Kansas State football kicker Ty Zentner 'crushing the ball' with newfound confidence

MANHATTAN — By the time Ty Zentner attempted a 53-yard field goal at the end of the first half last Saturday at West Virginia, there was no doubt in his mind it would be good.

For one thing, he hadn't missed all year, but more importantly, he had made that same kick with room to spare just a few seconds earlier.

Such was Zentner's confidence during Kansas State's 48-31 victory over the Mountaineers, that when they tried to ice him with a timeout, he went ahead and kicked it anyway.

"I was back in the back of my steps, and I was kind of getting ready to give Jack (Blumer, the holder) the signal and I heard the whistle, so I knew it was (a) timeout," Zentner said. "I just said to Jack, 'Snap it.' Shoutout to him and Randen (Plattner, the long snapper) for operating cleanly, and I was able to get the kick off.

"I came up the next time and was able to adjust my angle off that first kick and it helped a lot."

While Zentner had made similar kicks countless times in practice, the 53-yarder was by far his longest in a game situation. Heck, so was his 46-yard make just two-plus minutes earlier.

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"He's been crushing the ball in every aspect right now," said K-State coach Chris Klieman of Zentner, the super-senior kicker from Topeka in his fourth year with the Wildcats. "He's punting the ball well and he's kicking the ball on field goals with such confidence and authority."

How Ty Zentner became a triple threat as K-State kicker

Zentner, who came to K-State after two years at Butler Community College, had attempted just one field goal as a Wildcat before this season. That was a miss from 54 yards in the Jan. 4 Texas Bowl win over LSU, where he was pressed into duty when regular kicker Chris Tennant was unavailable.

Zentner made all six of his extra point attempts that game, but was back to his regular kickoff and punting duties this fall. That is, until Tennant struggled with accuracy and Klieman opened the competition back up.

Zentner officially became a triple threat starting with the Oklahoma State game on Oct. 29, when he kicked six extra points, plus field goals of 23 and 29 yards in the Wildcats' 48-0 blowout victory. He's been perfect ever since, drilling all seven field goal tries and 19 point-after attempts.

"I call him Legatron," said K-State running back Deuce Vaughn. "I've called him Legatron for a very, very long time now, and he took over kicking responsibility as a placement kicker and man, he's doing an unbelievable job.

"We know whenever we cross that 50-yard line, it's almost for sure 3 points."

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Kansas State kicker previously known more for accuracy than range

Prior to the West Virginia game, Zentner won the job more for his accuracy than his range. In fact, Klieman had said at the time that he might go with Tennant on longer kicks.

Zentner's previous career-long was 44 yards as a Butler freshman in 2017. His longest as a Wildcat was a 31-yarder at Baylor.

Klieman clearly had been easing Zentner into the job, knowing that having one man kicking off, punting and handling placements is increasingly rare in today's era of specialization.

"He does all three, and he's doing them all really well," Klieman said. "That's hard to do."

Klieman has had a kicker do all three before. Ben LeCompte, who currently works with the Ahearn Fund at K-State, did so when both were at North Dakota State.

"I marvel at what Ty's doing," Klieman said.

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With K-State locked in a shootout against West Virginia last week, Klieman took off the kid gloves and sent Zentner on to try a field goal from 46 yards before intermission. After that kick was true with 2:17 on the clock, he didn't hesitate in letting him try again from 53 with a slight wind at his back.

"I think it had a little bit to do with both, building confidence and just situational football," Zentner said. "Shoutout to coach Klieman for having the confidence in me to kick the first one from 46 and then the next one from 53.

"The first couple of games we didn't really have too many opportunities to kick long field goals (because) on fourth and short we usually go for it. I've been building confidence through the past couple of weeks, and with the wind — we had a slight breeze to our back heading that way — I knew that 53 I'd be able to get it there and didn't need to do anything extra."

It helps that all three components on field goals and extra points are veterans in the process. Blumer, who also serves as backup punter, and Plattner are both fifth-year seniors.

That was evident on the 53-yarder with one second left in the half against West Virginia. That strike turned it into a two-possession game at 28-19.

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"It's a little thing, but Randen and Jack and Ty have been through a ton together, and they know each other so well," Klieman said. "It's neat that those guys understand it, that (the Mountaineers) call timeout and the ball's snapped and you get a kick off and he feels good.

"It's like getting two drives on the opening tee. It's a practice for him. I thought he banged it, and then he came back and did it again."

Zentner, who last week was named as a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, also averages 43.4 yards as a punter with 20 of his 44 attempts pinning opponents inside their own 20. And 44 of his 69 kickoffs have gone for touchbacks, with the longest return against the Wildcats just 35 yards.

For Zentner, who also was a standout in soccer and basketball at Shawnee Heights High School, the West Virginia game was just one more step in his development.

"I feel with each kick I feel more and more confidence," he said. "Doing punting and kicking off kind of just adds to that.

"I feel like kicking off just helps me build that contact off the ground and it's been good."

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football kicker Ty Zentner a sure thing on field goals