Ewald, specialists build team camaraderie in house

When he was a freshman, nobody wanted to sit with him and the other specialists at dinner table.

So senior kicker Mitch Ewald and then-long snapper Jeff Sanders hatched an idea.

They would make it a competition. It soon became an honor to sit with the
specialists.

“Before, nobody wanted to sit with us,” Ewald said. “Now everybody does.”

For the last four years, Ewald and the other specialists, punter Erich Toth, long snapper Matt Dooley, backup punter Nick Campos, backup kicker Aaron Del Grosso and backup long snapper Josh Pericht, have published a comedic newsletter every week, that sports a catchy name.

Kickin’ it with the Specialists.

The newsletter includes quotes of the week from members of the team, often fabricated by Ewald.

“We got three quotes of the week,” he said. “Which a lot of times are made up from my imagination.”

Every week, the players look forward to who will be named to have dinner with the specialists.

“It’s pretty select,” Toth, the punter, said.

On Friday, the newsletter is left in the players’ lockers for them to discover when returning from practice. However, before the Michigan game, Ewald, the leader of the specialists, switched things up.

“I played a joke on them,” he said.

Ewald held the newsletters until the bus ride, where he put them on each of the players’ seats. The anticipation of who would be selected to have dinner with the specialists was killing the players.

“They were all going crazy,” he said. “I enjoyed that.”

For each Friday dinner before the game, the specialists select one defensive player and one offensive player to occupy the two remaining seats at the specialists’ table.

“I always love every Friday coming into the locker room and having a little sheet in my locker,” safety  Greg Heban said. “It’s definitely one of the highlights of the day.”

The point of the dinners is to integrate the special teams unit with the rest of the team.

In practice they usually do activities and drills that only they participate in, so this offers an opportunity for them to get to know the other players better.

“Nobody wanted to sit with the specialists,” Dooley, the long snapper, said. “Now it’s a competition. It’s an honor to be able to sit with us.”

When asked to name their favorite guest, one name kept coming up: Isaiah “Zek” Roundtree.

“I mean, I knew I was going to be their favorite guest,” Roundtree said.

Several players said Roundtree is a hilarious guy and has a great personality.

“He’s probably one of the most open guys to be around,” Heban said of Roundtree. “One of the funniest, if not the funniest, guys on the team.”

Just don’t tell Roundtree that he’s “one of the funniest.”

“I’m the funniest guy on the team by far,” he said. “You follow me on Twitter? Then you know what I’m talking about.”

Roundtree, a wide receiver who transferred to Bloomington two years ago, is a fixture on the “Kickin’ it with the Specialists” newsletter.

Often, he is featured on the quotes of the week section and is surprised when he isn’t.

“I just expect to be on there,” he said. “If I’m not, I’m like, ‘Ewald, what’s going on?’”

One of the more famous quotes came from earlier this season. Roundtree and the team were going through a ball security drill in practice. The balls were covered with a sleeve, making it more difficult to carry and would therefore increase their ball-carrying abilities.

Roundtree voiced his displeasure, which made the newsletter the following Friday.

“I don’t want to carry a ball with a do-rag on it,” he said at the time.

Ewald confessed to making some quotes up that Roundtree “says.” But Roundtree said he is content with this.

“They say stuff that I actually think about,” he said.

Roundtree said Ewald goes through his Twitter to retrieve potential quote of the week material.

Because of Roundtree’s personality, the players on the team have no trouble believing
Roundtree actually said the quotes.

“I say some outlandish stuff,” he said.

Besides himself, Roundtree said other funny guys on the team are Shane Wynn, Ewald, Darius Latham, Florisse “Flo” Hardin and Cam Coffman.

“He’s one of those surprise funnies,” he said of Coffman.

Heban added of the third string quarterback, “He’s a dry humor kind of guy.”

Roundtree said the coaches know about “Kickin’ it with the Specialists,” and they know he’s a “goofy and silly” guy.

“They follow me on Twitter too,” he said.

Ewald has been the main orchestrator of the newsletter for the past four years. Who
will take over after the kicker graduates?

“It’s between Dooley and Toth right now,” he said. “I’d say Dooley has a slight advantage over him; he’s a little bit more creative.”

The newsletter is a good way to keep the mood light, but players said the first topic of conversation is always the game at hand.

The players discuss the game plan for how they will beat their next opponent, and then the fun ensues. On the bottom of each newsletter, a simple message keeps the team’s priorities in order.

“In IU Coach Wilson we trust.”

Follow reporter Evan Hoopfer on Twitter @EvanHoopfer.