Patience pays off for walk-on Tripucka
Different sport, but like his uncle, punter makes most of his shot
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin had all the usual questions for Shane Tripucka four years ago, when the Under Armour All-American from Allen High School expressed an interest in punting for the Aggies.
Hang time? Punting average? Longest punt? Oh, and one more, perhaps never asked of another hopeful collegiate punter.
“Where on earth,” Sumlin inquired, “is Essex Fells, New Jersey?”
‘He could shoot’
Sumlin, 52, grew up in Indianapolis as a fan of Notre Dame basketball. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Kelly Tripucka of Essex Fells starred for the Fighting Irish, and then went on to a decade-long NBA career, including averaging 27 points per game in his second season with the Detroit Pistons.
“He could shoot,” Shane Tripucka said of his uncle.
Occasionally one of Shane’s wise-guy buddies will text message him a YouTube clip of Michael Jordan dunking on his uncle. Shane immediately fires back with the time Kelly scored 56 points in a 1983 game against the Chicago Bulls (albeit without Jordan, but still …).
“He could shoot,” Shane repeated with a grin.
And Shane can punt, which is why he won the Aggies’ starting job during the summer as a walk-on, and in doing so earned a scholarship to the joy of his teammates, who had watched the junior work so hard to do so.
“Shane is so passionate in what he does, and you could see on his face how much that meant to him,” A&M quarterback Trevor Knight said of the moment Sumlin announced Tripucka had earned a scholarship in August. “He’s been battling, battling and battling, and to see that come to fruition was pretty cool for him.”
It’s been cool for the Aggies, too, as nearly half of Tripucka’s 39 punts (17) have been downed inside the 20-yard line. In A&M’s 33-14 loss at top-ranked Alabama on Saturday, Tripucka in the second quarter dropped a 39-yard punt down at the Alabama 1-yard line, where A&M’s Josh Reynolds caught the ball with just the right amount of hang time.
“Shane has proven himself,” said Sumlin, in also crediting special teams coach Jeff Banks for developing successful punters and kicker over the past few seasons. “… You look at his accuracy and limiting returns and pinning people down inside the 20 — he’s been very good.”
The ninth-ranked Aggies (6-1, 4-1 SEC) play host to New Mexico State at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in a non-conference game.
Tripucka, who’s a muscular 6-3 and 210 pounds, comes from a long line of athletes. His grandfather, the late Frank Tripucka, was the Denver Broncos’ first quarterback and had his No. 18 retired. The nowretired Peyton Manning wore the number with the family’s permission in leading the Broncos to a Super Bowl title last season.
“It was awesome to see how many people my grandfather influenced in the Broncos organization,” Shane said. “We looked up to him and considered him a role model in our family.”
Shane’s father, Chris, played football at Boston College as a quarterback and receiver in the same class as Doug Flutie, who won the 1984 Heisman Trophy. Kelly’s son, Travis, has earned some time in the NFL as a long snapper.
“They’re all of these big athletes who play all these sports, and I turned out to be a punter,” Shane said. “It works for me — I’ll take that route.”
Knight said don’t let Tripucka fool you — he’s a superb athlete in his own right.
“During our special teams drills on Fridays, Shane doesn’t punt the
ball, he throws it,” Knight said. “He’s got a cannon for an arm. You can see by his mannerisms and the way he moves around that he’s a really good athlete.”
Picked right position
Tripucka also is a study in how, at the urging of his father, punting paid off for him when other positions he played at powerhouse Allen didn’t quite pan out.
“My dad always had me keep at punting, and said maybe something will happen with that if you don’t play receiver or tight end,” Shane said. “I got to my senior year at Allen, got (injured) in a preseason scrimmage, and the coaches said, ‘We’d rather have you just punting — we don’t want you to get hurt.’”
Tripucka developed into a high school All-American and bypassed other college opportunities to walk-on at A&M, where he patiently waited his chance behind current NFL punter Drew Kaser.
“I love this school and I love my teammates,” Tripucka said. “A&M was the perfect place for me.”