Pitt’s Graessle a powerful leg up on the competition

If you want a cool, calm guy, Adam Graessle is your man. It only helps that he has a cannon… If you want a cool, calm guy, Adam Graessle is your man. It only helps that he has a cannon for a leg.

The 6-4 senior, majoring in marketing, averaged 42.8 yards per punt after two full seasons as Pitt’s starting punter. He’s dropped 50 punts and counting inside the 20-yard line including the seven games this season, not to mention he’s forced 45 touchbacks in his kickoff-specialist duties.

The Dublin, Ohio, native comes from Dublin Coffman High School, a program that produced Brady Quinn, a frontrunner in the 2006 Heisman Trophy race, and Chris Quinn, a rookie playing for the NBA Champion Miami Heat.

In the thick of the football season, as expectations rise for Graessle, faith still always come first.

“God’s grace gave me this ability,” Graessle says. “And I believe this is what he intends for me, so I’ll keep pursuing it.”

But according to his father Fred, Adam’s dedication and drive also keep him motivated and goal-oriented.

“During Adam’s childhood in a western suburb of Chicago, he had a strong leg and athletic ability,” Fred Graessle said. “He would spend hours drilling a soccer ball against our wooden fence, honing his soccer skills. I ended up having to replace a bunch of those panels on that fence.”

It’s that dedication that took Adam to the top of the Big East in punting and kickoffs. It’s that drive that could lead him all the way to the National Football League.

“Well, I’d say first that getting to the NFL will take a lot of hoping and praying,” Graessle said in his typical modest nature. “I just have to keep working hard and hopefully it pays off.”

It typically takes kickers and punters a few years to find full-time work in the NFL. In some cases, teams drop kick specialists weekly. But that’s something that Graessle expects and is more than willing to work through.

“[Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt] wanted to help improve my technique to get me ready for the next level,” Graessle said. “So I spent the whole summer working on aiming and placing kicks, getting punts off quicker, basically working on my all-around effectiveness.”

According to Wannstedt, Graessle did plenty in the offseason to prepare himself for a third straight successful season punting the ball.

“With all the things he’s doing, I think he has a chance to kick at the next level,” Wannstedt said in an Aug. 22 press conference.

With so much pressure on Pitt’s football program, Fred Graessle remains impressed with his son’s ability to stay calm and focused.

“He is such an even-keel guy,” Fred Graessle said. “He never gets down on himself after a bad kick, but he also never gets too excited over a good one either. He’s just very straightforward and confident in his own way.”

It all started with soccer. According to Fred, Adam always dominated youth soccer leagues. His parents knew they had an athlete on their hands.

“When we moved back into the Columbus area, Adam immediately made one of the best select soccer clubs in the area after just one tryout,” Fred Graessle said. “Then in his freshman year in high school, his soccer coach sought out the freshman football coach, asked him if they needed a kicker, and Adam joined the team.

“Early that season, Adam hit a 42-yard field goal and things started clicking for him.”

Graessle made second-team All-Ohio his senior year of high school, finishing his career with 29 field goals and 49 kickoffs for touchbacks. Punting didn’t come into play until his team’s starting punter was injured.

And in his junior and senior year, Graessle averaged 42.1 yards per punt, not to mention he broke the school record with a 77-yard punt.

Pitt started recruiting him when it realized there was a punting void to be filled. In his first year at Pitt, Adam took on the kickoff duties, and forced 29 touchbacks while earning Special Teams Player of the Game honors from the coaching staff.

Three years later, Graessle is midway through his senior year, averaging 41.7 yards per punt without a single one blocked. But despite all the gaudy numbers, Adam says he’s just doing his thing.

“I just go out and have fun,” Graessle said. “I’m honored to be part of this program and going about my business.”

With five games left in the 2006 campaign, Graessle still has a chance to break Pitt’s top all-time career punting average. And with plenty of years still in front of him, Graessle’s focus will calmly stay on one game, one day at a time.