Basler may not look part, but knows how to play it

PULLMAN — Picture a punter in your head and Kyle Basler might not be the image that comes to mind. For when it comes to Washington State’s not-so-secret weapon, the stereotype of a scrawny specialist doesn’t fit.

At 6-foot-3 and 231 pounds, Basler is part of a new breed in punting, looking more like, well, a football player. During his high school career in Elma, Basler took snaps at quarterback, running back, tight end, defensive end, linebacker and safety in addition to his kicking duties.

But for the Cougars, Basler is needed at just one position, and he enters his junior year as one of the best at his position in college football.

“He gives you field position,” head coach Bill Doba said. “Not only does he kick it far when you’re back in the hole, but when you’re on the 40 he can kick it inside the 5.”

Never was that more obvious than in the Holiday Bowl against Texas.

The Cougars beat the Longhorns by eight in that game, largely because four Basler punts that left Texas inside its own 5. (A fifth punt put the Longhorns inside their 20.) For his efforts, Basler was named the defensive player of the game, and honor rarely if ever bestowed upon a specialist.

Basler was actually a walk-on as a freshman, and became a scholarship player in his second year in Pullman. But Doba said it was the end of 2003, and the Holiday Bowl in particular, that built Basler’s confidence.

Ask Basler, though, and he’ll tell you a slightly different story about the end of 2003.

“I try and forget it,” he said. “I just get it out of my head. That was last season. It was great, but we had time to celebrate and things like that. We have a whole new season, a whole different group of guys. It’s time to get ready for this season.”

Basler said his focus is on boosting his averages from last season — specifically, his 43.5 yards per punt mark. If successful, he’s almost guaranteed a spot on the short list for the Ray Guy award, given to the nation’s top punter. But Basler hasn’t even cracked the Pac-10’s all-conference honors yet, since 2003 Ray Guy semifinalist Tom Malone resides at USC.

Regardless of his rank in the award ceremonies, Basler’s punting abilities could more valuable than ever for the Cougars this season. Gone is All-American kicker Drew Dunning, and now Graham Siderius and Loren Langley are squaring off in camp for a chance to be his replacement. Doba has said it’s still close, and on Monday suggested for the first time that he may give Langley responsibility for shorter field goals and the stronger-legged Siderius the longer attempts.

Of course, if the Cougars are trying to decide whether to kick a field goal or punt, they may be wise to send Basler on the field for what has become in some ways a lost art. Coffin-corner specialists have been abandoned by many teams in favor of longer kicks in the middle of the field. With Basler, Doba thinks he has both in the same player.

“The old-timers talk about it a lot,” Doba said. “They say the coffin-corner kick is gone and a thing of the past that needs to come back. Just ask Coach (Mack) Brown down there at Texas what he thinks about it.”