In the middle of the season on a windy night in Tulsa with the Tigers on a losing streak, freshman kicker David Kemp made his debut. It didn't go well. Kemp missed two field goals and an extra point. He looked nervous and had no confidence. The strange part was that after half time I watched the same David Kemp kick field goal after field goal from 30, then 40 and then 50 yards during warmups. The talent was there, if the confidence was not.

The irony of ironies in this is that I, of all people, have come to praise David Kemp. It is true I have been critical of my special teams brethren over the years. In truth it is born of frustration. You sweat, hurt, even bleed for 3 plus hours only to have the margin of victory decided by someone who literally sipped their favorite sports drink on the sidelines during practices (not that they needed it) while occasionally kicking a ball into a net. The only time they would run is when the wind would blow the net over (this is actually true).

Still here we are. I have come not to bury kickers but to praise one. In fact I want to do more than praise. I want to congratulate David. This young man did more than just sip a sports drink and kick into a net. Well, maybe physically that's all he did, but mentally he did much more than that. David Kemp persevered. He overcame a lot this year. Lack of confidence in himself and a lack of confidence from his head coach.

Over the years I've come to understand that place kickers are somewhat like golfers. About 1/2 of the success is related to physical skill and effort, and the other half is mental. After the events that unfolded at the end of the East Carolina game it would not have been unreasonable for David to have folded. At least for the rest of 2021. Missing an extra point, then absolutely nailing the tying field goal as time expired only to be benched in OT in favor of a failed 2pt attempt. Folks that's one helluva roller coaster.

Even in that moment I saw something. I saw something in that game tying field goal. I saw a guy with ice water in his veins. A guy who didn't shrink from a moment. A guy who said..."Screw this, I'm a good kicker and I'm going to go prove It." I told everyone on twitter that he was gaining confidence and Coach Silverfield needed to trust him. I said it on the show the following week.

The next game against Houston David was 2-2 on field goal attempts and made his only extra point. In fact since that missed extra point against ECU David has not missed a single attempt. Not a field goal, not an extra point. Dude is on a roll. Which brings me to last week against Tulane. Again David made both his field goal attempts including a long of 40 yards, and all three extra point attempts. In a game decided by 5 points with bowl eligibility hanging in the balance, David Kemp was money.

If you'd asked me after Tulsa, or honestly at any point prior to the end of the ECU game if I'd be writing a headline about David Kemp being the AAC Special Teams player of the week, well I'd have had you checked for a head injury. Clearly you were not well. Yet, this is further proof that football, and all sports really, are only a single play away from a new reality. A single play from gong from the bottom to the top. Those plays are, however, built with hard work, effort, and mental fortitude. David pushed through all the doubters and now he's the reigning AAC Special Teams Player of the week.

More importantly we all hope that the Memphis Tigers have found their next great kicker. While there's no guarantee this will continue, I gotta be honest when I tell you my money is on David. He went through hell and back this year and came out on top. So congratulations David Kemp, what a long strange trip it's been and what bright future you have.