Stanford kicker Jordan Williamson (19) misses a field goal attempt late in the fourth quarter at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on Monday, January 2, 2011. The Oklahoma State Cowboys beat the Stanford Cardinal, 41-38, in the Fiesta Bowl. (Jim Gensheimer/Mercury News)
Kyle Brotzman wants to reach out to Stanford kicker Jordan Williamson, who missed a potential game-winning field goal in the Fiesta Bowl.
After all, Brotzman knows what it's like to shank high-pressure kicks.
In 2010, he missed a 26-yard field-goal attempt at the end of regulation, then a 29-yarder in overtime that allowed Nevada to knock Boise State out of contention for the BCS title.
On Monday, Williamson missed a 35-yard kick on the final play of regulation and also a 43-yarder in overtime as Oklahoma State defeated Stanford 41-38.
Brotzman, now kicking for the Arena Football League's Utah Blaze, recalled this week how his experience that included death threats was a "blessing in disguise" because a stranger offered him solace.
Olympic freestyle skier Jeret "Speedy" Peterson called the kicker, who grew up in the same Boise suburb as he did. The two remained friends until Peterson took his life in July after years of struggling with alcohol, depression and suicidal thoughts.
"He helped me to grow as a person," Brotzman said.
Williamson might not be ready to talk. He declined interview requests through his high school football coach in Austin, Texas, where he is visiting his parents until the winter quarter begins next week.
"There is nothing he can say or do to change the minds or opinions about what people think about him, whether they love him or hate him," Westwood High coach Anthony Wood said. "It's
done and over with, and he's just looking forward to next year."Williamson made 13 of 19 field-goal attempts and 54 of 56 point-after kicks this season as a redshirt freshman. But the kicker struggled after tearing a groin muscle in practice in late October, forcing him to miss three games. Williamson made only 2 of 7 field-goal tries after he returned. The Fiesta Bowl was the first game in which he handled both kickoff and field goal duties since the injury.
Wood said the kicker wouldn't use the injury as an excuse.
"He's upset that he didn't win the game for his team," Wood said. "He understands he's in a position where he has to make kicks. He didn't make the kick that mattered."
But the coach expects the Cardinal kicker to rebound after speaking to him this week. Wood recalled the time Williamson missed a 55-yard kick in high school and "was madder than any kid I've seen before. He expects to be perfect.
"There won't be any hangover from what happened."
Williamson has been spared much of the ugliness associated with college sports and its fans, because he plays at a school that doesn't live and die with its football team.
Brotzman and others haven't been so lucky. He got threatening calls at his parents' home after the Nevada game. The fans' discontent was compounded in November after freshman Dan Goodale missed a 39-yarder as time expired in fifth-ranked Boise's 36-35 defeat to Texas Christian.
That has rekindled thoughts of the infamous Wide Right I and Wide Right II for Florida State kickers Gerry Thomas and Dan Mowry in 1991 and '92 games against Miami. Thomas quit the team afterward and generally has declined to talk about the game.
Brotzman missed the first kick he tried after the Nevada game but finished his senior season strong. The experience has motivated him to keep kicking.
"Those were just two kicks that didn't define my career," he said. "Jordan has so much time to write a different story for his Stanford career."
Staff writer Mark Emmons contributed to this story. Contact Elliott Almond at 408-920-5865 and follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/elliottalmond.
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