Why Tennessee kicker is still perplexed at how Lane Kiffin tried to ice him

Lane Kiffin called a timeout.

Then he smirked and called another.

Finally, he took his final timeout as Tennessee fans booed throughout Neyland Stadium.

All the while, UT kicker Chase McGrath enjoyed the idea that Kiffin was trying to ice him.

“I remember the Ole Miss game when Lane Kiffin iced me. Whenever they ice me, I kind of laugh because now I have more time to lock in and visualize what’s about to happen,” McGrath said Friday.

“I remember all the Ole Miss players ran off yelling at me. I was kind of looking for Kiffin (to say), ‘What was that?’ ”

Last October, Kiffin used all three timeouts with two seconds remaining in the first half to try to rattle McGrath before a 39-yard field goal attempt. It didn’t work, as he lined the football through the uprights to finish the half.

Six months later, the sequence still makes McGrath laugh.

“That was the longest I’ve ever been out on the (football) field for a kick,” he said. “It was like 10 minutes.”

McGrath, a 23-year-old Southern Cal transfer, will return for his super senior season with the Vols. He’s a valuable piece as a dependable veteran kicker who’s made 43 of 56 field goals in his career, including 12 of 16 with UT last season.

McGrath doesn’t believe icing him with timeouts has a negative impact on his kicks. He values preparation and steadiness before a kick, and Kiffin gave him more of both.

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“I don’t know how other people handle it. But for me, I love it,” McGrath said. “I’ve been iced many times in my career, and I think of it as having extra time to walk in, visualize (the kick) and be out in the field where I’m about to kick it. I can go through my technique.

“Maybe it messes with some kickers. I don’t really think the icing has much of an effect on the outcome.”

McGrath was wide right on a 49-yard missed field goal in the third quarter of that same Ole Miss game, which the Vols lost 31-26. Kiffin didn’t try to ice him on that one.

How Josh Heupel tries to rattle Chase McGrath

In the Music City Bowl, McGrath made a 30-yard field goal. But he was short on a potential game-winning 56-yard field goal at the end of regulation that would’ve been the longest of his career. The Vols lost 48-45 to Purdue in overtime.

“That’s definitely one you’d like to have back. But I’ve been in situations like that before, and I’m going to be in situations like that again,” McGrath said. “That’s just part of the job. As a kicker, you live for those moments. I’m excited for this season because I know there are going to be more scenarios like that.”

Since icing apparently doesn’t rattle McGrath, UT coach Josh Heupel has tried other methods. But McGrath has reacted the same to his attempts as he did Kiffin.

“Before I take my steps, (Heupel) will bump into me and be like, ‘Oh, sorry’ ” McGrath said. “He tries to get in my head, but I just kind of laugh and then kick it.”

Reach Adam Sparks at adam.sparks@knoxnews.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why Chase McGrath is still puzzled at how Lane Kiffin tried to ice him