7 vs. Colorado State
W8 @ UNLV
W9 vs. San Diego State
W10 vs. Notre Dame
W11 @ Utah
W12 vs. Air Force
W13 at Wyoming


WEEK 2
vs. Bellingham (W, 34-6)
1-0, 0-0

BYU dominated Bellingham just like last year. Herb had two field goals, 44-yd and 32-yd. He missed one, but it was the result of a bad snap. It was only 20 yards and he probably wouldn't have missed it otherwise, so I'm not too worried about it.


WEEK 3
vs. Houston (W, 35-28)
2-0, 0-0

BYU overcame an early 0-14 deficit to win, but Herb missed his only FB opportunity. It was a 42 yard attempt in the second quarter. It would have been BYU's first points of the game, but the kick fell short.


WEEK 5
vs. New Mexico (W, 23-14)
3-0, 1-0

Just like in the Houston game, BYU came from behind to win. But this time, Herb was more successful kicking the ball. He kicked a 33-yard FG to put BYU on the board, then added a 26-yd and a 39-yd in the 4th quarter. BYU was already leading 17-14, but Herb's field goals gave them a lot more breathing room. Great week overall.


WEEK 6
at Rutgers (W, 34-0)
4-0, 1-0

After a tough loss to Rutgers last year, BYU got their revenge by shutting them out. Herb was 2/2, with a 34 and a 31-yd. They were both in the 4th quarter, so the game was pretty much over by that point.

[51ichiro51]

2006

WEEK 7
vs. Colorado State (L, 14-24)
4-1, 1-1

WEEK 8
at UNLV (W, 28-17)
5-1, 2-1
Herb had no FG attempts in either of these games.


WEEK 9
vs. San Diego State (W, 30-15)
6-1, 3-1

In the 2nd quarter, with the game tied 7-7, Herb kicked a 25-yard FG to give BYU the lead. He added a 19 and a 38-yd, both in the 4th quarter. San Diego St got a touchdown late in the 4th, but too little too late. A conference win and 3/3 FG/A. Another good week.

WEEK 10
vs. Notre Dame (W, 24-10)
7-1, 3-1

Herb had a chance to give BYU the lead in the 1st quarter, but missed the 42-yard attempt. On the very next drive, however, he kicked a 29-yarder and BYU never looked back. BYU is definitely doing much better than last year.


WEEK 11
at Utah (L, 9-37)
7-2, 3-2

BYU never had the lead in this one, it definitely wasn't even close. But even with the loss, BYU's bowl chances are still looking good. Their last two games before bowl season are against Air Force and Wyoming, so they should be much easier to win. Hugh kicked the longest FG of his career so far, a 48-yarder. He went 3/4 for the day, with a 38-yd and a 25-yd. His one miss was a 44-yarder which was wide right.

[51ichiro51]

2006

WEEK 12
vs. Air Force (W, 24-20)
8-2, 4-2

Herb went 1-for-2, with a 31-yard FG in the 2nd quarter and a missed (wide left) 40-yard attempt in the third.


WEEK 13
at Wyoming (L, 3-27)
8-3, 4-3

Pretty miserable game for BYU, they never showed signs of life. But in the 4th quarter, Herb was brought in to attempt a 52-yard field goal, the longest one he's ever attempted. He made it, but BYU still lost by a lot.



BOWL GAMES

#19 Colorado State is the conference champion, and will face Florida. #8 Utah came in second and will face Purdue. BYU took third and is going to face Notre Dame.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
Oklahoma 26, Tennessee 24

Florida 34, Colorado State 10
Utah 21, Purdue 13
BYU 3, Notre Dame 28

For the second game in a row, Herb scored BYU's only three points, a 37-yard FG. He attempted another 52-yarder but this one missed short.


STATS:


GRADES:
Nuclear Engineering II (A)
Statistics II (B)
Kinesiology II (B-)
Latin II (C-)
Electrical Engineering II (D)
GPA: 2.84


AWARDS:
Mountain West 2nd Team

[bbgunn]

Good stuff. Keep it up!

[Young Drachma]

Looks like he's keeping on the path towards playing on Sundays. Go Herb!