THREE DUTIES? NO PROBLEM!
Browning had a tough act to follow in Araiza and he’s done it well
It was about this time a year ago that San Diego State football coach Brady Hoke determined Jack Browning should handle all three kicking specialties — kickoffs, punts, field goals and PATs — for the Aztecs.
And that is when Browning made the leap from holding for Matt Araiza to replacing SDSU’s greatest all-around kicker/punter.
Browning’s most memorable moment to that point came running the football, not kicking it. In 2021, he scored a 13yard touchdown at Hawaii off a fake field goal.
“It’s a very big shoe to fill, most definitely,” Browning said of stepping in for Araiza.
He did so seamlessly. A month into the 2022 season, Hoke was impressed enough to hand a scholarship to the walk-on from West Hills High School and Grossmont College. By season’s end, Browning had earned Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year.
Browning made 20 field goals last season — two shy of Araiza’s school record — with a long of 52 yards. He averaged 46.1 yards per punt, which ranks third in school history.
The way Browning has boomed the ball in practice — it sounds different off his foot the way a baseball sounds different off a power hitter’s bat — he could approach the national record 51.2 yards Araiza averaged two years ago.
Here are five questions with Browning:
Q: Last season, doing kickoffs, punts and placekicking, did that at any point become too much for you?
A: It was something I felt very comfortable in, actually. I’ve been competing in all three ever since I started my junior college career up at Grossmont.
It’s something I’ve had a lot of practice with, handling all three duties, and I’ve felt very comfortable with, working with Coach (Adam) Hall and the strength staff to make sure my body felt right the whole season and I ended up being pretty successful and very confident.
Q: You’ve trained with Nick Novak, a 10-year NFL veteran. How much has training with a former professional kicker elevated your game?
A: I’ve been training with Nick ever since June of 2020. He’s been one of my greatest mentors. Not only the mechanics of punting and kicking, but also the mentality of what you need to do and the mindset you need to have when you’re in those situations where the game’s on the line.
You’ve got to be able to hone all those emotions and channel it into one energy and do what needs to be done. Definitely a lot has come from working with Nick. I’m truly blessed and grateful to be able to work with him.
Q: Does the team have a special bond with Jalen “Moose” Mayden because he played both offense and defense last year?
A: Moose being such a team player and people person, he’s even reached out to me, the punter and the kicker.
Typically, you wouldn’t think the starting quarterback will know too much about their specialists, but he comes up and says, ‘Hi,’ very friendly and lets me know how important he feels I am to the team.
Q: You’ve been picked to repeat as Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year. Does that put pressure on you, or do you just set it aside?
A: You can definitely run all the thoughts through your head and put pressure on you. But for me, it’s an honor to receive such accolades in the preseason, but it doesn’t really matter until I go out there and perform and put it out on the field and on film.
I really try to just push it (out of mind) and, I guess, in this case, prove everyone right.
Q: What do you do to distract yourself when you’re away from football?
A: I have an odd one. Most kickers and punters they’ll go out and golf. During COVID, going outdoors, disc golf actually became pretty hot, pretty popular.
So me and my buddies kind of picked up on it . ... It’s something I’ve enjoyed doing and, honestly, I’d say I’m pretty good at it.