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We had good reason to be concerned about special teams in 2015, what with a couple of veteran, reliable players graduating. NC State's going to be relying on a lot of youth to pick up the slack at place kicker and punter this year.
But it's clear now that there was never anything to be seriously concerned about. Freshman punter AJ Cole recently showed off his diverse skillset, effortlessly holding a football with his nose, and later returning one of his own punts. If that doesn't put you at ease, then nothing will, my friend.
that'll clear the sinuses #trust pic.twitter.com/kyEt7srwEH
— Kyle Bambard (@KyleBambard) June 7, 2015
the next great @PackFootball punt returner #PutMeInCoach pic.twitter.com/h8j0LRJCvg
— AJ Cole III (@DashAJCole) June 7, 2015
The nose-hold may well be the future of football--just look at how true that kick by Kyle Bambard was. It was 100% HONEST. I am not a scientist, but my guess is that the airflow from the nostrils helps to mitigate potentially disruptive crosswinds at the kicking point. And as everyone knows, that is a key piece to the puzzle that is successful football kicking.
Look at me, getting distracted talking about the virtues of the nose-hold again. Sorry. Getting back to my original point, I think we can safely conclude from these videos that NC State has a new breed of athlete at the punter and place kicker positions. What they lack in experience is more than made up for by impressive feats of skill. When NC State wins the ACC title this season, these guys will have been a big reason for the success.