Nebraska Football: Matt Waldoch is certainly a great success story
Waldoch made his mark for Nebraska Football.
In what was a disappointing season for Nebraska Football, there were a couple of bright spots. One bright spot game from an unexpected source. The kicking game, which had struggled for most of the season, was given a boost late in the year. Matt Waldoch was a pleasant prize for Nebraska Football. He really helped the kicking game stabilize itself.
On the year, Waldoch went 4-for-4 on field goals and nine-of-nine on extra points. His longest field goal of the season was recorded on Friday against Iowa. He drilled a 41-yarder that had a tremendous amount of distance to it. The most field goals he made in a game was three, and that came last weekend against Maryland.
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His story is quite impressive. He was a walk-on for the football program in September after having been just a regular student at Nebraska for two years. He played both football and soccer for Geneva High School in Illinois. The bottom line is, he did not really have the resume of a Division I kicker. However, he came through when it mattered most. Yes, I know he only kicked in two games, and that is a small sample size. However, he should at least be entered into the kicking conversation for next season.
It’s evident that he has a very strong leg, and can kick it accurately. Particularly against Iowa, the winds were bad at Memorial Stadium. However, that did not affect Waldoch too much it seemed as he was able to kick with ease. It was nice not having to worry about the accuracy of the kicking game. Particularly in a game where points were at a premium, his contributions were greatly appreciated.
Waldoch was a great story to follow throughout the entire season. I always love a good underdog story, and his certainly fits into that category. As Nebraska evaluates positions heading into next season, the kicking game should be all set. Obviously, he is going to have to work and make sure he can continue to play consistently. However, he did nothing that would make me take him out of the kicker conversation. If anything, he strengthened his case. I’ll be interested to see exactly what role he takes heading into the 2020 season. Hopefully, he will continue to work on his craft, and earn a starting spot. He has certainly shown he has the talent to be successful.