Name: Quinn Nordin
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 205 lbs.
High school: Rockford (MI) Rockford
Position: Kicker
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #3
Last year: I ranked Nordin #51 and said he would be a backup punter/kicker. He redshirted.
TTB Rating: 89
Ranked by some as the nation’s top kicker, Nordin entered 2016 with an uphill climb ahead of him. It was Kenny Allen Hill, and it proved too large to surmount. Allen was a fifth year senior who pulled triple duty as the kicker, punter, and kickoff specialist. He was relieved occasionally, but not by Nordin. Nordin suffered from an injury and sat out the season, allowing him to redshirt.
Now Michigan has no proven kickers, and Nordin ranks this highly on the strength of high school hype and a 97-yard field goal in the spring game. The schedule is tougher in 2017 than it was in 2016, the offense lost some key guys, and the defense lost 11 out of 12 starters (yes, I included Jeremy Clark as a starter). Field goals might be a little more important in 2017, and hopefully Nordin is capable of living up to the hype. If he can’t, that might cost Michigan a game or two.
Prediction: Starting placekicker and kickoff specialist
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Excellent spot for a guy who could score a ton of meaningful points
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97 yard field goal, wow!
Sorry, I couldn’t resist…
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Isn’t that what it was? Or was it 98?
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Randall Cunningham could hit those with one leg tied behind his back!
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I thought Nordin would have an immediate role last year but things worked out better than expected with Allen doing it all. For this year I view Nordin as a less important than top 10 simply because he’s entirely unproven.
We do have 4 games that project to be close, where Nordin could have a game-deciding role. I’m not sure if that means a more or less important role for the kicker than was there last year or will be next.
I know it’s easy to underrate the importance of kickers and punters but I really struggle to see how this year the unproven kicker is more important than most of the starting secondary and OL. Especially with some walk-ons who could theoretically do the job(s) that Nordin is still battling with (though he is expected to win)
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Never forget 2010, or Wisconsin last year…
Nordin is top10 this year, as we have up to six games that could be close (Indiana & Minnesota too), especially with our OL, Corners, and overall youth
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Last year was a defense first team that expected to play a lot of close games while breaking in a new starter at QB.
Indiana and Minn are not projected to be close.
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Stuff happens in CFB… Throw in the young squad we’ll have, and “we have up to six games that could be close” is a fair enough assumption
“Indiana and Minn are not projected to be close”
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more than 6 “could” be close — same as last year and next year
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