Countdown to IUFB Kickoff: 92 Days (Griffin Oakes)
/
Written By David Sugarman (@David_Sugarman2)
#92
We’re now more than a week into our countdown and we’ve hit one of our more important players to date. Starting kicker Griffin Oakes has gone from unknown commodity, to winning the hearts of Hoosier fans and then losing them very quickly. Special teams needs to make big strides in 2017 and Oakes getting back to 2015 form when he was Big Ten Kicker of the Year will be a major part of that.
Griffin Oakes (Redshirt Senior)
- Height: 5’10”
- Weight: 205 pounds
- Hometown: Greenwood, Indiana
- Position: Kicker
The kick was good. Well actually it wasn’t. Bad call or not, over it or not, the kick was not good. And since that devastating loss in the 2015 Pinstripe Bowl where Griffin Oakes missed a game tying field goal to send the game to double overtime, Oakes has struggled to recapture the fans love and maybe more importantly, their trust.
Oakes got opportunities as a redshirt-freshman in 2014 and made the most of them. The Greenwood, Indiana native went 13 for 18 and nailed a program record 58-yard field goal against Maryland. In 2015 Oakes was the full time starter and was named Big Ten Kicker of the Year nailing 24 of 29 attempts including a long of 51 yards. Even after missing the kick everyone in Bloomington thought was good, people expected big things from Oakes in 2016. Unfortunately fans would be left disappointed.
After missing just 10 field goals in his first two seasons, Oakes missed 10 in 2016 alone. Connecting on just 62 percent of his field goals, falling from 83 percent in 2015, Oakes’ struggles were apparent. Oakes went 16 for 26 last season going a very mediocre five-for-eleven on attempts 40 yards or longer.
That’s not to say he didn’t have his moments. After missing the first time, but getting a shot at redemption due to a leaping penalty, Oakes knocked through a 20-yard field goal in overtime to beat Michigan State. It gave IU it’s first win over a ranked opponent since 2014 and first overtime win since 2010. That would be Oakes one shining moment it would seem, his low maybe being when he missed three field goals and two extra points against Rutgers. In Oakes defense though, two of those field goals were blocked.
Special teams was a sore spot for Indiana in 2016 and while it’s easy to point the finger in multiple directions, one of those directions has to be towards Oakes. Oakes nearly cost Indiana a game or two this season and for the second year in a row, missed a crucial kick in a bowl game. He had some field goals blocked that weren’t his fault and the issues in the punting department certainly don’t fall under his jurisdiction, but if IU is ever going to make that jump from competitive with the super powers of the Big Ten to pulling off upsets, it’s the little things that will push the Hoosiers over the top. If Oakes can get back to even being close to his 2015 form, it might be the difference between the cusp of the breakthrough, getting to seven wins and that bowl win and finishing just under .500 for the third year in a row. Kicking is a physiologically taxing position, but if Oakes’ head is in the right place in 2017, Indiana could make the improvements they’ve been looking for.
Share your thoughts or expectations for Griffin Oakes, what you think his role will be and the rest of the IU special teams in our comments section (or on the message boards) and be sure to come back to Hoosier Huddle each day during our countdown!