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Cole Tracy rectifies LSU's kicking game with record-tying effort

ARLINGTON (Texas) — Ed Orgeron took his fair share of criticism when LSU utilized a scholarship on a graduate transfer kicker last December.

It could’ve been a quarterback, or a running back, or a cornerback.

Instead, Orgeron flaunted his intuition. Just as he loaded up on defensive linemen and brought in a pair of junior college offensive linemen — who both saw the majority of snaps on the right side in the season opener — the coach knew he needs to fix his kicking game in a hurry.

Insert Cole Tracy, one of the nation’s premier placekickers at the Division II level. Tracy, a California native, played his college ball on the other side of the county — in Worcester, Mass. — where he captured the 2017 Fred Mitchell Award after leading his division in fields (27) and field-goal percentage (.931).

That success translated seamlessly to the next level when Tracy, who isn’t known for revealing much emotion, drilled four field goals, including a school record-tying 54-yarder extend LSU’s lead by 30 in the waning minutes of the third quarter in the season opener.

Alas, a smile cracked.

“I’m pretty reserved,” Tracy said after the Tigers 33-17 victory over No. 8 Miami. “The other kickers kind of joke with me that I don’t show enough emotion. After (my kicker), I was looking back. That’s the emotion they were looking for. I’m just having fun and enjoying it.”

Tracy had to prove his value to more than just the public who didn’t see the need for the Tigers to use one of 25 allotted scholarships on a graduate kicker. He, too, has his doubts.

In addition to four made field goals — a 43-yarder to get the scoring going, the record-tier and a pair from 21 yards out — Tracy connected on all three extra-point attempts, good for 15 of LSU’s 33 points on the evening. The justification he sought had finally arrived.

“When I signed, I knew that I’d have to make some big kicks this year,” he admitted. “This has been a game I’ve been looking forward to since the second I signed. Actually, since I got my release papers. I’ve had a lot of time to think about it and I’m glad that it worked out the way it did.”

Tracy’s leg looked the part throughout the spring and during fall camp. The new leg in town was a perfect 3-for-3 in the team’s first pre-season scrimmage. Orgeron wasted no time anointing Tracy as LSU’s starter before he did Joe Burrow, Kristian Fulton or Adrian Magee.

Practice is one thing; games are another, but there was nothing lacking about the Tigers’ special teams unit in their upset of the Hurricanes.

“We had confidence in Cole,” Orgeron said, “and we’ve seen the same thing in practice. But, obviously, he had to do it in a game, and he did it. We believe in Cole. And I wish I had him for more than one year.”

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