Fresh off another highly productive day booting the ball between the uprights on Saturday Friday, Caleb Shudak earned Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors this week.
Week 13's Special Teams Player of the Week: Caleb Shudak of @HawkeyeFootball
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 29, 2021
Tied a career high with 4 FGs in victory over Nebraska to help Iowa earn the West Division title and a berth into the #B1GFCG
Tied career long with 51-yard FG
https://t.co/Y6jeaD9uBU pic.twitter.com/5MMy04dW2T
Shudak made 4/4 field goals for Iowa against Nebraska in their win on Friday, continuing the very enjoyable recent trend of Iowa kickers being absolutely lights out against Nebraska (see also: Recinos, Miguel and Duncan, Keith). Iowa's current seven-game winning streak over the Cornhuskers would not exist without consistently high-level performances from Iowa's placekickers.
Against Nebraska on Friday, Shudak provided a critical role -- scoring points -- that no one on Iowa's offense could quite figure out until very late in the game. Shudak's field goals kept Iowa afloat in the game until the huge blocked punt returned for a touchdown and the Iowa offense finally managing to find the end zone in the fourth quarter. Shudak's kicks weren't exactly gimmes, either -- he made kicks from 36, 44, 48, and 51 yards out in the game, drilling each one with aplomb. His efforts came a week after he also made four field goals against Illinois, once again providing Iowa with some points while the offense flailed about.
.@cshudak10 tied a career high 4 FGs in the victory over Nebraska to help @HawkeyeFootball win the West Division title and a berth into the #B1GFCG earning him . pic.twitter.com/X2UHaHgcoO
— Iowa On BTN (@IowaOnBTN) November 29, 2021
It's gratifying to see Shudak get Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors this week, the first such honors he's received this season (and in his Iowa career), mainly because it may be the only time he receives his excellent efforts get their appropriate reward. Despite excellent overall numbers as a kicker (22/25, four 50+ yard FGs), Shudak was not named a Lou Groza Award finalist. He also seems unlikely to win Big Ten Kicker of the Year honors, or even be named to the All-Big Ten First or Second teams, given that two of the Groza finalists are from the Big Ten: Michigan's Jake Moody and Ohio State's Noah Ruggles.
Shudak's numbers are as good or better than the numbers posted by Moody and Ruggles this season, but it will probably be for naught when the season awards are handed out.
| STAT | SHUDAK | MOODY | RUGGLES |
|---|---|---|---|
| XP% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| FG% | 88% | 92% | 95% |
| 0-39 | 11/12 | 18/18 | 14/15 |
| 40-49 | 7/7 | 3/5 | 4/4 |
| 50+ | 4/6 | 1/1 | 0/0 |
(h/t to Atinat at Off-Tackle Empire for helping to compile these numbers)
Shudak's three misses were a 57-yard try against Illinois at the end of the half, a 50-yard attempt against Iowa State that was errant in part because of a botched snap, and a 25-yard effort against Purdue that was simply a bad kick. The Purdue miss is the most egregious -- that was truly a game where absolutely nothing worked well for Iowa; offense, defense, and special teams all struggled -- as kickers really shouldn't miss a 25-yard attempt like that. The other two misses seem far more excusable given the distances involved.
Speaking of distance... Shudak ought to get additional consideration for being so consistently accurate from long range with his kicks. Combined, Moody and Ruggles attempted all of one field goal from 50 yards or beyond -- Shudak attempted six and drained four of them. He also made as many kicks from 40-49 yards (seven) as they did combined (7/9). The degree of difficulty on his kicks has been heightened, but he's been incredibly consistent at putting them through the uprights all the same.
What probably hurts Shudak the most is that he was so productive so late in the season. He went 8/9 for Iowa over the last two weeks; over one-third of his makes (and attempts) have been in Iowa's last two games. Voters (at least Groza voters) simply may not have noticed his late surge. Will All-Big Ten voters take note of his late season heroics? Let's hope so. But if not, at least he got justly recognized as the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week this week. Shudak has been absolute money all season long and that was especially true against Nebraska -- congratulations on a thoroughly deserved honor, Caleb.
