Rogers Punter, Kicker Double As Linemen On The Field
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- As you watch Rogers practice, nothing looks out of the ordinary.
But wait a minute. Is that the punter playing offensive line? Or is their offensive lineman playing punter?
"Playing punter is pretty cool," said Zac Aanerud.
If you're confused already, just wait 'til you see their kicker.
"Yeah, I always was a bigger kid," said Matt Becker.
Yes, there's something truly special about special teams at Rogers. Both the kicker, and the punter, are big, hulking linemen.
"Which I guess is a little bit unusual," Coach Marc Franz acknowledged.
"Nah," Aanerud echoed with a laugh. "There's not too many."
Aanerud is a senior captain. He starts at guard and plays defensive line too.
And punts.
"I play whatever our team needs," he said.
Becker played both sides of the line all the way up through this year, when he decided a couple months back to start focusing exclusively on kicking.
"You're going out there and scoring your team points," Becker said. "And the games can be on your shoulders."
Together, they form one of the least likely punter-kicker duos in Minnesota. And one that's been pretty successful.
"Those guys are solid kickers," Franz said.
It's not one of those situations where they didn't have a kicker and just had to pick the guys who could do it best.
It just so happens that the guys who do it best are two of the biggest guys on the team.
"It's definitely not because of lack of competition," Franz said. "Those are the two guys who earned the spots."
Really the only difference between them and any other kicker and punter comes into play when Rogers wants to run a fake. Because they wear linemen numbers, they are ineligible to pass, run, or catch the ball.
Which means Rogers needs to get even more creative.
"You've got to adapt it," Franz said. "All you have to do."
It hasn't held them back. Rogers is 2-for-2 this season on a fake point after and fake punt.