The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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been outstanding with the former, the latter takes time. Making the first one at Utah was a huge step. "After getting the first kick out of the way, ev- erything felt a lot easier," Allen said. "A weight was lifted. From then on, every- thing is smooth and a lot more comfortable." A former soccer player, Allen only started punt- ing because his brother was doing it, and he didn't want to be shown up. In fact, he's made the most progress on his punting over the last year, which is saying something given how far he's come in the kicking game. O'Neill currently has a lock on the punting job, though Allen will get his shot next year. Special teams coach John Baxter has been crucial in both of their developments. "He's helped me focus on the things that I need to focus on," Allen said. "For punting, it was working on accuracy. I did that day after day, and my accuracy im- proved a lot. On kickoffs, he had me do certain things to improve and work on every day with him, and then we started seeing results." The consistency has been the biggest improvement, Harbaugh said. O'Neill, the holder, and Scott Sypniewski, the redshirt sophomore long snapper, have developed a rapport. "I'm very pleased with the monu- mental improvement in the kicking game and the operation of the field goal unit — the protection, the snap, the hold, the kick," Harbaugh said. "We've probably come as far in that area since spring practice as any area on our football team. It's a vast im- provement." And a testament to Allen's hard work, O'Neill said, adding he was blown away at how much better Allen Redshirt junior kicker Kenny Allen has converted 3 of 4 field goal attempts through three games this year, with a long of 40 yards, and has been placed on scholarship. PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN