Oct. 3, 2001
ATLANTA– – Already the holder of the Atlantic Coast Conference record for consecutive extra points and a nominee for the Lou Groza Award, Georgia Tech placekicker Luke Manget continues to be one of the most consistent performers for the 17th-ranked Yellow Jackets’ (3-1, 0-1 ACC), who play at Duke Saturday.
Tech and the Blue Devils (0-4, 0-2 ACC) kick off at 1 p.m. at Wallace Wade Stadium in a non-televised ACC contest.
Manget, a junior from Conyers, Ga., has made 109 consecutive PATs–every one he has every attempted. He needs 10 more extra points to reach his next milestone, the Georgia Tech career record for PATs made, which is 119 by Scott Sisson from 1989-92.
“Luke is a good kicker,” said Tech head coach George O’Leary. “He works at the game, and he does a good job. That field goal he made to send the [Clemson] game into overtime–from the right hash on the 10–was not an easy kick. That’s a tough angle.”
Manget, who booted four field goals against Clemson, is 18-for-18 on extra points and 6-for-7 on field goals this season. He is tied for second in the ACC–and first among kickers–in scoring at 9.0 points per game.
Manget’s career field goal percentage of .744 (29-39) is currently the best in school history.
Punter Dan Dyke (Winter Springs, Fla.) had his best game of the season, booting a 60-yarder and a 51-yarder. The junior academic all-America averages 43.2 yards per kick.
“I thought the punting game was very good last game,” said O’Leary. “I thought Dan kicked the ball well for good distance and good hangtime, and we had good coverage.
O’Leary says that the kickoff return unit showed improvement against the Tigers, but he would like to see more production from the punt return team.
“I’d still like to see us improve our punt return game. Kelley [Rhino] is doing a good job, but we’ve got to get him better protection. On kickoff return, we’re getting better. We’re missing a block here and there which is stymieing the play, but it’s getting better. And the kickoff coverage has been much better.”
Kelly Campbell (Atlanta, Ga.) returned four kickoffs for 98 yards, including a 43-yarder, against the Tigers and is averaging 25.9 yards. Kelley Rhino (Smyrna, Ga.) has handled the bulk of the punt returns, averaging 9.9 yards.
“We’re getting better in the special teams areas, and we’ve got to continue that,” said O’Leary. “Those are effort teams, that’s why they call them special.”
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