I'm not sure who's to blame, but either Mike Stoops or special team's coach Jeff Hammerschmidt should be taking a little more flak than they have for being wishy-washy about the Arizona Wildcats' kicking situation. And after interim head coach Tim Kish motivated his team to a win and called on kick-off specialist John Bonano to become the placekicker, well, they really should be getting the blame for not figuring out that diamond in the rough sooner.
Instead, we're praising Kish; anything for some positivity around these parts, right? Fair enough.
In a semi-ironic twist, Bonano WON the Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week award, the league announced Monday. Considering he was not even considered a third option after Alex Zendejas struggled and Jaime Salazar showed little to be impressed with, it now seems slightly insulting to Bonano.
Now, we can look back and say "what-if?" What if he had been given a look?
Anyway, Bonano earned the honor after hitting all six (100 percent) of his extra point attempts in Arizona's bullying of UCLA this past week. That included a 41-yarder and also a make on a tipped kick. In addition, Bonano was required to kick off 10 times thanks to the Wildcats' effective scoring drives. He picked up three touchbacks on those, and leads the Pac-12 in total touchbacks with 19.
So, guys, who's to blame for not figuring out this guy had talent a lot earlier?