CHRISTMANN
has been soaking it all in since he has been in Starkville.
“He has won a Super Bowl,” Christmann said of Boniol. “Not many people can say that. The biggest thing he has helped me with is the mental side of the game. He has done this before. He has played and he has gone through what we've gone through. On the sidelines, he's like, ‘OK, what are you thinking here?' He walks you through things. That's the biggest thing he has done for me is help me with the mental side of the game. I couldn't have done what I did (last) season without him.”
It may not be much of a surprise, but Christmann admits he was a bit of a nervous wreck as he ran onto the field for his first career field goal
attempt in last year's game against LSU.
“Don't mess up,” Christmann said was running through his brain at the time.
He didn't. He drilled the 30-yard kick to put the Bulldogs up 10-7 in the second quarter on the way to an eventual 37-7 victory over the Tigers.
Christmann finished the day with an unblemished 3-for-3 mark on his field goals, so it's likely safe to say his nerves ended up being a good thing.
There shouldn't be a waiting period this season before Christmann emerges as State's kicker. He'll head into 2018 as the man the Bulldogs are relying on to put the football through the uprights.
He hasn't been treating things any differently though. Christmann said in the spring he's just preparing like he always has.
“A lot of it is just keep kicking,” Christmann said. “It's trying not to get bad habits.”
It's tough to predict the kicking game. In much the same way that a talented baseball player might get into a slump at the plate, a kicker can similarly find himself in a rut on the football field. However Christmann provided a large enough sample size in 2017 to give MSU fans confidence heading into the coming year.
After some of the anxiety State's kicking game has caused in previous seasons, it at least has to be some solace for the Bulldogs to know coming into the year that they have a guy that can get the job done.
(Editor's Note: Leading up to the start of Mississippi State football training camp, the Starkville Daily News will take a look at several of the key pieces for the 2018 Bulldogs.)