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University of Minnesota Athletics
Carpenter Responds In Season Opener
9/8/2017 12:00:00 AM | Football
No kicker in Minnesota history has been more accurate than Emmit Carpenter. After attempting three field goals against Buffalo, the reigning Big Ten Kicker of the Year met the minimum requirement of 25 attempts to be considered for kicking records.
Since taking over kicking duties, Carpenter has made 85.2 percent (23-of-27) of his field goal attempts. In Carpenter's award winning 2016 season, he hit 22-of-24 attempts (91.7 percent) including a perfect 10-for-10 on field goals of 40 yards or more. At the end of his sophomore season, he ranked sixth in the country in field goals made and eighth in the country in field goal percentage.
Despite missing his first two kicks in the 2017 season opener, including a 50-yard attempt into the wind, head coach P.J. Fleck put the game on Carpenter's foot late in the fourth quarter.
"I told him after the second miss that we are going to have to come back and you are going to have to win this football game for us," Fleck said. "If I have to come back to you I'm going to come back to you. Get your head up and get ready to go."
Carpenter embraced Fleck's challenge and nailed 43-yard field goal to put the game out of reach with two minutes left in the game. His response embodied the culture the team is molding in Fleck's first season.
"I had enough confidence in Emmit that he was going to nail it and he did," Fleck said. "That's what this culture is about: responding."
Even with his struggles to begin the season, Carpenter's track record is one of the most impressive in the country.
"Emmit Carpenter is one of the best kickers in the country. He's going to miss things," Fleck said. "Nobody is perfect. I have watched him drill field goals with ice being poured over him. The first field goal he had to kick was a 50-yarder right out the gate into the wind. That's not something you want to start the year with. But I have that much confidence in him. He's a weapon and we are going to continue to use him."
Carpenter has the rest of the season to get back on track. One thing is for certain, his head coach believes he will bounce back.
"I have the upmost confidence in him no matter what," Fleck said.
