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During the summer doldrums of sports news, many college football fans are starved for news and information regarding their favorite teams.
With that in mind, we at B5Q have decided to take a more detailed look at each walk-on contributor and scholarship player on the Wisconsin Badgers football roster for 2020 in a running feature, our 2020 returnee profiles.
Each weekday we will breakdown one player on the football roster to look back at their recruiting process, their career as a Badger to this juncture and lastly preview their potential contribution to the team in 2020 and beyond.
Today we move things to special teams, and spotlight Collin Larsh.
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Name: Collin Larsh
Position: kicker
2020 eligibility: redshirt junior
Recruiting info out of HS: Kohl’s Kicking Camp 5-star, No. 50 kicker, Marshall
2017 Recruitment: Larsh accepted a preferred walk-on offer from the Badgers on August 29, 2016. Despite a concerted effort on my part to find out if Larsh had any scholarship offers, I could not find any. If you are Collin Larsh or one of his family members, please comment below with any information I couldn’t find.
Career statistics: 12-of-18 field goals (66.7%), long of 44 yards, 53-of-54 extra points
2019 statistics: 12-of-18 field goals (66.7%), long of 44 yards, 53-of-54 extra points
Player overview: In his first season as the starting place kicker, Larsh had a pretty decent year. He only missed one extra point and finished fifth, among kickers, in the B1G with 7.3 points per game. Larsh did have a pair of notable misses, in one point losses, against Illinois and Oregon in the Rose Bowl.
Larsh may have to step in and be the kickoff specialist in 2020 since Zach Hintze graduated and hopefully he has improved since high school when Kohl’s noted: “His KO’s are holding him back right now, not because of leg strength but more so contact. He is hitting the ball thin and pushing it to the right.”
Best case scenario for 2020: Makes 75% or more of his field goals; extends his range to 50 yards on field goals; is serviceable on kickoffs and doesn’t give up too much in field position; gets named to the all-B1G third team.
Likely role on team in 2020: He is the starting placekicker and potentially the kickoff specialist as well. With two years of eligibility remaining, this year is crucial if he wants to put a lock on the starting job.