Under the Helmet: Emmit Carpenter
FOOTBALL | 8/27/2018 1:23:00 PM
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Written by athletic communications student assistant Tommy Sletten
Emmit Carpenter has never met another Emmit.
He has met individuals with the name Emmett or Emmitt, but he has never met anyone with the same spelling as his. Believe it or not, Carpenter was actually named after his father, Tim.
"His childhood nickname was Timmy, and of course they spelled it T-i-m-m-y," said Carpenter. "But, my parents loved the name Emmit. They wanted to spell it a unique way and wanted to get it close to Timmy. So Emmit spelled backwards is T-i-m-m-e. It's just a cool connection to have with my dad."
Carpenter's connection with his father runs deeper than just a name. The all-time Gopher leader in field goal conversion rate began kicking when he was a freshman in high school. However, there was one problem. Unlike some kickers, Carpenter did not come from a soccer background and knew almost nothing about kicking.
What Carpenter did have was raw talent. As a freshman he crushed his first ever kickoff attempt and was hand-selected as a kicker. He was quickly moved up to the varsity the following year.
Since that fateful day of being surprisingly named the team's kicker, Carpenter and his father have been a dynamic duo when it comes to the art of kicking
"Eight years ago when I first started kicking, my dad would watch videos and read everything about kicking so he could teach me how to kick," Carpenter said. "Through his hard work and dedication he became my kicking coach."
Carpenter honed his craft on the football field at Ashwaubenon High School near his hometown of Green Bay, Wis. It was during those long summer hours where he began to develop into the kicker that he is today. He received help from both his father and his mother, Laura, whom he affectionately calls "the best ball-shagger in the country."
That hard work and tutelage from his parents has paid off, as few have done it better than Carpenter at Minnesota. Carpenter has been Minnesota's starting kicker since his sophomore year, when he was named the top kicker in the Big Ten. That year, he totaled 109 points, which is tied for the most in school history by a kicker. He has made 36-of-44 career field goals and has been unfazed on the road, as he has made 13 of 14 attempts away from home.
Consistency and keeping your cool under pressure are two traits that every great kicker needs, and those are two traits that Carpenter also learned from his father. This time through their other passion: golf.
"There are so many similar things between hitting a golf ball and kicking a football," Carpenter said. "Whether you're playing 18-holes of golf or kicking on Saturdays, you have to take every single rep one at a time. If you're on the tee box, you can't be thinking about your putt, which is the same thing for me on the football field. If I'm kicking a field goal in the first quarter, I can't be thinking about if I have to kick a field goal in the fourth quarter. All you can think about it is the current rep at that moment."
https://gophersports.com/news/2018/8/27/football-under-the-helmet-emmit-carpenter.aspx
FOOTBALL | 8/27/2018 1:23:00 PM
Story Links
Written by athletic communications student assistant Tommy Sletten
Emmit Carpenter has never met another Emmit.
He has met individuals with the name Emmett or Emmitt, but he has never met anyone with the same spelling as his. Believe it or not, Carpenter was actually named after his father, Tim.
"His childhood nickname was Timmy, and of course they spelled it T-i-m-m-y," said Carpenter. "But, my parents loved the name Emmit. They wanted to spell it a unique way and wanted to get it close to Timmy. So Emmit spelled backwards is T-i-m-m-e. It's just a cool connection to have with my dad."
Carpenter's connection with his father runs deeper than just a name. The all-time Gopher leader in field goal conversion rate began kicking when he was a freshman in high school. However, there was one problem. Unlike some kickers, Carpenter did not come from a soccer background and knew almost nothing about kicking.
What Carpenter did have was raw talent. As a freshman he crushed his first ever kickoff attempt and was hand-selected as a kicker. He was quickly moved up to the varsity the following year.
Since that fateful day of being surprisingly named the team's kicker, Carpenter and his father have been a dynamic duo when it comes to the art of kicking
"Eight years ago when I first started kicking, my dad would watch videos and read everything about kicking so he could teach me how to kick," Carpenter said. "Through his hard work and dedication he became my kicking coach."
Carpenter honed his craft on the football field at Ashwaubenon High School near his hometown of Green Bay, Wis. It was during those long summer hours where he began to develop into the kicker that he is today. He received help from both his father and his mother, Laura, whom he affectionately calls "the best ball-shagger in the country."
That hard work and tutelage from his parents has paid off, as few have done it better than Carpenter at Minnesota. Carpenter has been Minnesota's starting kicker since his sophomore year, when he was named the top kicker in the Big Ten. That year, he totaled 109 points, which is tied for the most in school history by a kicker. He has made 36-of-44 career field goals and has been unfazed on the road, as he has made 13 of 14 attempts away from home.
Consistency and keeping your cool under pressure are two traits that every great kicker needs, and those are two traits that Carpenter also learned from his father. This time through their other passion: golf.
"There are so many similar things between hitting a golf ball and kicking a football," Carpenter said. "Whether you're playing 18-holes of golf or kicking on Saturdays, you have to take every single rep one at a time. If you're on the tee box, you can't be thinking about your putt, which is the same thing for me on the football field. If I'm kicking a field goal in the first quarter, I can't be thinking about if I have to kick a field goal in the fourth quarter. All you can think about it is the current rep at that moment."
https://gophersports.com/news/2018/8/27/football-under-the-helmet-emmit-carpenter.aspx
