Kicking the past

[DKW 86 7,425]

http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/birmingha....xml&coll=2

Kicking the past

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

CHARLES GOLDBERG

News staff writer

AUBURN --

They keep marching him back, and John Vaughn keeps kicking them through.

Forty-four yards. Fifty-two yards. Fifty-five yards.

All three field goals were career bests, all three field goals came in the last two games and all three field goals tell a story of perseverance.

John Vaughn, the man who suffered through one of the worst nights in Auburn football history a year ago, is red hot and has a chance to even the score against the team that could have done in a player with less resolve.

No. 3 Auburn will play host to No. 6 LSU in Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday afternoon, and nobody knows it better than Vaughn.

"I guess you could say I've had it circled on the calendar for a while," he says.

Maybe other players would be hiding from Saturday. Not Vaughn.

He wants to redeem himself from the night when he missed five of six field goal tries in a 20-17 overtime loss. In many ways he already has redeemed himself. It was Vaughn, just three weeks after that nightmare night in Baton Rouge, who kicked the game-winning field goal with just six seconds left to beat Georgia. It was Vaughn who kicked four field goals in the first half against Washington State in the season-opener. And it was Vaughn who kicked the fourth-longest field goal in school history from 55 yards out last week against Mississippi State.

What has happened to Vaughn?

"I worked with him all summer. That's why they pay me the big bucks," deadpanned Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville.

But Tuberville doesn't work with Vaughn. Nobody much does. Kickers and their centers and holders lead a solitary life, even on the practice field. They may be called in at the end of practice so everybody can learn to block or so they'll feel some pressure, or they may show up at the start of practice for punting drills. But for the most part, they work alone.

At least that's the way it appears. But when Vaughn missed those kicks in Baton Rouge, Auburn players were there for him. He rewarded their faith with the winning kick against Georgia. This season? He's already hit six of seven tries. The most he's ever kicked in a season is 12.

Auburn linebacker and elder statesman Karibi Dede is impressed.

"If you've ever seen a player have a bad game, they can take it for a career almost," Dede said. "To see him bounce back and rebuild his confidence the way he did and come into this season with his confidence as high as it is, it's great to see."

Facing his past:

Vaughn says his leg is stronger. Maybe it is as strong as his resolve. In any case, he says he's lost some weight, gained some flexibility and benefited from spending the offseason with kicking specialists.

Suddenly, the ball is flying.

"I've never had a real strong leg. I always thought I had to kill them to get them out there far," Vaughn said. "Now, if I just hit it solid, it will go."

Straight, too.

And now Vaughn is heading straight into his past and the inevitable questions about last year's game.

"It doesn't bother me at all. It's been a long time since then, and I've played a lot of games," Vaughn said.

It's easier now. Then, "I felt like I let everybody down."

He missed on kicks of 37, 39, 41, 49 and 54 yards. Tuberville said afterward that maybe somebody else should have tried the longest of the kicks. Maybe he was right. Vaughn didn't connect on a single kick longer than 39 yards last season. And he was trying three from more than 40?

"So many people look at it and say this game or that game is on a kicker," Dede said. "I think people forget there was a whole game played before those one or two kicks at the end."

In hindsight, Tuberville may have just been ahead of his times in letting Vaughn try from so far out. Vaughn hit one from 44 in the opener, and what about those two from more than 50?

Special teams coach Eddie Gran saw it coming. Vaughn hit 86 percent of his kicks in preseason practice. Those four first-half field goals in the season-opener were just more of the same.

"Technique. Just technique. Just his approach. Where his plant foot is. His first step. There are a lot of things he tweaked over the summer," Gran said.

Vaughn's confidence never seemed to be a problem. Gran's confidence in Vaughn didn't waiver, either. After LSU, he sent his kicker out the very next week against Ole Miss.

"He was 2-for-2, right down the middle. And 6-for-7 after that. He did what he was supposed to do," Gran said.

Vaughn, in fact, has hit 10 of his last 12 tries since LSU.

"When you get kicked down like that, you've got to bounce back," Vaughn said. "Anybody can stay down. I just try to do my part and pull my weight. Last year wasn't good enough. I just tried to bounce back, and my teammates wrapped their arms around me and made my job a lot easier."

Tuberville is more trusting, too.

When Vaughn missed on a 50-yard attempt against Mississippi State - but got a second chance when Auburn was called for delay of game - he talked Tuberville into letting him try from 55 instead of turning the ball over to designated long kicker Matt Clark.

"`I can kick it that far,'" Tuberville said of the conversion. "If he feels good about it, then we'll let him go."

And now Vaughn is back with a second chance against LSU.

"I just want to help my team, if that means kicking 57 or 27. It's just what I'm called on to do."

[quietfan 233]

"I worked with him all summer. That's why they pay me the big bucks," deadpanned Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville.

...and worth every penny!

[SKCAUB 0]

I like that Tubs...he's a funny guy.