By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – One of the neatest things about Caleb Shudak’s performance this season is just that it’s happening with him as a Hawkeye.

A lot of kickers in his position would’ve bolted a long time ago, and Shudak actually thought about bolting when he briefly entered the NCAA transfer portal in 2019.

But at a time when many college student-athletes transfer at the first sign of depth chart issues, Shudak has stayed the course, a very long course with him being a rare sixth-year senior who took advantage of the extra year of competition due to the global pandemic.

The Council Bluffs native sat behind Miguel Recinos and Keith Duncan and watched them both have success, especially Duncan, who was a consensus All-American in 2019.

Shudak pushed them both in practice, and he forced them to always be on top of their game or risk losing the job to him.

Shudak also handled kickoffs in the previous two seasons because he has a stronger leg than Duncan.

And the rare times when Iowa tried a field goal from beyond 50 yards, they turned to Shudak.

But as far as being the full-time starting kicker, Shudak had to endure five seasons as a backup before the opportunity finally came this season.

He had to watch as Recinos and Duncan both made game-winning field goals in the final seconds that will endear them to Iowa fans forever.

He had to attend practice for five years knowing that other than handling kickoffs his role would be limited to cheering from the sideline on game day.

And he did all of this as the son of former Iowa State kicker Jeff Shudak.

The story just writes itself in how Caleb Shudak has seized the opportunity and shown why Kirk Ferentz never seemed worried about the kicker position in the weeks and months leading up to the 2021 season despite having to replace one of the greatest kickers in program history.

Ferentz knew what he had in Shudak, and now the rest of us know with Shudak having made 18-of-21 field-goal attempts and all 32 of his point-after kicks heading into the annual Black Friday showdown against Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Shudak has made all six of his attempts from 30 to 39 yards and all five of his attempts from 40 to 49 yards.

He also has 33 touchbacks on 60 kickoffs.

Shudak has excelled in all of his kicking roles, and combined with sophomore punter Tory Taylor, they give Iowa one of the best kicker/punter combinations in the country.

Neither made it as a finalist for the top individual award for a kicker or punter, and Taylor shared his displeasure with the media on Tuesday about what he considers a blatant snub.

But Taylor wasn’t talking about himself, but rather his kicker.

“The whole Ray Guy thing doesn’t really worry me too much,” Taylor said in reference to the award given to the top punter in college football. “But I’m not sure what happened with the Lou Groza Award and how Caleb Shudak didn’t make it.

“It’s a bit of a joke. I’m not sure who’s on the committee or anything like that. But the same thing happened to Keith Duncan a couple years ago. I’m really not sure what it comes down to whether it’s  stat thing or anything like that.”

Taylor was referring to when Duncan was named a consensus All-American in 2019, but still didn’t win the Lou Groza Award, which goes to the top collegiate kicker.

Taylor is from Australia and he knew very little about American football, and even less about the Big Ten Conference and the Midwestern weather when he became a Hawkeye.

But after nearly two seasons of punting in chilly and windy conditions, Taylor has come to appreciate what it takes to excel in the Big Ten, and he thinks Shudak deserves more credit for what he has accomplished this season.

Taylor said kickers and punters from southern schools have an advantage due to the weather.

“I’m sure Shudak and myself, if we went down there it would be a lot easier,” Taylor said. “No disrespect to those guys down there, but I just wish when it comes to these sorts of things that they would take it into consideration.

“And, I’m honestly, not just saying this because Caleb is one of my best friends. There’s no one better at kicking the football than Caleb. And I honestly mean that. No disrespect to the guys that made those awards. Great for them. But I question who’s actually sitting down, or could they be sitting around smoking a cigar and having a beer and deciding who’s going to win the Lou Groza.”

Taylor is obviously biased in this case, and not entirely correct with his assessment of the three finalists for the Lou Groza Award, considering two of them, Ohio State’s Noah Ruggles and Michigan’s Jake Moody, kick for Big Ten teams.

But Taylor’s message about Shudak came through loud and clear.

He respects him as a friend and as a teammate, but Taylor feels that Shudak’s numbers speak for themselves.

Iowa will look to extend its winning streak to seven games over Nebraska, and there is always the chance that it could come down to Shudak having to make a late field goal.

The last three games in the series were decided by just 12 points, and Recinos and Duncan both made game-winning field goals against Nebraska.

Kickers spend most of the game either watching from the sideline, or practicing their routine on the sideline in preparation for those few precious moments when they’re expected to perform under pressure.

Even the slightest mistake or miscalculation can prove costly, so it takes an incredible amount of preparation, skill and mental toughness for a kicker to consistently rise to the occasion.

In Shudak’s case, it also has taken patience, humility and a team-first mentality for him to be in this position.

Who knows where Shudak would be now if he had stayed in transfer portal and left Iowa?

Sometimes, it’s what doesn’t happen that helps to change the course of a person’s life.

Shudak lost the opportunity to be a multi-year starter by staying at Iowa.

But there is also something to be said for staying the course, and for putting the team above your individual needs.

College is where boys become men, and that is especially true in Shudak’s case with him being 24 years old.

He is proof that good things come to those who not only are willing to wait, but who stay loyal and focused on the task at hand.

Taylor, who is also 24 years old, told the media on Tuesday that he plans to return to Iowa for his junior season. The game and how it’s played in the United States still is sort of knew to him, but Taylor also loves being a Hawkeye, and a big part of that is his relationship with his teammates.

The way in which Taylor praised Shudak on Tuesday was the ultimate sign of respect.

It was true and genuine, and well deserved.