Virginia Tech is hoping it won’t have to punt often in this week’s matchup with ECU, but just in case, A.J. Hughes is getting his leg ready.
The Hokies’ punter, who is currently averaging about 42 yards per punt this season, showed off his skills on Twitter today, booming a long punt from the practice field, over the Virginia Tech scoreboard, and into the stadium.
— AJ Hughes (@AJ_HughesVT) September 24, 2015
Practice can get a little dull for the specialists, so they’ve made a habit of finding interesting tricks to keep them entertained -- everything from punt-golf to booting balls downfield and trying to land them in dumpsters. When Virginia Tech opened its indoor facility earlier this year, head coach Frank Beamer promised a scholarship to anyone who could boot a punt off the roof. Hughes, who was already on scholarship, did it the first day after the turf was laid down, even lodging one ball in the rafters.
“I don’t know if [Beamer] was mad or pleasantly surprised,” Hughes said.
The scoreboard is relatively new for Virginia Tech, too. It was installed after the 2013 season, and it is among the largest in the country -- standing 110 feet off the ground at its highest point. Until this week, Hughes hadn’t thought much about it, but during a lull in practice, the idea wormed its way into his head.
“It was halfway through practice, and I looked up at the scoreboard, and it was almost inviting me to kick a ball over it,” he said.
It only took two attempts before Hughes got it over the scoreboard, and the reaction from his teammates was ecstatic.
“I don’t know why I hadn’t tried it before,” Hughes said.