By John Brice
Special Contributor
The second kick, same as the first, sailed true through the uprights on LaBar Field and, well, Blake Grupe had to walk it out a bit.
Flash some swagger as No. 5-ranked Notre Dame continued its preseason preparations Friday, a full contingent of both players’ families and media on hand for the duration of practice.
“There’s a fine line between cocky and confident,” says Grupe, the first-year Irish kicker who brings with him 64 career field goals and all-conference honors from his previous stop, Arkansas State, “and I definitely try to ride that line.
“But when you’re feeling like the man, feeling confident, you want to get out there. When you execute in that situation and the guys are all around you, I do enjoy it; I did have a little strut going on.”
No, there are no game-winning field goals kicked in mid-August.
There are, however, tone-setters and, in this instance, conditioning-absolvers.
“When you have success, and especially in that situation, where you’re getting them out of a running period, they really appreciate that; I really appreciate them,” Grupe says. “The big guys blocking, I wouldn’t be able to go out there and do my job without those guys as well. It was pretty neat to have all of them, they literally lifted me up and it was a pretty neat deal.”
Fresh off being hoisted into his teammates’ arms, Grupe also is driving up expectations for Notre Dame’s special teams with his camp performance. In addition to the two pressure-simulated kicks in this session, the 5-foot-7-3/8-inch, 156-pound Grupe owns a 53-yard make inside Notre Dame Stadium this week from the intrasquad scrimmage and other long-distance connections.
“He’s got a lot of confidence and the team really likes him; he’s done well with that,” says Irish special teams coach Brian Mason, an acquisition to his coaching staff that Marcus Freeman refers to as the best special teams coach in college football. “I want to see guys having fun. We make a big kick or handle a big situation, let’s have some fun with it.”
Neither Mason nor Grupe was in South Bend, Indiana, a year ago. Not as part of the Notre Dame program.
But shortly after Mason’s arrival and outgoing kicker Jonathan Doerer’s departure, the duo connected quite literally within hours of Grupe’s decision to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal and play a final collegiate season elsewhere as a graduate-student.
“It’s a crazy story that I’m very lucky to be a part of,” says Grupe, noting that five years ago, on the heels of all-state football and soccer selections in Missouri, his only college opportunity was to walk on at ASU. “I entered the Portal and the next day, they were actually one of the very first teams to contact me.
“After that, it was pretty much over with. There were other schools that contacted me, but I didn’t really entertain it. I knew where I wanted to go, and that was Notre Dame. I’m lucky to have this opportunity.”
Mason remembers getting background on Grupe and making the phone call as quickly as possible.
“When he went into the portal, I reached out to one of my former kickers and one of my former punters to ask about him, and they said they loved him, that he was really good at camps,” Mason says. “Reached out to a kicking coach who had a connection with (Blake) to find out more information, and it just kind of happened fast from there
“Really a timing thing, right? We were looking for somebody and he had just popped in (the Portal). It was just kind of a timing thing, the way it worked.”
Precise timing goes foot-in-foot with Grupe’s position, the element equally key to confidence and execution.
And when it works? Well, look for more scenes such as Friday’s stroll. A little Conor McGregor-esque, but not quite.
“It’s kind of just the guys respect it, and sometimes if you see my head bobbing, just know that I’m feeling it,” Grupe says. “When the guys see that you’re feeling it, then they have confidence in you that you’re going to go out there and do your job. That’s big, we feed off each other and it’s just about going out there and trying to win.
“Like Pyne in the Wisconsin game (with the strut). I don’t know if it’s to that level, but get the head bobbing and get to feeling it and I’m ready to get out there.”