Iowa's Donahue getting his kicks
Hawkeyes' punter/kicker almost quit football as a St. Rita freshman
Ryan Donahue was going to give up football after his freshman season at St. Rita. It just wasn't for him.
That was his plan -- at least until St. Rita assistant coach J.J. Standring, a former Northwestern punter, asked Donahue if he was willing to try kicking. Donahue agreed.
Today, Donahue is glad he did. He is the starting punter for undefeated No. 7 Iowa, is on the Ray Guy Award watch list and is considered by Mel Kiper Jr. to be the top junior NFL punter prospect.
"I didn't think for a second I'd be where I am," said Donahue, whose brother Christopher is now the varsity kicker at St. Rita. "This is the last thing I thought would at all happen. It's all turned out for the best."
At St. Rita, the kicking came easier than the punting for Donahue at first. His sophomore year was a test of his patience every time he booted a ball. He was never able to get the ball to spiral and turn over the way he wanted it to.
In time, he figured it out. He would go on to set the state record for longest punt in a playoff game with a 90-yarder. He was voted all-state as a senior, named a USA Today All-American and participated in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
When it came to making a college decision, committing to Iowa was an easy one. His only other interest was from Mid-American Conference schools.
He redshirted his first year and has been the Hawkeyes' starter ever since. He punted a school-record 86 times as a freshman. He averaged 41.1 yards per punt, dropped 24 of them inside the 20 and had 15 touchbacks. As a sophomore, he punted 50 times for a 41.6 average with 19 inside the 20 and seven touchbacks.
This season he's had 38 punts for a 42.4 average with 19 inside the 20 and only three touchbacks. All his numbers this season have nearly met his list of goals, which include punting 50 percent inside the 20-yard line, beating his punting opponent in net yards, beating his opponent in average yards, no touchbacks and no shanks (which includes anything under 35 yards).
With seven of Iowa's wins this season determined by 11 or fewer points, opponents' field position after punts has been vital. Last week in the Hawkeyes' 15-13 win, Donahue either boomed his punts or pinned Michigan State inside its 20. Of his six attempts, he had four punts of 46 or more yards. The other two were purposely punted shorter and landed inside the Spartans' 20.
"No matter what we're trying to do on special teams, the punt game is very critical," Donahue said. "Whether you have ups or downs during the season, punting reflects the field position. When you look back on the numbers, you see how critical the field position is."
Having said that, Donahue doesn't ever see a punting situation as a pressure-filled one.
"Whether it's a big game or not on the national stage, all that stuff doesn't matter," Donahue said. "Going out there, it's just like any other punt. It's like any other punt in practice, but this is a game. You can't think about the TV. You can't think about the audience. You got to go out there and do your job."
Donahue will continue to do it Saturday against Indiana. At the end of the season, he hopes to be doing it in the BCS National Championship Game.
"We're going to do what we have to do," Donahue said. "There's a lot of people out there who say we can't do it even if we go undefeated. I think we're the only the top-10 team who is an underdog in a lot of our games. I think we just see it as a challenge. So far, we've risen up to that challenge. I think we're going to continue to."
Scott Powers covers high school and college sports for ESPNChicago.com and can be reached at spowers@espnchicago.com.
