Welcome Back Kai
by Nestor on Jan 15, 2010 1:04 PM PST
in Football
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Yesterday we heard from Coach Chow how excited he was to be part of Rick Neuheisel's UCLA program. Kevin Prince echoed that same sentiment on behalf of all his team-mates. Now it looks like they will have Kai as an added weapon to add to that excitement next season. He is coming back per Chris Foster of the LA Times (HT littlebrother):
"There were a couple things," said Forbath, who is in Connecticut to accept an award for being selected to the Walter Camp All-American team. "I want to graduate, that is important to me and my family. I wanted to take the whole next year to help the team and get bigger, stronger and get more mature mentally."
Forbath, who won the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s top kicker, was 26 of 29 on field goals last season and scored 108 points. He has made 35 consecutive field goals from inside 50 yards.
Forbath is second in UCLA history with 72 field goals and fifth with 291 points. His has demonstrated the leg strength necessary for the NFL, making nine of 12 field goals from 50 yards and beyond in his career.
"I know there are some NFL teams looking to get a guy this year and I’m hoping that will be the same next year too," Forbath said. "But I didn’t want to go just because the opportunity was there."
Great news to top off a fantastic week for Bruin football. More after the jump.
During the bowl season (which was more exciting after the Bruins won their bowl game) time after time we collectively realized the importance of having a great kicker. So many times we saw team had to adjust their offensive strategy because they didn't have a dependable kicker.
I am sure neither Neuheisel nor Chow will be looking for an offense that will look to settle for FGs when they get in the redzone. At the same time, I am sure they are going to appreciate having someone like Kai with big games on the line. Here is to Kai getting opportunities to nail kicks with lot more on the line next season. That's the only thing left to add to his incredible resume he has built up in three great years in Westwood. Again, welcome back Kai.
GO BRUINS.
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Kai = $
And hopefully after another year, he can get all the $ he deserves at the next level!
My two favorite teams are UCLA and whoever is playing $C.
Good Karma Continues for UCLA
The good guys just keep coming back!!
most important result of Kai's return...
is that it gives Kip an infinitely higher chance of success over the next several years. UCLA’s string of incredible kickers/punters this past decade has resulted from the fact that they got to learn from seasoned veterans before assuming the lead role. Kai learned from Medlock. Locke learned from Perez. In fact, bringing up Locke, there were reports during his redshirt freshman year that he was far from impressive at practice.
By affording Kip the opportunity to learn for a year from the best, I have no doubt that he’ll be able to control that 60+ yard leg (there was a link somewhere about his kicks in high school) and become more accurate. The reason I’m so excited about Kip is that you can’t really teach a kicker distance as easily as you can teach him the finer nuances of accuracy and control. With a year of training under his belt, we may very well have our next great kicker.
I didn’t even mention the accomplishments of Kai so far becuase he’s simply astounding and will break every UCLA kicking record next year. Incredible. When he does go pro, he’ll be amazing. We should all thank him for continuing UCLA excellence and keeping the team in mind.
Welcome back Kai!
It’s great to have the best kicker in America back for another year. We appreciate it.
Troy HAS fallen...again, again, and again.
Thanks Kai!
I always worry about kids who don’t grab the money and Kai is certainly worth the big bucks.
This is bigger than DC coming back for his senior year. I hope that he’ll be a captain or something because he’s been great.
Character Counts
Two decisions this week to pass up money to pursue higher values.
One by a geezer and one by a kid.
Maybe the generational gap isn’t that great.
sjh
I thought it was gonna be a post on Maiavia
That he’s done the necessary course work to get back onto the team.
Welcome back to the Bruins
Dedication, intelligence, maturity, skill, and goal oriented-yeah must be a UCLA student. Kai will be remembered as one of the great kickers in college football.
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