THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 29, 1995 TAG: 9507290436
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FROSTBURG, MD. LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
Poom! Chip Lohmiller swings his right leg into the football, sending it into an orbit few NFL kickers can match. But the ball begins to veer right as it approaches the goalposts, and the official beneath the upright signals that the 41-yard field-goal attempt is no good.
Then Scott Blanton swings his right leg into the ball. There is not quite the same solid sound, the ball doesn't get quite as high, but it does what Lohmiller's try did not. It splits the uprights.
The scenario happens often enough at the Redskins' training camp that, suddenly, there is competition for a spot where the team least expected.
``Right now, he's doing well, showing all the qualities of an NFL kicker,'' special-teams coach Pete Rodriguez said. ``But it's early. There is a long way to go.''
That journey starts today at noon with a full scrimmage against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Frostburg State.
Blanton did well in Tuesday's practice against Pittsburgh, blasting a kickoff 7 yards into the end zone. It's time to show more.
``It's going to be interesting to see if I can kick at this level,'' Blanton said following another solid practice Friday.
``We'll be doing the same things we've been practicing the whole camp. Everything's gone good, so far.''
It's testimony to the effectiveness of the NFL grapevine that Blanton even made it to a camp.
Rodriguez received a call from a friend at the University of Oklahoma.
``Have you worked out your kicker?'' the man asked Rodriguez. ``The kid's really strong, really has potential.''
Rodriguez knew little about Blanton. He didn't want to hurt his friend's feelings, but Blanton hadn't been very good since his sophomore year at Oklahoma.
But then his friend added something else: ``Uwe von Schamann has worked with him and says the kid has a ton of potential.''
Von Schamann kicked for the Miami Dolphins from 1979-84. Rodriguez knew he had retired to Oklahoma and was a member of the athletic department, though not the football staff.
Intrigued, Rodriguez spoke to Tom Hayes, who had just quit his job as assistant coach at Oklahoma to become Redskins' secondary coach. Hayes sided with von Schamann.
Rodriguez flew to Norman, Okla., and came back insisting the Redskins sign Blanton.
``He had one of the most phenomenal workouts I've ever seen,'' Rodriguez said. ``He hit everything.''
Von Schamann has been close friends of the Blantons since his girlfriend took a class at Oklahoma with Blanton's mother. Blanton has kicked with von Schamann since he was in kindergarten, and held the ball for von Schamann when he returned to Oklahoma during the offseason.
``We're not friends, we're more like brothers,'' Blanton said. ``We hang out together. He comes over to my mom's place to eat all the time.''
Blanton says he and von Schamann kicked together for years, but it was only this past spring that the former Dolphins' kicker corrected a couple of the young man's flaws.
Blanton never got much height on the ball because he used a punching motion with his leg and a short follow-through. Von Schamann made him take a longer follow-through and suddenly, the ball was soaring like a bird.
``It was a mental thing,'' Blanton said. ``I worked on it for a couple of weeks and I had it down pat.''
They also spent hours on kickoffs. The kid whose biggest college thrill was making a 47-yard field goal to beat Syracuse last season, now has the confidence of a poker player with a royal flush.
``He thinks he is,'' coach Norv Turner said when asked if Blanton was really competing with Lohmiller for a job, ``and that's the most important thing.''
If Blanton continues to show range and accuracy, Lohmiller's job could be in trouble for one other reason: his salary. He is scheduled to make $572,000 more than Blanton this season. Given the salary cap and Washington's many needs at other positions, the money saved by releasing Lohmiller could be better used elsewhere.
Funny thing is, both men have the same attitude about their prospects - and verbalize them almost word for word.
``I'm not going to worry about it,'' said Lohmiller, who is coming off his two worst pro seasons and hit just 71 percent of his field goals in '94. ``I'm kicking better than I ever have, and that's all you can do.''
``I'm taking care of myself,'' Blanton adds. ``It's enough to be in a situation where I can learn something every day. If I don't stay here, I'll just go somewhere else and kick. I'm staying relaxed.'' ILLUSTRATION: BILL ABOURJILE
Staff
So far in Redskins training camp, newcomer Scott Blanton has shown
good range and accuracy.
by CNB