Wetjen killing it
- Thread starter Seth53
- Start date
I was shocked Rutgers punted to him right before halftime like they did... I have a feeling he'll get the Deion Sanders/Devin Hester treatment going forward and he'll see a lot less opportunities the rest of the way. He's an absolute weapon. He only needs a crease for not very long to get through. You could tell on the KO that once he got to the 20 he was gonna be gone. The announcer even said uh oh right about the time he got there.
thedukeofearl
Well-Known Member
The last punt return, I believe, Wetjen had 3/4 blockers in front of him but choose to cut to the left into
traffic
It was still a Solid Return, and this is not a criticism of the most exciting punt/kickoff specialist in college
football
Tim Dwight style of excitement all over again
It's All Good
thedukeofearl
Well-Known Member
HawkPowerlifter
Well-Known Member
That was the most impressive thing I thought too! Great blocking but he didn't even make a cut, just took off!
NorthKCHawk
Well-Known Member
At the risk of being a turd in the punchbowl, he ran straight and no one touched him on the kickoff. He absolutely screwed up by not going down at the end of the half. He wasn't going to score. You gotta know the situation and give your team a chance to take the lead and collect momentum at the end of the half. And while he probably will be Big Ten Special Team of the Week this week, he has had his ups and downs this season so far. Let's hope the trendline keeps going because we are going to need some breaks to beat the Hoosiers.
HawkPowerlifter
Well-Known Member
I was asking the same question on the punt return right before the half. The game against Iowa State was not his best showing. Problem with returners, they can wow you with exciting plays, but also have you shaking your head when they try to do too much. He fumbles that over the shoulder punt return, we aren't showering him with praise. Let's hope he continues to thrive.
trj
Well-Known Member
Special teams in general have been up and down. Dakin and Stevens are having rough moments as well. Special teams needs to be borderline elite if we are talking 8 or more wins.
NorthKCHawk
Well-Known Member
Agreed on the ISU game. He really hurt us a couple times in a game that was a nailbiters. Returners are sort of like three point shooters. They have to have short term memories and have to take chances. No one goes All-American fair catching the ball. He was explosive against Rutgers. No debate there.
The other thing about Wetgen is that he literally can change the game just by his presence back there. Punting out of bounds, trying directional kicking, etc. When a returner is in a special teams coach's head, it can impact the game in a lot of ways.
HawkeyeHypnosis
Well-Known Member
He’s your B1G Co-Special Teams Player of the Week
hawkeyesports.com
Wetjen Named B1G Co-Special Teams Player of the Week
Return specialist Kaden Wetjen earned Big Ten Co-Special Teams Player of the Week honors following his effort in the Hawkeyes’ 38-28 road victory at Rutgers.
Hawkboys
Well-Known Member
On an interview he said he knew he was going to score as soon he left his own end zone. The hole was that big.
HawkeyeHypnosis
Well-Known Member
Wasn’t just a hole. It was a parting of the seas
HawkeyeHypnosis
Well-Known Member
Instant reactions from the kickoff return
ICHawk24
Well-Known Member
The criticism of Wetjen not keeping an eye on the clock while returning a punt is insane and stupid. Once he chose to return that punt, he needs to do everything he can to score, which is what he tried to do.
Too many people have been trained by playing PS3 in their basement and the on-screen score bug to think that it is the same for guys on the actual field of play.
Too many people have been trained by playing PS3 in their basement and the on-screen score bug to think that it is the same for guys on the actual field of play.
Fryowa
Administrator
That's why I wish we had had him earlier. Those are things that he could've ironed out as a sophomore and been smarter about by now.
The punt he double brain farted in the ISU game...lost the game in my opinion. They scored on that drive but starting almost in ISU's endzone took up the entire quarter and didn't leave enough time to get back in it once the Hawks had started to get rolling.
NorthKCHawk
Well-Known Member
Its neither insane nor stupid. Its situational awareness. Before he took the field, the special teams coach should have specifically told him, that if you get past our 40, and unless you are sure that you can score, get down before the clock expires. It was a tie game. A FG is huge there.
You see smart players do selfless things like this all the time in football. Not scoring and going down before the endzone so the offense can run the clock out and not give the ball back to the other side. Or a guy who makes a pick and instead of trying to run it back for a garbage TD, he goes down to avoid the chance he turns it back over. Smart football should not be dismissed so easily. It can win you games. More to the point, it can avoid you losing games.
That's it. It's like a baseball player knowing what they're gonna do before the ball is hit to em. You think of it ahead of time so you don't have to think during the play you just do it. He shoulda went down pretty much as soon as he turned the corner and went OBs. Woulda had 1-2 seconds left. You could tell he didn't have the clock on his mind till after he looked up at it afterwards.
NorthKCHawk
Well-Known Member
And I would have had no problem if he had a lane and got his ankle clipped on the 25. I have no problem with a player taking a chance for a really big play and just missing it. But, it was very clear with 3 seconds left on the clock that he was hemmed in and not going to escape. Go out of bounds or fall down. If he did that, every coach is hugging him on the sidelines, and he gets a lot of love and respect when they watch the film of that play. Smart, selfless plays win games.
