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Texas Tech football: 5 unknowns that remain ahead of 2019 season

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TX - NOVEMBER 14: The Texas Tech Red Raiders take the field before the game against the Kansas State Wildcats on November 14, 2015 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 59-44. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - NOVEMBER 14: The Texas Tech Red Raiders take the field before the game against the Kansas State Wildcats on November 14, 2015 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 59-44. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
(Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /

Will the kicking game digress with a host of new kickers in place?

Could it be that Texas Tech football fans will receive only one year’s reprieve from the kicking nightmare that was the 2017 season?  After a handful of Red Raider kickers put on a comedy of errors two seasons ago, senior PK Clayton Hatifled (who was reduced to just six games in 2017 because of a hip injury) and senior punter Dominic Panazzolo were arguably the best kicking tandem in the country in 2018.

Hatfield ended his career tied for the most field goals in program history with 50.  Meanwhile, Panazzolo downed 21 punts inside the 20-yard-line, had 19 punts fair-caught and allowed only six punts to even be returned.

They were the only teammates in the nation to both be named semifinalists for their respective national awards.  But both are gone and who will replace them is yet to be seen.

Tech signed two scholarship kickers in the class of 2019.  JUCO kicker John Garibay is the most accomplished place kicker while freshman punter Austin McNamara is likely to get the first shot at punting as he was one of the nation’s top high school punters last fall.

McNmara also has designs on being a place-kicker in college so there will be a competition with Garibay.  And La Grange, TX kicker Alan Orona is also set to walk-on and compete for a job after being committed to the Kingsbury staff but not being offered a scholarship by Wells.

Last season, Tech was excellent in the kicking game ranking third in the Big 12 in net punting average (39.1 yards per kick) and tied for first in field goal percentage (89.5%).   Whether or not the Red Raiders will be that strong again this fall is a huge question mark.

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