Kansas State Wildcats exploring new options at kicker as Chris Tennant struggles
Ty Zentner has two important jobs on the Kansas State football team.
Every time the Wildcats need to punt, he’s the guy they ask to flip the field or pin an opponent near the goal line. He also handles kickoff duties.
K-State already asks a lot from Zentner and his powerful right leg, but they may assign him an even more important third job on special teams when the Wildcats host the Oklahoma State Cowboys at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
There’s a chance he will also kick field goals.
With starting kicker Chris Tennant off to a slow start this season, having only connected on nine of 14 field-goal attempts, K-State coach Chris Klieman thinks it is time to explore some other options at that position.
“We’re going to evaluate this week,” Klieman said. “Ty may kick one to get us going. You might see a freshman out there, Leyton Simmering. He might kick one. Not that we are truly opening up the competition, but we are going to have some competition out there this weekend. I think that will fuel Chris. I know that Ty is excited, because he loves to be out there. I think even Leyton has a chance.”
Tennant, a 6-foot-5 sophomore from Mill Valley, has served as K-State’s primary kicker for most of the past two seasons. He has a strong leg and has made field goals from as far away as 51 yards for the Wildcats. But he hasn’t been accurate this year, and he missed both his attempts during a 38-28 loss at TCU over the weekend.
That simply isn’t good enough for a team like K-State, which likes to refer to itself as “Special Teams U.”
“We are going to kick another day this week than we normally would,” Klieman said, “and Chris is fine with that. He knows he has got to perform. I have got the utmost confidence in Chris, but we have got to make sure we continue to have competition.”
Zentner seems like the best alternative at kicker.
The senior special teams maven did a little bit of everything when he started his college career at Butler. He kicked field goals, booted kickoffs and handled punts when he was in junior college. He sees no reason why he can’t do that again.
“I did all three for two years and I really enjoyed it,” Zentner said. “I really like just getting into the mix. During the game you kind of forget about everything else that is going on. You are just on to the next play. It just gets really fun for me. I have always enjoyed that.”
Zentner says he has also worked with Baltimore Ravens punter Jordan Stout and former Texas kicker Cameron Dicker in the past. Both of them did it all on special teams when they were in college. Having them as mentors should help him if he is called upon.
Or perhaps Simmering will get an opportunity as a freshman out of Rosemont, Minnesota. Or maybe Tennant will kick so well in practice this week that he remains at the top of the depth chart.
The Wildcats will prepare for every possibility until they start making field goals with more regularity.
“One of the things we do as specialists is just always stay ready to go,” Zentner said. “Whoever (Coach Klieman) rolls out there, he is going to be confident in making kicks and then the whole team is going to have his back.”
This story was originally published October 26, 2022 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Kansas State Wildcats exploring new options at kicker as Chris Tennant struggles."