MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Like most college punters, Billy Kinney is borderline anonymous outside the program. Then again, other punters don’t have to follow Nick O’Toole, a special-teams celebrity the past three seasons at West Virginia where he crushed punts and oozed personality.
Kinney doesn’t have a #Boomstache hashtag, a following of students wearing his T-shirts, or a series of “Hang Time” videos. Kinney doesn’t even a scholarship.
Whereas O’Toole was recruited across the country from California, Kinney walked on from nearby University High. That made it all the more stirring Saturday when he played in his first college game, averaging more than 45 yards on five punts.
“It was awesome,” he said, “but I really can’t describe it, because every time I went out there my mind went blank.”
Kinney discounts the notion he’ll ever be so marketable as O’Toole—“I’m just trying to focus on punting”—but he respects how hard his predecessor worked in becoming an All-Big 12 selection, and he called O’Toole a mentor.
After an inconsistent spring in which Kinney essentially worked alongside the starters by default, the arrival of scholarship recruit Jonn Young sparked a competition.
“I didn’t have a great spring, and I feel like that’s because I didn’t have anybody behind to push me,” Kinney said. “Once Jonn came in, I realized I needed to pick it and I started to get down to business.”
Against Missouri, Kinney had a long punt of 53 yards on which he dropped to the turf after being bumped on his follow-through. (No flag was forthcoming, though Kinney contends there was enough contact to warrant one.) He pinned the Tigers at their 13 with a back-spinning 38-yarder. Two other punts from 47 and 46 yards became touchbacks, lowering WVU’s net average to 37 yards.
One of those involved a miscommunication as Kinney’s unit scrambled onto the field after Dana Holgorsen pondered a fourth-and-2. The call for a pooch punt never reached Kinney, who said he only heard a teammate yell “hit it right.” He directed it to the appropriate side, though it landed several yards beyond the goal line.
“I tried to let up on it a little bit, but it was a tight spiral, so it sailed pretty easy and carried,” said Kinney.
He was only a part of the home-state tinge on special teams in West Virginia’s 26-11 victory. Long-snapper Nick Meadows of Williamstown was on target and kicker Mike Molina of Hurricane connected on all four field goals. Afterward all three families gathered at the Meadows’ camper for a late-afternoon tailgate.
Special teams coach Mark Scott, pleased by Kinney’s confidence and smooth “operation times,” called it a successful debut. Kinney remains in line to punt again this week against Youngstown State.
“It’s Billy until there’s a reason for it not to be Billy,” Scott said. “I’m really pleased with his performance.”