Cal Sports Report

Will Ryan Coe or Freshman Derek Morris Be Cal’s Kicker on Saturday?

Bears coach Justin Wilcox is considering making a change after Coe has struggled this season

Jake Curtis

Cal kicker Ryan Coe
Cal kicker Ryan Coe / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
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Cal’s agonizing 17-15 loss to nationally ranked Pitt on Saturday could be attributed to several things, but one obvious reason was this: Pitt’s place-kicker was better than Cal’s place-kicker.

And it’s possible Cal will have a new person doing the place-kicking on Saturday against North Carolina State. Cal coach Justin Wilcox is considering replacing Ryan Coe with true freshman kicker Derek Morris, although that has yet to be determined.

When asked who the Bears’ place-kicker will be this week, Wilcox said, “Day-to-day right now. That’s a great question, but it is very much a competition. . . . We’ll see how it goes and make a decision later in the week.”

Coe’s problems have been a surprise. He is in his sixth year as a college kicker, made 81.5% of his field goal attempts the past two seasons and wowed observers with his accuracy and range during Cal’s practices.

However, he has struggled during Cal games.

He has made only 7-of-14 field goal attempts this season, and more troublesome is that five of his misses have been from 40 yards or less. And his missed 40-yard attempt with 1:50 remaining prevented Cal from taking the lead against Pitt.

Meanwhile, Pitt kicker Ben Sauls is 10-for-10 on field-goal attempts this season, including 3-for-3 from 50 yards or longer.  His 58-yard field goal in the second quarter provided the Panthers’ final points and gave them a 17-6 lead.

Wilcox said the protection, snap and hold on Cal’s field-goal attempts have been fine, and he seemed perplexed by Coe’s troubles.

“Ryan’s a very talented young man,” Wilcox said. “He’s put it on tape before. We’ve seen it up close before. This is a difficult one, because he does have the ability, he does have the talent. He has seen it and shown it before.”

The coach has to be careful with his words because doesn’t want to destroy Coe’s confidence if he remains Cal’s kicker.

What makes the field-goal problems particularly unexpected is that Ryan Longwell, a former Cal punter and place-kicker who made 434 field goals in 16 NFL seasons, was hired by Cal as an onfield kicking adviser this year.

“We’ve got Ryan Longwell here who knows more about kicking and punting and snapping than most anyone out there,” Wilcox said.

It’s the second year in a row that kicking problems have cost the Bears.  Last year, Michael Luckhurst was impressive in practice, but was just 3-for-9 on field goals to start the season. He missed attempts from 42, 42 and 44 yards in the 14-10 loss to Auburn that may have cost Cal that game.

Luckhurst was replaced early in the season by Mateen Bhaghani, who went 8-for-9 on field goal attempts, but transferred to UCLA after the season and has made 10-of-11 field goals for the Bruins this season.

This year first-year player Morris may be the replacement. 

Morris, who is from Franklin, Ohio, also had offers from Army and Navy before choosing Cal last January.

Wilcox said of Morris is “very much a part” of the competition to determine Cal’s place-kicker for Saturday.

“He’s done a good job since he’s been here,” Wilcox said of Morris. “He has talent so we’ll let those guys compete.”

However, as we have seen, competing in practice is not the same and making clutch kicks in a game.

Coe’s 2023 season at North Carolina was cut short when he suffered a groin injury in the second game. Later in that game, Coe missed a 39-yard field goal attempt on the last play of the fourth quarter with the scored tied. Presumably that injury, which sidelined him for several weeks, affected the kick.

The Tar Heels eventually lost that game to Appalachian State in double overtime and Coe did not attempt another kick for North Carolina.

Now he is healthy and battling for the job at Cal

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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