Zebras at ease with McGehee

PINE BLUFF - Pine Bluff Coach Bobby Bolding said he believes the Zebras lost eight games in 2007-2011 because they couldn’t make an extra point or field goal.

“Eight games,” Bolding said. “I went five years with no kicker at all.”

Bolding isn’t kicking himself these days, because now he has maybe the state’s best place-kicker/punter in athletic senior Austin McGehee, who has orally committed to Purdue.

In just a little more than one season with the defending Class 6A runner-up Zebras, McGehee has made 67 of 73 extra-point attempts, 10 of 16 field-goal attempts, averaged approximately 39 yards per punt and, maybe most important, given Bolding inner peace each Friday night.

“Oh, my goodness,” Bolding said. “I’ve got another good kicker this year, but he can’t get on the field because of him.”

McGehee, 5-11, 200 pounds, lives in Star City (20 miles south of Pine Bluff ) and played for the Class 4A Bulldogs as a freshman and sophomore before transferring to Pine Bluff in the summer of 2012 under Arkansas’ school choice law.

McGehee had a major role last fall in the Zebras’ push for their first state title since 1995, making 58 of 64 extra-point attempts and 8 of 14 field-goal attempts (a long of 36 yards). He also kicked a game-winning 25-yard field goal as time expired to beat 7A/6A-South rival Bryant, 24-21, and earned Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas honors as a punter by averaging 40.3 yards per attempt.

McGehee is 9 of 9 on extra-point attempts and 2 of 2 on field-goal attempts this fall. He’s also placed 14 of 16 kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks, forcing opponents to cover 80 yards to score a touchdown. But McGehee, who is right-footed, said he believes he has the most upside as a punter.

“I might have more NFL potential as a punter than anything,” Mc-Gehee said. “It’s just going to take time.”

Clearly, it’s not a hobby.

McGehee is tutored by former Washington Redskins and Oklahoma place-kicker Scott Blanton, who is based in Dallas. McGehee’s other mentor is former Tennessee place-kicker James Wilhoit, who lives in suburban Nashville.

McGehee said when he was struggling with his mechanics - specifically inconsistent motions - in last year’s playoff semifinals against Jonesboro, he drove the following morning to Dallas to see Blanton for some fine-tuning.

“You kick so long without coaching, you develop some bad habits,” McGehee said. “It was mechanical and mental. I’m more relaxed this year than I ever have been. I kick best when I’m relaxed.”

There is no stress about his future.

McGehee orally committed to Purdue on June 28, roughly 48 hours after receiving a scholarship offer from the Boilermakers. It was a whirlwind courtship.

In late June, McGehee traveled to North Carolina to attend a kicking camp run by former NFL punter Bill Renner, a longtime high school football coach and kicking consultant to many college football coaches. Renner’s son, Bryn, is North Carolina’s starting quarterback.

McGehee said he hoped he could get his foot in the door with a major college because of Bill Renner’s extensive connections. Less than a week after attending Renner’s camp, McGehee had scholarship offers from Purdue and Houston.

Choosing Purdue was a no-brainer, McGehee said.

“I loved it there,” McGehee said. “It’s where I felt like I needed to be.”

But for the next few months, it’s all about Pine Bluff. McGehee has helped the Zebras, No. 2 in Class 6A, to a 1-1-1 start entering tonight’s 7A /6A-South opener at home against Texarkana.

McGehee has already kicked a 37-yard field goal with 2.3 seconds remaining to give Pine Bluff a 31-31 tie with Fort Smith Northside in Week 1, then made another 37-yard field goal the following week in a 24-15 victory over Watson Chapel.

McGehee also saved a touchdown against Northside when he a grabbed a leg of the kickoff returner at the Pine Bluff 41 and pulled him to the ground. McGehee said he had another unassisted tackle on a punt return against Watson Chapel.

“I like to hit when they want to score a touchdown,” said McGehee, a self-described fitness fanatic who bench presses 275 pounds.

McGehee is good enough athletically, Bolding said, to help the Zebras at fullback or maybe linebacker. He dabbled as a receiver in junior high.

But after years of two-point conversions being part of Pine Bluff’s post-touchdown script, forget it.

“I went five years with no kicker at all,” Bolding said. “I’m not taking the chance of getting him hurt.”