Some might say sequels aren’t as good as the originals. You have classics like The Empire Strikes Back , The Godfather: Part II , or The Dark Knight that are better than their predecessors. But for the most part, it’s hard to top what came first.
For non-movie goers, take Kai Kroeger’s junior season as a perfect example of this analogy. What South Carolina’s reliable punter did in 2022 was special. He was on an unworldly level that year, continuously coming through for South Carolina when it needed him to. His final month of that season will go down as one of the all-time greats. He capped off with a performance for the ages in helping the Gamecocks beat Clemson for the first time since 2013.
As he moved into the next season, it was going to be nearly impossible to do better than he had the year before. After all, it was one of the best seasons from a punter in recent memory. So when he couldn’t find that same magic, the scrutiny came with it. Even if he tried to, there was no true way to block out the noise.
“Obviously, the outside noise was hard to get away from, especially since I care so much about this place and love it,” Kroeger told GamecockCentral. “The outside noise was the biggest contributor at that point. It took until after the season for me to really put all my focus into fixing all those things that went wrong.”
[On3 App: Get South Carolina push notifications from GamecockCentral]
Now, this is not to say Kroeger took a drastic step back or wasn’t good for the Gamecocks last season. He punted 62 times and averaged 43.2 yards per punt with a long of 60. But compared to his junior year, he was averaging three more yards per punt with a long of 79 yards.
Still, when you couple Kroeger’s senior year with how the team took steps back, it’s easy to think he regressed. But in his defense, there was more going on behind the scenes than mostly anyone knew.
“Comparatively, looking at the season before, which is like the best season I’ve had, it definitely wasn’t what I had hoped,” Kroeger said. “And for me, something I’ve been talking about is what went wrong last season that I’ve been able to identify. It’s kind of been some off-the-field things that contributed to on-the-field issues.”
Kroeger didn’t want to get into what exactly was going on outside of football, which is completely understandable. But there’s no doubt whatever happened impacted how he played.
“Midway through the season is kind of when everything hit me. I didn’t really start attacking the issues until after the season,” he said.
As Kroeger entered the offseason, he zeroed in on doing whatever he had to do to get himself right. It started with having important conversations with the people he felt most comfortable talking to. Once he did that, he was able to dive into the football side of what went wrong on the field.
“Definitely had some very low points and had to talk to family and close friends,” Kroeger said. “I’ve talked a lot more with my friends both back home and here and just communicating more to help my mental game. I’ve put a lot more effort into the football side of it, whereas last year, I was trying to get away from it in the sense of not having my mind totally focused on it, cause that’s just how I’ve been my whole life. But now it’s been football is strictly business with a little bit of golf in there.”
After pouring more time into himself, Kroeger comes into his fifth and final season of college football feeling completely different. All of his previous off-the-field issues are now resolved, which has allowed his mind to feel more free.
“I’ve been able to handle those situations and look back on it and know how to handle something like that if it were to happen again,” he said. So I feel much better where I’m at now, and I’m kind of able to put last season in the past and just focus on where we’re at right now.”
[Newsletters: Get breaking news and analysis from GamecockCentral]
It’s still to be seen if Kroeger’s offseason efforts will translate to better play on the field. But since South Carolina started fall camp, it would seem he’s doing just fine.
“Kai Kroeger and Mason Love are punting the crap out of the ball right now,” head coach Shane Beamer said after the team’s first scrimmage this past Saturday. “So I’m really excited about those two guys and the way they’re hitting it.”
Whether the results come or not, that’s not entirely what Kroeger is focused on doing in his final year. Sure, he wants to do the best he can in every game he plays. But there’s more to life than just football.
“For me, just that I’m still having fun and being a good teammate,” he said. “At the end of the day, that’s kind of all I care about is being there for the guys around me. If I can contribute to games, that’s obviously what I want to do, but anything I can do to help everybody else is what I want to do.”
But deep down, Kroeger probably wants to prove those who think he can’t get back to that 2022 form wrong. What he does now is up to him. The pen is in his hand. He has the chance to complete his trilogy the right way by going out on his terms.
“This is my last year, so there’s nothing to lose, nothing to hold back,” Kroeger said. “Just give my all, which is what I’m planning to do and what I feel ready for.”
The post Kai Kroeger feeling ‘free’ and ‘ready’ for final season after facing last year’s struggles appeared first on On3 .
Local South Carolina State
Most Popular
Comments / 0