Oct. 8, 2008

By Bob Healy, MSU Athletic Communications Student Assistant

In football, the word `weapon' can take on multiple meanings. Typically, flashy players on offense or defense get credit for being weapons.

In Michigan State's case, Todd Boleski has stepped into that role. The senior fits the description that comes with being called a weapon - he can change the tempo of the game and can deflate the opposing team's confidence with one play.

But there is one difference between Boleski and typical impact players - he's the Spartans' kickoff specialist.

Before skeptics voice their opinions on whether kickers should be deemed weapons, consider Boleski's statistics. Through five games and 33 kickoffs, he is averaging 66.3 yards per kickoff, with the opposition starting its offense from the 25-yard line on average.

Boleski also has kicked nine balls into the end zone for a touchback this season - third best in the Big Ten - preventing the kick returner from giving their team any chance at good field position.

One such kick came in the fourth quarter of the game against Notre Dame, where he actually kicked the ball through the uprights from the opposite 30-yard line. While most would consider that impressive, Boleski was more worried about accuracy than power.

"I slightly hooked it," he said. "But if it goes in the end zone, Coach Dantonio doesn't tend to mind. That's like 85 yards, so I kind of got a hold of it - a little too much, since I hooked it."

"Todd is a specialist that can do something very, very well," Dantonio said. "He's been a great asset for us. When you kick the ball from the 30-yard line and put it into the end zone consistently, that is sensational."

Boleski also credits adrenaline for the booming kick, but says the most adrenaline he feels is when the Spartans kick off to begin the game.

"It's nice to start the game because the crowd's always excited," said Boleski, who has 41 career touchbacks. "But you have to try not to get too excited, because if you get over-anxious you tend to over-kick. I definitely enjoy starting it up because the crowd's all hyped-up and the players are all hyped-up."

"That's why I'm called the `safety,'" he said. "I'm definitely the last resort. If the guy breaks free, I just make sure I give him one way out and angle him out, or at least pull him down so that he can't get a touchdown."

Boleski does remember specific tackles, though. And like most offensive and defensive players, he also remembers that unavoidable `welcome to college football' moment.

"I remember my first time in action at Ohio State in 2005 - I think I got ran over," he chuckled. "But probably last year at Wisconsin where I had to track down a guy, that was one where it was just me and the guy running across the field. I think that was one that sticks out in my mind, if any."

The player that he tracked down was Wisconsin kick returner David Gilreath, who brought the ball back to the MSU 31-yard line before getting knocked out of bounds by Boleski, whose 6-foot-6, 215-pound frame saved a touchdown.

Boleski's size may cause some to wonder why he isn't playing another position. At 6-6, he is taller than 92 of his 100 teammates. But since his height was late-arriving, he stuck with his main sport in high school, that being soccer.

"I played soccer my whole life," he said. "I grew six inches my junior year, so I kind of hit a growth spurt. I'm the tallest one in my family by about three inches. I never really played football - this was kind of a secondary thing just to help my high school out, and it kind of transformed into my main sport."

Given his relatively late start in the world of kickers, some of the quirks that go along with the job may not have been picked up by Boleski. That isn't to say that he has spent his career superstition-free, however.

"Me and (senior kicker Brett) Swenson always used to room together and we used to eat the same things," said Boleski, who is also a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. "But after we had that California game, we just said, `forget all the superstitions.' I might have to start up some new ones, but for right now all my superstitions are gone."

Whatever Boleski has been doing, it seems to have been working. The Spartans are 4-1, and a good amount of credit is due to the special teams, which can frustrate an opposing team's offense to the point of futility before it even gets to see the field.

Kickers may not be the flashiest players on the field, but they can alter the game just as much as those who are. That's why Boleski is one of the Spartans' most effective weapons.

This feature was originally published in the Oct. 4 edition of Michigan State Football Gameday Magazine.