Luke Logan Moving on From Blown Egg Bowl Kick, Embracing Competition
Luke Logan's 2019 couldn't have come to a close any worse.
After an excessive celebration penalty went against Elijah Moore, Logan had to hit a longer, 35-yard extra point to send the 2019 Egg Bowl to overtime.
Logan's kick went wide right, sending the Rebel kicker to his knees in frustration, helmet on the ground in a brutal moment of agony.
Somehow, someway, Logan had to find a way to put that kick behind him.
"That's not anything you dream of happening. I've been an Ole Miss fan my whole life and to have that happen in the Egg Bowl is really the last thing I'd ever want to happen," Logan said on Friday. "It really was an unbelievable teaching moment... as big of a kick as that was, I have to realize I have a whole season ahead of me. I have 12 more games, at least, where people are going to be counting on me to make it. I'm not doing my team justice if I'm still focusing on that kick."
The first few days following that Thanksgiving evening were admittedly tough.
Logan had to push off external criticism and internalize his reaction. He stuck to those close to him; the Rebel locker room was incredibly supportive and his family was right there. Outside pressures had to be suppressed.
For days, Logan wouldn't go back and rewatch the brutal missed PAT. Eventually, he felt like he had too. From a kicking nerd perspective, field goal kicking is sort of like a golf stroke – if you raise your head too early, it can drive off the accuracy. That's what happened when Logan's kick in Starkville went wide right. It's in the details, and those details are what he's spend the last eight months keying in on.
Now Logan has competition. He'll likely be the Rebel starter at the position once again, but it's not a given going into 2020. But that competition is something the Rebel kicker is embracing.
"We're all fighting and clawing and competing. It's fun. It's good to have guys behind you that will push you each and every day," Logan said. "All these guys in the special teams room right now are all high-class kickers. Every day, every one of us has to be on our A game and that helps."
This year more than the past, the Rebel special teams are seeing more game-like situations in training camp.
Logan says there's more pressure on this year's kicks. Maybe that's the competition behind him. Maybe that's simply that, unlike years past, there are many more situations where his practice kicks are coming with some big boys flying in his face.
"Special teams is such a lonely position. You're out there during practice by yourself," Logan said. "Whenever you can have the offensive line and the defensive line, guys really rushing at you and screaming at you while you're trying to kick the field goal, that's the best way to simulate a game-type atmosphere."
In 2019 for Logan, it wasn't just the one miss in the Egg Bowl. Honestly, the season was a struggle as a whole. After hitting 81-percent of his field goals in 2018, that number plummeted to 58-percent in 2019. He simply has to be better, and he knows it.
Logan has never hit a field goal longer than 41-yards in his Ole Miss career, something he needs to rectify moving forwards. He feels like he's always had the leg, but he's simply never capitalized on it when he got the chances to hit from longer distances. This year, he's working on the consistency with his leg swing, keeping consistent motion on longer kicks.
For what it's worth, punter Mac Brown says he's seen Logan hit from 68-yards, just kicking for fun with a little wind behind them. Brown believes he can easily hit from mid-50s in a live game setting.
"He's got a big leg and I really would put it up against anyone," Brown said. "He's got extreme power and a strong leg, really fast-twitch muscles in his leg. I think this year, as he continues to control the ball a little bit better, you guys will be able to see that."
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