Ewald gets career kicked into gear

It is a kicker’s worst nightmare.

A return man races up the field with a full head of steam, and the only thing stopping him from a touchdown is the kicker. The kicker is merely a pebble on the road. The returner has all the momentum, and all the kicker has is a prayer.

Redshirt freshman kicker Mitch Ewald lived that reality on Oct. 16 against Arkansas State.

Besides his normal kicking duties, Ewald prevented three potential kickoff touchdown returns with a tackle or a redirected stop.

“He was huge,” co-special teams coordinator George Ricumstrict said. “He did what you’d hope he’d do. He didn’t shy away, he stood in there and took his shots and really saved touchdowns.”

Unlike many kickers, Ewald has experience tackling ball carriers. When Ewald was at Waubonsie Valley High School in Naperville, Ill., he kicked and played safety. In his senior year, he injured his shoulder playing defense in the season opener.

But an injured shoulder didn’t slow Ewald down.

Instead, he earned all-state honors and was named a captain of the High School All-American Bowl. Ewald was the No. 3-ranked high school kicker in America according to Rivals.com and was IU’s highest-rated recruit in the 2009 class.

When former kicker Austin Starr graduated, Ewald was pinned in to start as a true freshman. But before Ewald could start in his first game, he suffered an oblique injury that sidelined him for close to a month.

To prevent risking further injury, Ewald elected to redshirt his freshman year.

“That was a huge setback for me,” Ewald said. “Once I finally got healthy, I had to do whatever I could to get my confidence back.”

Ewald worked his way back into the mix this offseason, competing with redshirt sophomore Nick Freeland for the starting job. Freeland earned the start for the Hoosiers’ season opener against Towson.

But Ewald caught a break when Freeland went down with a hip injury after the Towson game. Freeland’s injury meant Ewald would get his first career collegiate start at Western Kentucky.

After going almost a year and a half since his last start, Ewald was determined to get started on the right foot.

That did not happen.

On his first kick, Ewald missed wide on a 38-yard field goal.

“That was the worst thing ever,” Ewald said. “I remember coming back to the sidelines and saying ‘I wish I could just take that back.’”

With the IU offense averaging 34.2 points per game with 25 touchdowns this season, IU coach Bill Lynch has not needed to call on Ewald much this season for field goals.

Prior to Saturday’s game, Ewald had attempted two field goals since his first-kick miss at Western Kentucky. He converted on both of those attempts, as well as converting 16-of-16 on extra points.

While Ewald has not been needed much to kick field goals, Lynch noticed the improvement of his young kicker.

“Each week he has gotten better,” Lynch said. “As we’ve gone on, we’ve certainly developed a lot of confidence in him.”

His confidence in Ewald delivered on Oct. 16.

A struggling IU offense meant Ewald would get his opportunity. Ewald chipped in a 20-yard field goal to give IU its first score after the offense stalled on the field.

Another IU drive started with good field position in the second quarter but did not end in the end zone. Instead, Ewald converted again with a 34-yard field goal, narrowing Arkansas State’s lead to 7-6.

With the Hoosiers clinging to a 19-14 lead, Lynch called on Ewald one more time. Ewald faced a 46-yard field goal, his career-long as a Hoosier.

If Ewald did not make it, Arkansas State would take possession with a chance to take a fourth-quarter lead.

Ewald said it was the most pressure he had experienced in his young career.

“It was my first long attempt of my career here, so I was a little nervous going into it, so I chunked the turf a little bit, and I couldn’t get all of the ball,” Ewald said. “I didn’t know for sure if it was going to make it, but I had a good feeling that it would.”

By the slimmest of margins, Ewald’s kick had enough leg to get over the crossbar.

The late field goal gave IU a 22-14 lead.

But the Hoosiers needed one more big play from the kicker.

IU had just scored on a 65-yard touchdown pass to take a 36-27 lead with 7:46  to play.  

On the kickoff, Arkansas State returner Roderick Hall broke loose. The only thing between him and a one-possession game was Ewald. Just like he did as a high school safety, Ewald tackled Hall at IU’s 36-yard line.    

“To be honest, in a moment like that it just comes down to my instincts,” Ewald said. “It’s actually really fun for me because we don’t get to do that kind of stuff in practice.”

It was the end to a career day for Ewald. Without Ewald’s three field goals and efforts in the return game, the Hoosiers 36-34 win might have been a different outcome.

Having performances such as that is what the IU coaching staff has been looking forward to since Ewald committed to IU.

“This is what we hoped and expected when we recruited him,” Ricumstrict said. “I think he just needed a year to get stronger and mature, and he’s proven that he’s capable.”