Quinn Nordin (image via Detroit Free Press)
Name: Quinn Nordin
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 206 lbs.
High school: Rockford (MI) Rockford
Position: Kicker
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #3
Last year: I ranked Nordin #10 and said he would be the starting placekicker (LINK). He was 19/24 (79.2%) on field goals and 35/38 on extra points.
TTB Rating: 89
Nordin was expected to contribute in 2016, but an injury held him back. Last year he started off with a bang when he hit two 50+ yard field goals against Florida in the 2017 opener. He went 4/6 in that game and then hit 10 in a row. After that he hit a snag, missing 3 in a row, before hitting 5 in a row to end the season, including a 4-for-4 performance in the Outback Bowl. Nordin has a very strong leg, but he’s inconsistent at this point in his career.
I strongly considered ranking Nordin higher on this list. I had a very hard time ordering the players in the top 15 or so. I could probably make a case for Nordin to be as high as #3 on the list, and probably not lower than #15. I settled on him here because he’s not an every-down player, but he should still have a heavy impact on how the 2018 season goes. Michigan has some tough games on the docket this season, and not many of them should be blowouts either way. Having an effective field goal kicker could be the difference in several games. Nordin has the potential to be one of the top few guys at his position in the country, but he shouldn’t be missing 3 extra points and going several games between made field goals.
Prediction: Starting placekicker
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Has Not Esin dropped the Wild Thing haircut? That is the main question going into the season. Hope he has a good year. I do enjoy a good kicking specialist with some swagger.
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WTF auto correct? First line is “main question going into the season…”
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Having a reliable kicker this high (or higher) is perfectly reasonable … particularly given the schedule. We can expect some close games; every point will count.
If Nordin was dead-on consistently from 50 yards out a ranking of #3 would be perfectly justified. Perhaps this year he will be.
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I’m more concerned with nordin’s attitude than his leg or an “injury’
Square himself away and he could be off to make millions
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This to me is kind of a cheap shot on a roster player and I’ll direct you to the Coach Gundy interview of a few years back – only insert Coach Harbaugh.
Unless you’re a Psychiatrist or Clinical Psychologist I don’t think your qualified on any level to comment on someones attitude/emotional & mental makeup. If you are such a professional & you’ve spent some time evaluting someones attitude then you’re bound by Hippo to keep your mouth shut………
Also, there are some Americans who think there’s more to life than simply making millions – not everyone has sold there soul to the almighty $$ and basically turned themselves into indentured servants. Nordin comes from a fairly well to do background north of Grand Rappids. He didn’t grow up a few blocks SE of 8 Mile & Dequindre so maybe he has more in his mind & heart than simply making $$. IDK but he’s still a 20 year old college student athlete.
Also, as far as simply kicking a football its actually easier to make a field goal in the NFL than in college. Research goal post & hashmark dimensions along with angular trajectory. I would think Nordin is aware of this.
I don’t have a problem with someone making a constructive criticism re a student athlete I often learn something from them myself; but can we try and eliminate cheap shots on active roster players for 2018 season?
Thanx………..INTJohn
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I don’t think je’s comment was intended as a cheap shot in any way.
Everybody is aware focus and confidence and consistancy heavily influence the kicker.
Nordin is capable of big success. We will need him to be.
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Easy killer. I didn’t diagnose the young man, I was referring to: 1) the backtalk he gave harbaugh on national TV during the Maryland game, and 2) what lank said:
“Perhaps more telling is that the staff chose to take a second scholarship kicker when Nordin has 3 more years of eligibility. I don’t think this is a typical. How come?
Nordin was 1/6 on FGs and missed 3 extra points in a 6 game stretch from mid October to the end of the regular season, including the critical miss vs. OSU”
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This is my opinion:
Jake Moody is probably a viable backup. He’s officially on scholarship and he was supposedly the #1 kicker recruit in the country (though his offers don’t necessarily reflect a high level of pursuit.)
Moody’s unproven but Nordin’s no sure thing. Per the point above, it’s dubious to question character, but when those kind of rumblings are manifest on the field it’s natural to wonder. Perhaps more telling is that the staff chose to take a second scholarship kicker when Nordin has 3 more years of eligibility. I don’t think this is a typical. How come?
Nordin was 1/6 on FGs and missed 3 extra points in a 6 game stretch from mid October to the end of the regular season, including the critical miss vs. OSU. Yes, he was very good the rest of the year and had excellent performances to begin and close the season. But that kind of prolonged funk can’t be explained away by variance. Maybe there’s a perfectly reasonable off-field explanation. Maybe the fog arrives and lingers again.
Michigan seems to want insurance. Moody probably doesn’t have the range that Nordin has (his HS long’s were in the 50’s but off a tee). He has no experience so he’s an unknown. But college kickers are inherently uncertain, as Nordin demonstrated last year.
Moody comes with sufficient accolades. It’s reasonable to suspect he could match Nordin’s overall accuracy (19/24 FG, 35/38 XP). Those are typical/unexceptional numbers overall. Nordin probably has a higher ceiling but Moody would probably do fine. He reportedly has a strong leg too, so I don’t know that it matters for kickoffs either.
Nordin is clearly the more enticing option for now, but in my view the hypothetical dropoff is relatively small. Furthermore it might be offset by encouraging better game strategy, causing Harbaugh to make more aggressive (and analytics-backed) decisions on 4th down.
I do agree that it’s an unusually difficult/subjective top 15 this year. I kept Nordin outside of mine, though without Moody he would probably have been there.
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6/8 from 40+ does seem like a very good performance from Nordin that Moody (or most others) wouldn’t be likely to replicate. I don’t know what typical success from that range is but 75% seems excellent. Dealing with sample size issues here but the concern is still about consistency/reliability over the entire season.
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