By A. Stacy Long, Montgomery Advertiser
Alex Engram was in the middle of a postgame meal when Alabama State coach Reggie Barlow signaled for him to come over.
Engram hurriedly went to Barlow and found out he was going to use more than his arms on the football within the next week.
You can use your leg, too.
Just like that, ASU's backup quarterback learned he was about to try punting, though he had no experience and -- at that moment -- no desire to do so.
"When he told me, I really didn't know what to think," Engram said. "I always like to throw it. I've never liked to kick it."
A week later, Engram's enthusiasm now includes kicking. He averaged more than 42 yards per kick in ASU's win over Alcorn State last weekend, had two late 50-yard punts that helped hold off the Braves and has won the Southwestern Athletic Conference's weekly special teams award.
Engram showed he has some leg, too.
"Alex can do it all," running back Jay Peck said. "I'm telling you, he'll run it, throw it, he'll kick it now, catch it. It's good to have somebody like that.
You can put him anywhere and expect positive things out of him.
"Who knows what he'll do next week?"
ASU (4-0, 3-0 SWAC) faces Southern (4-0, 2-0) on Saturday afternoon at Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium and Engram's duties give the Hornets options in apparently obvious punting situations.
"Now, teams know I can be a threat to kick it," Engram said. "They'll be more focused on the punt return. Now, we might try to sneak a little something in there."
Engram's first punt caught many of his teammates unprepared.
Linebacker Michael Figgers was in on the secret, but let those standing nearby enjoy their naiveté for a few extra seconds. Their excitement over a potential fake was soon eclipsed by a punt's surprise.
"He had an excellent punt," Figgers said. "The ball went way farther than I thought. It kind of shocked me, for real. I had to look back for a second because it was a great punt."
Figgers first watched Engram punt in practice and his initial thoughts were that the Hornets were working on a fake that involved Engram. Like a rubbernecker driving past a car accident, Figgers kept watching to see the trickery unveiled, but soon was disappointed.
"The first two times they snapped it to him, he didn't do anything with it, so I still thought they were working on a fake," Figgers said. "The next two times, he kicked it. We kept going and he kept kicking. I thought, 'Is he the punter?'"
Engram uses a rugby-style kick where he takes a few steps to his right -- which can easily look like a fake at first -- before kicking.
The junior's initial goals against Alcorn were simple. No blocks.
"We didn't have any expectations," Engram said. "We just wanted to get the ball out of there. It's great that the numbers were good, but we didn't have any expectations."
Engram caught ASU coaches' attention when the Hornets were considering a quick kick out of the usual shotgun formation. Engram said he unleashed an unexpected rocket and, a few weeks later, was getting called over by Barlow.
A 42-yard average later, Engram's a sudden star.
"Did we get more than we thought we would?" ASU special teams coordinator Brian Williams said. "Yes, but it's another added weapon to our team."
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