Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, December 26, 1994 TAG: 9412280038
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KNOXVILLE, TENN. LENGTH: Medium
John Becksvoort has realized that this season. Tennessee's senior kicker owns the NCAA career record for consecutive conversions made - 161 - but he's made only nine of 18 field-goal attempts this year.
``It's been frustrating at times,'' Becksvoort said. ``I'd say it's been more bad luck than a struggle. Sometimes, it's been downright strange. There was a 41-yarder in the Vanderbilt game that was going right down the middle, then, all of a sudden, it was veering off right, like someone grabbed it out of the air.
``It was almost like divine intervention. It was one of those things where you'd say to someone, `Did you see that?'''
Not that the Volunteers needed that three-pointer in a 65-0 victory in Nashville, but had Becksvoort made a couple more field-goal attempts in losses to UCLA and Mississippi State, the Vols would be 9-2 and not 7-4 and might not be playing in the Gator Bowl on Friday night against Virginia Tech.
In the triumph at Vanderbilt, Becksvoort's nine PATs not only gave him Tennessee's career scoring record with 317 points - eclipsing the 314 by Fuad Reveiz (1981-84) - but he also passed the NCAA-record of 157 consecutive PATs by former Miami kicker Carlos Huerta. The old Southeastern Conference record of 135 by Van Tiffin of Alabama fell before midseason.
``There's never a sure thing, but I think the PATs have kind of become automatic,'' said Becksvoort, 21, who will finish a superb career at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla. ``The record was never a goal. It just happened. We just go out every game and try to make every kick. Other people started counting.
``The farther we went, the tougher it got not to think about the number. The record here was 86. When it was 81 or 82, we kept hearing about it. It was the kind of thing you just dealt with. That was enough of that.''
Becksvoort's streak won't end against the Hokies, whether he misses or not. The NCAA does not include bowl games in its statistics. In three previous bowls for the Vols, Becksvoort is 8-for-8 on PATs and 4-for-6 on field-goal attempts. His field-goal inconsistency this season follows a 12-for-13 junior year, but he has made seven of his past 10 tries.
His career field-goal percentage is .693. However, this season, he's 5-for-14 (.357) from 30 yards and beyond. However, his late 27-yarder won Tennessee's homecoming game, 10-9, over Washington State.
``I don't think I've kicked the ball that poorly,'' said Becksvoort, who was recruited from Chattanooga's Red Bank High School and figured to be only the Vols' kickoff man as a freshman. ``I had a 57-yarder against Georgia that fell a foot short. There are seven I can think of that I only missed by inches, a couple that looked like they went right over the top of the pole.
``It hasn't been like, `I can't believe I yanked that one.' I just wish people could be behind me with a video camera to see what I can see. It's kind of a unique perspective.''
Becksvoort, of Dutch extraction, didn't play football competitively until he was in the 10th grade. A Minnesota native, he is the son of a Caterpillar engineer and part of a family that has seen the world. His mother is British and is a native of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He has siblings who were born in Sweden and Switzerland. The family also lived in Cleveland before the move to southeastern Tennessee.
Maybe Becksvoort is successful because he's been kicking the ball off the ground for years. And if he doesn't reach the NFL, perhaps he can try the PGA Tour. He's been playing golf for only 21/2 years, but he's already an 8 or 9 handicap.
``I've never had a lesson,'' said the dark-haired, 175-pounder. ``Kicking really does help you in golf, I think. You learn to judge distance and wind. There are a lot of things you can connect between the two.''
In SEC history, only Alabama's Phillip Doyle (339) and Georgia's Kevin Butler (353) have more kicking points than Becksvoort. His longest successful field-goal attempt was a 53-yarder in a 1992 loss to Arkansas. What he does looks simple. He knows that.
When you're 161-for-161, however, the point is just to keep on kicking and not change a thing. Becksvoort's career certainly has been standing PAT.
by CNB