Shanna Rose I WV Sports Chat
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.-Punting is considered an art and is often an overlooked position on a football team, but having a reliable leg can make all the difference. For West Virginia University’s Oliver Straw, success on the field comes down to preparation and reaction.
Sometimes plays don’t go as planned, like last Saturday against Kansas when the senior punter had to adjust to an errant snap.
“It’s just reaction,” Straw said about handling the bad snap. “We work bad balls in practice all the time, so in the game you just fall back on your training.”
That training began long before he arrived in Morgantown. Growing up in Melbourne, Australia, Straw played Australian football, a sport that helped him develop the soft hands he now leans on in pressure situations. Still, he hasn’t taken those skills for granted.
“I’ve always had pretty good hands,” he said. “But it’s something I’ve really honed this past year, spending time on the jugs machine and catching footballs every day.”
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound senior has become as much a leader in the locker room as he is on the field. With four years of experience, he takes pride in guiding younger teammates through the inevitable highs and lows of a long season.
“I think that something that coach Rod (Rich Rodriguez) mentioned at one point was a loss should sting otherwise it doesn’t it doesn’t mean enough to you and so i think that,” Straw said. “Taking it personal enough for a short amount of time, maybe 24 hours, and then going, flushing it down the drain and, you know, really emphasizing that, you know, it’s a new week and new things happen. So you can’t live in the past, but it has to affect you enough to, you know, motivate you to get back to work and doing what you do best.”
That steady mindset has made Straw one of the most dependable specialists in the Big 12. Whether he’s pinning opponents deep, adjusting to an opponent’s return scheme, or offering advice to a freshman, his approach remains the same: control what you can, prepare for the unexpected, and always be ready to respond.
Photo Credit: WVU Athletics
