Editor's note: Throughout the season, several players from around the country are sharing weekly diaries with ESPN.com. This week, Florida State junior punter Keith Cottrell adds a Q&A to the mix. For more on the Seminoles, visit the official FSU athletic site.
Sept. 30, 1999
ESPN.com: During the week, how do you prepare for game day?
Cottrell: On Monday, we look at film of the other team's punt rushes and check out all the different looks they will give us. The rest of the week we practice against the various looks so we know what we are going against.
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| Keith Cottrell averaged 41.3 yards per punt in 1998. |
ESPN.com: You've added a number of yards to your punting average. How did you improve your numbers?
Cottrell: I dropped 25 pounds and stayed the summer in Tallahassee, Fla., going to summer school and working out with (FSU's strength and conditioning) coach Dave Van Halanger.
ESPN.com: What are your personal goals for this season and beyond?
Cottrell: First, I would like to average 44 yards per punt. Second, I would like to earn a degree and be successful.
ESPN.com: What do you go through mentally to prepare yourself for a punt, and does that preparation change at all from game to game?
Cottrell: It does not change from game to game. I just have to know where I am on the field and know what I have to do to put the defense in the best possible position to do its job.
ESPN.com: You've started in every game for the Seminoles over the past two years. How have you matured in that time?
Cottrell: I think that my outlook and performance is like night and day compared to my first start at Southern California.
ESPN.com: Long snapper Clay Ingram is in his fourth year of snapping for the Seminoles, and his third year snapping for you. Does having someone with that kind of experience make a big difference in your game?
Cottrell: Yes. It's just to the point that I don't even have to think about the snap, because I know that Clay is going to get it there.
ESPN.com: Do you have any pregame rituals?
Cottrell: I just like to sit down and thank the Lord for the position I'm in and pray that I can glorify him.
ESPN.com: Having starred at multiple positions in high school, does it bother you that you get less media attention now?
Cottrell: The (lack of) media attention doesn't bother me at all. I just miss being out there for the rest of the game, and miss not being on the field for the exciting part.
ESPN.com: With this year's Duke game being held in Jacksonville, Fla., do you feel that it is more like a home game or an away game?
Cottrell: I would say that it is more like an away game because we don't have the excitement that we dominate in at home. It also makes it less intense because it is not on a college campus ... you know that it is being played more for the money and not the game.
ESPN.com: With Duke being 0-3, do you think the Seminoles might head into the game lacking the emotional fire needed to pull off the performance expected of you?
Cottrell: I'm not really worried about us. I think that this team learned too much from last year's N.C. State game to overlook anyone.
