Missouri’s bye week has given Brunno Reus a chance to step back and zero in on the details that have shaped his season - and the punter says his biggest emphasis has been the mechanics of the kick itself.
With Arkansas up next on Saturday, Reus said Tuesday that he feels good about the way he opened the year, especially through the first three games. But he also made clear that the last stretch has highlighted where things started to slip.
“I think I started very strong for my first year. The first three games, I started really strong,” Reus said. “I feel like I had a one-back punt against A&M, and by the end of the game, I feel like I faced what was going wrong with my drop.”
That drop has been the main point of attack during Missouri’s break. Reus said the inconsistency there has caused the nose of the ball to rise, which in turn has led him to catch some punts more with the side of his foot than he wants.
“A lot of the things I focused on was my drop on my punt,” Reus said. “I feel like it was inconsistent throughout after the three weeks. My nose was coming up, and I tend to hit out of the side of my foot.”
He also pointed to shorter punts as one of the tougher parts of the job, especially when trying to place the ball and back opponents up deep in their own end. Reus said those kicks come with their own variables, from launch angle to the wind.
“Whenever the shorter punts are the most difficult ones for me, in my opinion,” Reus said. “Whenever it starts getting to my own 40, I tend to just hit it end over end. But sometimes, the wind is different up there than it is at eye level.”
Reus said the special teams work doesn’t stop with his own operation. He and kicker Blake Craig have spent time comparing notes, using what each of them has picked up to help the other sharpen his game.
“Yeah, we definitely talk about techniques,” Reus said. “We don't really talk about the crowd because we try not to focus on the crowd. He takes some of the things I learn about kicking, and then I take some of the things he learns about kicking, and we try to make each other better.”
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