ANN ARBOR — Quinn Nordin doesn’t have to play another down at the University of Michigan to be remembered. Of course, Nordin was the player who was deemed so important in 2016 that Jim Harbaugh slept over at his house.
After a redshirt season and an impressive first year as Michigan’s placekicker, the eccentric Nordin is poised to grow in stature.
“I’ll admit, I coach Quinn like I would coach a middle linebacker,” special teams coach Chris Partridge said. “He’s got that mentality. He’s an easy one there. You could throw him in at middle linebacker, and he’s not going to back down. I don’t know if he’ll get run over or not, but he won’t back down.”
Nordin, who can boom field goals over 60 yards, was 19-of-24 last season and 6-of-8 from 40 yards and beyond. He missed only one of three attempts beyond 50.
“Accuracy is something I really want to hone in on, not really how far it goes,” Nordin said this spring. “That’s never really the problem.”
Nordin just as recognizable off the field, with his “Wild Thing” Rick Vaughn haircut and tuxedo T-shirt he wore during the team’s paintball excursion in Paris this spring. As far as kickers and their odd-ball personalities go, Nordin fits right in. During the Maryland game last season, he and Harbaugh were caught on-camera jawing at one another, not a decision most players make.
But not every player is wired like Nordin, who marches to his own beat and contains a burning competitive desire.
“Quinn’s just growing up as a person, as a leader on this team,” Partridge said. “It’s been really good to see. His maturity and his leadership has really taken a step up this year, and I think that’s going to relate to him on the field, as well. The important thing for our kicker is, you’re not going to always be perfect throughout your whole career. When you miss and when you have a fault, or something happens, how do you fix it? Do you realize what happened and how do you rebound from it and not let it get in your own head? Quinn’s maturity will help with that.”
Contact Kyle Rowland at krowland@theblade.com, 419-724-6110 or on Twitter @KyleRowland.
First Published August 29, 2018, 2:53 p.m.
