Talking about who will be Nebraska's kicker in the fall is about as compelling as watching FieldTurf settle in Memorial Stadium.
After all, everyone already knows it'll be the guy who made 19 field goals in 23 tries for the Big Red in 2005, the guy who broke the school record for field goals in a season and earned Freshman All-America honors.
Barring injury, it'll be Jordan Congdon.
The coaches know it. So do Cornhusker fans and players. Heck, even the Nebraska 2006 Spring Guide says the sophomore has ``a firm grasp on Nebraska's top kicking job.''
But ask Congdon and the San Diego native gives a modest - and politically correct - answer.
``No matter what, you have to go out there and do your best or they're going to put another guy in,'' Congdon said. ``After (last) season, everything starts new and you're only as good as your next game or your next practice, so everything's a clean slate and everybody has the same opportunities.''
This spring, sophomore Jake Wesch and redshirt freshman Jordan Alegria are practicing at the place kicker position with Congdon, though even Alegria acknowledged he was working with a mentality of earning the backup spot.
``Jordan's a great kicker, and we've just got to try and push him even further,'' Alegria said. ``We just need to do our best to push him to get better, and if something happens, we'll be there to back him up.''
So far the only thing that's happened has been Congdon taking and making a steady diet of field goals - he kicks between 30 and 40 each practice - along with working toward potential kickoff duties.
Congdon said he has worked on a few trouble areas since the offseason began at the end of December, namely striving to keep his head down through a kick and increasing the height of each attempt.
The 2005 second-team All-Big 12 member said he has noticed a big difference in ball height in the spring and has also seen his accuracy and kicking range increase.
``Distance has been coming slowly - no big jumps - but I feel comfortable from 50 (yards) and in,'' Congdon said. ``I just have a lot of confidence right now, and that's just helped with having a good season last year and how the team did.''
Alegria said he's happy with his accuracy inside 40 yards and has improved his leg strength over the winter but still wasn't satisfied with his overall distance and ball height.
Furthermore, Alegria said, he and Wesch have to improve markedly before either would challenge Congdon for the starting job.
``He did a great job last year, and he's carrying it over into this year,'' Congdon said. ``There are still some things we need to work on to get up to his level.
``He's in his own field right now, and we need to try our best to get up there with him.''
Nebraska kickers don't alter their routines for spring ball - they practice kicking year round - but they've benefited from the live scrimmaging in the spring practices in March.
Because all seven practices thus far have been held inside the new Hawks Championship Center, though, the closest thing to a swirling wind Congdon and his competitors have kicked into is the ventilation system, which circulates air into the facility through ducts near the roof.
``The ventilation catches the balls up high, and it's a lot more of a dry atmosphere and the ball just dies,'' Alegria said. ``We still need to go outside and deal with the wind - that's a completely different story.''
But outdoors or not, Congdon and Co. are practicing techniques and timing with snappers and holders because they believe the end result - whether it's a field goal or an extra point - is the most important thing in a game or in practice.
``I'm never happy unless I'm perfect,'' Congdon said. ``If I come out and kick by myself, I want to make every kick, and that's how it is fall, spring, all year.''
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