By Todd P. Johnson

Quarterbacks admire the poise of Unitas, running backs ogle at the grace of Sanders. Punters strive for the form of Guy. Guy, you ask? Yes, Ray Guy, the first pure punter to be taken in the NFL draft and a member of seven Pro Bowl teams.

The closest most collegiate athletes get to these legends of the gridiron is watching them on a 12-inch TV while sitting on their dorm room couches. Not so for Utah State's punter Steve Mullins. Not only was Mullins able to admire one of these heros from afar, but also was able to be personally tutored by the NFL's punting legend, Ray Guy.

Mullins, a pre-season All American and a 2001-2002 semi-finalist for the Ray Guy Award, the accolade given to the nation's top punter, first met Guy while attending the Ray Guy Academy as a student in the summer of 2001. The Academy is a mecca for punters who desire to sharpen their skills. Much of the instruction given at the camps is provided by collegiate punters. Mullins wound up with Ray Guy because he was striving to get a little more out of the camp .

"The punter coaching me was a good collegiate punter, but at the same time I wasn't getting what I wanted out of the camp," said Mullins. "Out of that they ended up having Ray coach me."

Guy paid special attention to Mullins throughout the camp for a number of reasons, "He's a heck of a punter," said Guy. "Steve has a special quality to be able to discern the punting style that is best for him. He is very confident in his ability and that confidence has developed through his pursuit to master the proper mechanics of punting."

All that personal trainning paid off, as last year Mullins was fourth in the nation in punting average (44.8 yards), shared the special teams MVP with Dane Kidman, and was named an honorable mention All-American by "The Football News."

Guy and his staff were so intrigued by Mullins' natural ability to teach that they wanted to make sure he had the chance to influence other young punters. When the coaches saw what an asset Mullins was they ended up inviting him back to the Academy to be a coach this past summer.

According to Rick Sang, Director of American Football Specialists/The Ray Guy Kicking Academy, Mullins' initiative, maturity, curiosity and knowledge of the punting game all stood out as to what they were looking for in their coaches.

"Combining his knowledge and initiative along with his people skills, (Steve) quickly became one of our more popular instructors," said Guy. "He especially worked well with the younger athletes. He was very sincere with the time he spent with them."

"It was an honor to be invited back to Ray's camp. Not only was I able to teach other punters, but also one of the benefits of teaching is that you learn as you go," said Mullins. "I still have a long way to go."

Mullins has already come a long way considering he was a quarterback in high school. He didn't even start punting until his sophomore year.

"While in my sophomore year my high school coach told me to learn how to punt, just in case it ever came down to me and and another quarterback trying to go to the same school. This way I would have one more variable in my favor; its funny that I ended up excelling in that area."

When Mullins isn't playing football or rubbing shoulders with legendary punters he enjoys relaxing while playing the guitar.

"I started playing the guitar when I was a freshman. It seemed at that time everyone was obsessed with playing video games and I couldn't get good enough at them before they came out with a new game. From that point I decided to stick to something that wasn't going to change," said Mullins. "Plus my dad and brother play the guitar and I wanted to jam out with them."

Mullins, a senior marketing major, plans on taking his degree into the world of advertising when football winds down.

"I really enjoy the whole advertising, sales scene. I enjoy interacting with people, and hope to move back to Phoenix to find an advertising job," said Mullins.

With the success Mullins has seen, it might be awhile before football winds down.

NW
MK

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