For Ferrara, kicking woes go deeper

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Nick Ferrara walked onto BB&T Field in the third quarter Saturday at Wake Forest with an opportunity to both salvage a stalled drive and move past a missed first-quarter field goal.

But when Ferrara lined up for the 36-yarder that would tie the game at 10, he again pushed it wide right. The Demon Deacons got the ball, the momentum and, soon enough, a 31-10 victory.

It was befitting of an inconsistent season for the Terps' kicker, who this year moved on from his kickoff specialist duties to become the team's No. 1 option on kickoffs, field goals and punts.

For every step forward — his game-winning field goal on Labor Day against Miami, his days of booming punts — there have been a hanful of forgettable moments.

His kickoffs have been suspect as part of a porous kickoff coverage unit all season, and the Terps check in at No. 117 among 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in return yardage allowed.

His punting, once a bright spot on a disappointing Terps team, has grown wildly inconsistent, and he netted just 15 yards on a first-quarter punt Saturday.

After missing two of three field-goal attempts against the Demon Deacons, Ferrara has converted just 63.2 percent of his field goals and just four of nine attempts from 30 yards or longer. Ferrara ranks ninth in the ACC in field-goal percentage.

As he has several times this season, coach Randy Edsall attempted to explain Ferrara's struggles after Saturday's game. And, as he repeatedly has, Edsall said the problems have nothing to do with physical ability.

"This is the frustrating thing about coaching," Edsall said. "The young man's trying so hard, he hurts himself, and he wants to do so well, and I told him, ‘Just relax. You've got a good leg, you're a good kicker, you're a good punter. Just relax.' After I did that, he started going out and booming punts.

"It's like I've got to lay him down on the couch before the game and talk to him and just keep reminding him. He's his own worst enemy."

The frustrating part Saturday for Edsall and the Terps, though, was seeing Ferrara again demonstrate the potential he first showed in his freshman season in 2009, when he knocked down 18 field goals and converted 70 percent of his attempts from 40 yards and out.

Late in the third quarter, mere minutes from his second missed field goal of the game, Edsall again called on the junior, this time for a 42-yard attempt.

He striped it through the middle of the uprights for his longest field goal of the season, only adding to the confusion surrounding Ferrara's struggles.

Reminiscent of his team, the talent appears to be there.

But just like the Terps, there just doesn't seem to be an answer to Ferrara's inconsistency.

"You kind of don't talk to the kicker," defensive tackle Joe Vellano said. "You don't want to get into his head, especially for Nick. All eyes on him, and he wants to kick as good as he can."

cwalsh@umdbk.com