March 22, 2005
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Now that Western Washington University punter/placekicker Michael Koenen's outstanding collegiate career is over, he hopes to embark on another one at the professional level. Several National Football League teams have shown interest in Koenen and his leg, but he knows there is no guarantee he'll soon be playing on Sundays.
"If football doesn't work out, that's fine," said Koenen, a graduate of Ferndale High School. "I have a future to look forward to besides football, so I'm not even stressing about it. I just hope I get a tryout with a team, that's the difficult part."
Koenen, who has mainly focused on improving his punting since football ended last fall, said he doesn't expect to hear his name called during the NFL draft at the end of April. Only a handful of collegiate punters and kickers are drafted each year, so he hopes to hook up with a team as a free agent.
"My goal is not only to play in the NFL, but to do well," said Koenen. "I feel that I'm good enough where I can be among the top punters in the league."
Western assistant football coach Eric Tripp says six NFL teams came to watch Koenen last fall, and several more have called requesting tape of the prolific kicker.
"He's on everyone's list and he should get into someone's camp somewhere," said Tripp. "Kickers and punters don't take hits, so if they're good enough their careers can last a long time, making it harder to break into the league. I've told Michael it's going to be tough, so when your opportunity comes, you'd better be ready."
Koenen was a consensus first-team NCAA Division II All-American in 2002 as a punter, and was a second-team Daktronics, Inc., choice in 2003 and a third-team Don Hansen's Football Gazette pick in 2004.
As a sophomore, Koenen led the nation in punting with a 44.9 yard average. He ranked fourth as a junior at 43.4, and was third nationally as a senior at 43.5, finishing with a school-record career average of 43.1, a figure that ranks second in northwest small college history.
Koenen completed his four-year career as the Northwest small college, Great Northwest Athletic Conference and school record holder in kick scoring with 272 points, converting 43-of-74 field goal attempts and 143-of-150 PATs. He established Western career records for made PATs and kickoffs for touchbacks (73), ranking second among school leaders in PAT attempts and third in both field goals made and attempted.
"We've been spoiled," said head coach Rob Smith. "Any time you have one player who handles all the kicking responsibilities and does it as well as he's done it, it's easy to get spoiled. It will be very difficult, if not impossible, to replace him."
Koenen has kept busy this winter, staying in shape and working on his punting two days a week with his father. On Jan. 7, he participated in the Cactus Bowl, a NCAA II senior all-star game at Kingsville, Texas, and later that month attended a kicking camp in Arizona run by kicking and punting guru Ray Pelfrey.
"Ray liked me when I went down there," said Koenen, who plans to hire Pelfrey as his personal coach. "He's very well-known and he's a really solid source for kickers. He's just a straight-up guy who would tell you if you weren't any good."
Koenen said in order to get a serious look from a professional team he must improve the hang-time on his punts while increasing the yardage. Typically, he said, teams are looking for 4.7 seconds of hang-time on a punt of at least 47 yards.
Koenen is getting close to the hang-time goal while sending it 48 yards. Though looking to improve even more, he said he's punting better now than he ever did during the past four years.
"I'm way more consistent and a lot stronger than I was, so I've progressed a lot since the season ended," Koenen said.
Also working in Koenen's favor is his athletic ability.
"He is so athletic that he could pick up any sport and be pretty good at it in a few weeks, so that's a positive," Tripp said. "He could even be a holder, or fill in as a place kicker in a pinch."
Koenen's phone is quiet for now, but he expects things to pick up as the draft approaches and even more so after the draft. Until then, he'll just keep on kicking.
"I'm going to prepare like I'm going to get picked up and given a shot, that's the only way to look at it," said Koenen, who plans to hire an agent. "I don't really view myself as this big prospect, but I know what I can do and if I do get that chance, I hope to make the best of it."
A handful of Western players have made it to a NFL training camp, but defensive back Erik Totten is the only Viking to play in a regular-season game, that happening in 2002. With that in mind, Koenen has some back-up plans, should the NFL not work out.
"Besides the Canadian Football League and NFL Europe as back-up plans, I would look into firefighting or police work," Koenen said. "It definitely has to be something that's active, where I could still work out and work with people. I can't sit behind a desk for too long because I get antsy."
