Ennis boots his critics

Since the Terrapin football team's fall camp, special teams coordinator Ray Rychleski has said field goals would determine crucial conference games.

Well before the kicking competition between senior Dan Ennis and sophomore Obi Egekeze was finished, Rychleski warned that whoever won the job would have to hold onto it by making field goals with the game on the line.

As the clock showed all zeros at Clemson Memorial Stadium, Rychleski's prophecy was fulfilled as Ennis' game-winner sailed through the uprights to deliver the Terps their biggest win of the season.

The kick was not only a vital moment for a team on the rise, it also marked the peak of Ennis' career which has been rife with frustration and criticism.

"It happened so fast," Ennis said. "It was a big bang, and the next thing you know it's through the uprights. And that's all I remember."

All of a sudden, it didn't matter that Ennis missed eight of his final 15 field goals down the stretch last season. Ennis' 4-for-7 performance the first month of the season and questions about who should start at kicker were moot points, more silent than the stunned Clemson crowd.

It's all part of the job description of a kicker, who must handle pressure and gentle heckling from teammates without collapsing under the weight of expectations.

"He's in a real tough position," Ennis' roommate, Sam Hollenbach, said. "He basically has one job to do. There's no margin for error, really: You miss it or you make it. He came through in the clutch."

Hollenbach said Ennis has gone through troubling times like everyone else, but when the kicker's the one struggling, there's no one else out there to take the blame. It was a different position to be in for someone who didn't play football until college and didn't attempt a field goal in a game until September 2005.

"When he got here, I'm telling you, he had trouble kicking it from the 10-yard line," coach Ralph Friedgen said. "He has worked extremely hard ... and he's really turned into a very fine kicker for us."

It was vindication as soon as the ball fluttered into the netting in front of Howard's Rock, and teammates piled onto the 158-pound Ennis, almost forcing the breath out of the senior kicker. Ennis said he guessed it would silence any remaining critics.

"Especially being in a situation where people aren't sure how secure you have the job - being in a situation in camp where you don't have a secure position of the job and people are wondering - I guess everyone's just kinda unsure about you," Ennis said. "You gain a lot of confidence in doing well and especially with a kick like that."

When Ennis turned on his cell phone on while on the team's bus after the game, he had a voicemail. It was a congratulatory message from former Terp kicker Nick Novak, Ennis' friend and mentor.

"As a kicker, you get that chance eventually to make the difference in the game. Nick said it was only a matter of time before I get that opportunity," Ennis said. "He was happy I just got the opportunity and did well with it."

However, Rychleski cautioned that a kicker is only as good as his last attempt, as that's what everybody remembers. For Novak, his last kick was a pretty good one.

In the final minute Sunday, wearing a Washington Redskins uniform, Novak missed what could have been the game-winner against the rival Dallas Cowboys. But after a blocked field goal and a face-mask penalty called on Dallas, Novak got another chance and drilled a 47-yarder for the victory.

On the field and in the locker room after the win, Novak thanked Friedgen and the Terp program and sent a shout-out to Ennis.

"Dan Ennis went through the same thing last night," Novak told reporters Sunday. "The team jumped on him, and that's just the kicker's dream."

Ennis and Rychleski were watching on television as Novak's career hung in the balance. The miss could have spelled doom for a player who has gone through similar struggles at the pro level as Ennis has with the Terps. But after Novak converted to win the game, Ennis took time out from lunch with his family to return the favor.

"I called him and left him a message, and he called me back within two minutes after kicking it," Ennis said. "He called me still in his pads. He was still in some of his gear."

The connection went even further than a series of messages, as Ennis said he and Novak spent some time Sunday driving around College Park just talking. There were smiles all over the region this weekend - and especially on the face of Rychleski, who coached Novak through his struggles and more recently helped Ennis through his progression.

While there are still plenty of chances for Ennis to perform in the clutch for the rest of this season, he's embedded the image of an evolved kicker in the minds of fans and teammates. When Ennis was still competing for the starting job, Rychleski said he got on his senior kicker a little, but Ennis had a prophecy of his own.

"He goes, 'Coach, I'm your guy.' And he meant it," Rychleski said. "I told him after the Clemson kick in the locker room, I whispered, and I said, 'You were right. You are my guy.'"

Contact reporter Stephen Whyno at whynodbk@gmail.com.