COLLEGE FOOTBALL: INDIANA, NOTREDAME, PURDUE
Hobart grad Del Grosso top candidate to take over for Ewald
BLOOMINGTON — No Hoosier made more field goals or extra points than Mitch Ewald.
In his four years in Bloomington, Ewald made 53-of-66 field goal attempts (80.3 percent) and 161-of-162 PAT kicks (99.4 percent). And he averaged 61.4 yards on 247 career kickoffs, with 80 touchbacks.
A lot of numbers for IU’s new kicker to live up to, however it may be.
For now, it’s Hobart’s Aaron Del Grosso, who entered fall practice ahead of fellow redshirt freshman Griffin Oakes on IU’s depth chart.
“We’re both pushing each other to be better,” Del Grosso said of the competition. “Our kicks are coming off good. We’re making kicks, we’re missing some, but we’re just making each other better every day.”
Del Grosso knows consistency is going to be the key to whomever is IU’s kicker.
“I’ve been working a lot on getting my accuracy in my steps, trying to be more consistent. That’s what Ewald did,” Del Grosso said.
When camp opened earlier this month, coach Kevin Wilson praised Ewald as “one of the more consistent football players I’ve been around.”
Wilson said he was impressed with Del Grosso last year, but Ewald’s consistency kept him in the job.
“Aaron had the bigger leg, but Mitch is going to make every kick,”
Wilson said. “We’ll see if he can handle that, because it’s one thing in practice.”
Del Grosso said the Hoosiers hadn’t done many game simulations in practice.
“We do live kicking, but we haven’t done a lot of people huddled around you screaming,” he said.
Senior long snapper Matt Dooley and redshirt junior punter/holder Erich Toth have been working with the young kickers to keep them confident.
“Me and Erich have really been working on encouraging them, building their confidence, getting them ready for the big stage,” Dooley said.
Dooley concedes Del Grosso and Oakes will face a learning curve when the games become reality.
“There’s nothing that can prepare you for running out and playing in front of 50, 75, 100,000 people. It’s still a nerve-wracking experience (even) being a veteran,” Dooley said. “A lot of it is just having confidence in your craft; you’ve done it so many times, there should be no reason to doubt yourself.”
Del Grosso shows little self-doubt.
“Being a kicker, it’s all mental. You just have to come out here and rely on your muscle memory, just make the kick. Zone out all the fans,” he said.
“The biggest thing is just staying consistent. I’ve had some hiccups during camp, but if I just work on staying consistent, everything will be perfect.”