‘Best player’ on team by a foot
Aussie punter eclipses Houston record set in 1948
Dane Roy describes himself as a “stats guy” and, shortly after arriving on campus, he took aim at one of the oldest marks in the University of Houston football record book.
Roy, the Cougars’ senior punter, broke the nearly 71-year-old record with an average of 54 yards on four punts in Saturday’s loss to No. 25 Cincinnati at TDECU Stadium. The longstanding single-game record was previously held by Alan Neveux, who averaged 53 yards against West Texas State in 1948, just UH’s third season of playing football.
“I think I saw that stat when I first got here,” Roy said. “I thought, ‘It would be pretty cool if I could get that one day.’ It took me nearly 3½ years to get there.”
Roy, the 30-year-old former Australian ice cream salesman, is having his best season since arriving in 2016, a leap he credits to a complete overhaul in mechanics, a helping hand from the coverage units and “a few lucky bounces” along the way.
Against Cincinnati, Roy had a 61-yard punt and downed three inside the 20-yard line. His performance helped the Cougars flip the field as the Bearcats began drives at their 9-, 5- and 2-yard lines.
“Dane is our best player,” UH coach Dana Holgorsen said. “He’s as good as I’ve been around.”
Roy ranks seventh nationally with an average 47.2 yards as UH prepares to begin the second half of the season Saturday at Connecticut. At the current pace, Roy would also take another record back to Australia: the singleseason mark, held by Richie Leone (45.5) in 2012.
“It feels pretty rewarding, all the hard work I’ve put in the last four years,” Roy said. “I don’t think I’ve had as many lucky bounces as I’ve had this year. I remember the last few years, the ball would hit, stop, and that would make me mad. To finally get a few lucky rolls in one game really helps out.”
The improvement, Roy said, can be traced back to the offseason with a “totally different” approach to his mechanics on the suggestion of specialteams coordinator Blake Gideon. For starters, Roy said he is “shuffling out to the side and hitting spirals as much as I can.”
“We’re kind of playing keep-away from the returner,” he said. “My first three years, we just went from the pocket regular pro-style, Aussies, endover-ends, 40 yards, fair catch every time. That’s what the game plan was every time.”
After averaging 41.5 yards his first three seasons, Roy spent the offseason working on consistency. Before coming to UH, Roy played Australian rules football and had no previous punting experience when he won a longest kick competition and later received training from Prokick Australia, which helps transition Australian kickers into
college prospects.
Back in February, just a few weeks after Holgorsen finalized his staff, Gideon said he discussed with Roy some new approaches that had worked at his previous coaching stop at Georgia State. Gideon admits to some skepticism about how Roy would receive a change in his final season, not to mention the unusual situation of his position coach being a few months younger.
“I wasn’t sure how he would respond,” Gideon said. “I heard he was a good guy, well-liked on the team. I thought we would have great relationship. The great thing about Dane is he allows himself to be coached. That’s the first step in every player-coach relationship.”
Roy credits his shield protectors — Donavan Mutin, Derek Parish and Shane Creamer — for giving him time to get off punts and keep from “getting clobbered.” He also heaps praise on the “gunners,” whose job is to run down the sideline and tackle the returner or down a punt before it reaches the end zone. Those spots vary each week, but a bulk of the work has gone to receivers Tre’Von Bradley, Terry Mark and Cole McGowan.
Gideon called the Cougars’ approach to the punt game a “scheme in motion” that can change week to week depending on the opponent. And unlike some approaches that focus on hang time, Roy instead said ball placement is a major emphasis for the Cougars.
“Placement is key,” Roy said. “We’re trying to exploit that.”
What’s next for Roy? Could a stellar senior season open the possibility to pursue a professional career? At the top of the list: He’s getting married in the spring.
“My body is still very sore,” Roy said. “I’m pretty much set on going back to Australia. I’ll get a scan when I’m done playing and see what I need to fix. I think I’m ready to finish up. I’m having a lot of fun. I would like to go home, get married and have a family.”
joseph.duarte@chron.com twitter.com/joseph_duarte