Prairie View A&M wants to get its kicks

By RONNIE TURNER, Houston Chronicle

Closer look at Prairie View A&M

At times, kickers and punters might seem like the least important players in football, but don't dare tell that to Prairie View A&M coach Henry Frazier III.

Frazier learned just how important kickers and punters are when he lost his before the start of the 2006 season.

Kicker Mario Sanchez, who set the Prairie View freshman record with 13 field goals in 2005, fell victim to academic ineligibility. Punter Eric Hernandez, a three-time All-Southwestern Athletic Conference performer and 2004 All-American, suffered a quadriceps injury and missed the first few weeks of the season.

Sanchez never played and Hernandez failed to regain full form, leaving the Panthers unable to make clutch field goals or win the field-position battle late in games.

That deficiency proved costly as Prairie View stumbled to a 3-7 finish, losing five games by seven points or less.

"When you lose your All-American punter and kicker, you're in trouble because they kick the ball off," Frazier said. "(Last season), we had teams starting at the 35-yard line (or better), and then once we got (the ball) on their side of the 30, we couldn't kick field goals. (Losing Sanchez and Hernandez) had a major impact on (our season)."

'Sense of urgency'

Hoping to avoid a similar crisis this season, Frazier signed three kickers and punters, including freshmen Brady Faggard and Kyle Mathews, and a long snapper to add much-needed depth in the kicking game.

Frazier hopes Faggard and Mathews, combined with a steady rushing attack and dominant defense, will help propel the Panthers to their first winning season since 1976.

"You can see this sense of urgency in the workouts," said Frazier, who is 11-21 in three seasons at Prairie View. "There was an urgency in 7-on-7 (passing drills), and urgency in spring ball. You can sense when a team is trying to turn the corner, and that's why we're so excited about this upcoming year."

Frazier has plenty of reasons to be excited about his defense, which returns seven starters. Last season, the Panthers allowed a SWAC-low 266 yards per game, which ranked 10th-lowest in the nation among 114 Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) schools. Prairie View also finished tied with three other teams for 11th-highest in turnovers forced (27).

"When I first got here (in 2004), we were 116th in the country (in total defense), so we moved up 106 slots," Frazier said. "We have some pretty good ballplayers."

The defense appears solid, but the offense remains below average. Last season, the Panthers led the SWAC in rushing offense (180.3 yards per game), but the passing game produced a paltry 69.2 yards per game, worst in the SWAC and 113th in the nation. The Panthers' 260.1 total yards per game average ranked 111th in the nation.

Frazier hopes the return of senior quarterbacks Chris Gibson and Mark Spivey will spark an improvement. After an injury-plagued 2006 campaign, Gibson, the projected starter, enters camp healthy, with Spivey ready to step in if needed.

The Panthers played musical chairs at quarterback last season, but Frazier wants to solidify the position with a consistent performer and leader.

Becoming the team leader

Gibson believes he can be that guy.

"I worked real hard last season and during the offseason, studying film, getting comfortable with my coaches and having a better understanding of the game," Gibson said. "During this time, I was more vocal and more of a leader."

It has been a long time since the Panthers have been serious contenders for the SWAC championship, but they're hoping this season will be different.

"If we could bring this championship back home (to Prairie View), it would mean so much to me, the team, the community and everyone that supports us," Gibson said.