By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Chet Ervin always has considered himself a better placekicker than punter, even though he was a second-team all-state selection as a punter in high school.

He made eight of 13 field goal attempts during his senior year at Henry County High School in Sulfur, Ky., including one for 53 yards.

But when he arrived at the University of Cincinnati last summer, he understood the placekicking would be handled by senior Jonathan Ruffin, who as a sophomore won the Lou Groza Award as college football's best kicker.

Ervin's playing time came as the replacement for Adam Wulfeck, the second-team All-Conference USA punter from the year before.

Having punted for only one season in high school with a 42.6-yard average, he did the best he could. But in one year, UC fell from second nationally in net punting with Wulfeck kicking to 102nd behind Ervin, who averaged only 38 yards a punt, leading to a net average of 31.3.

The dropoff wasn't entirely Ervin's fault.

"He was almost the last of the problems," said UC coach Rick Minter. "You have to snap, protect and get the ball off. All of that was so up and down last year before the ball ever got to him, I always thought he was running for his life or was punting under duress."

With Ruffin gone, Ervin probably will be used as a placekicker and kickoff man next season. The punting chores are expected to be handled by Jordan Lear, a 6-foot-7 incoming freshman.

"Last year, I didn't feel like it was me out there," Ervin said. "I had such a bad year punting. It wasn't exactly what I felt right doing. This year, being able to kick field goals and kick off, I feel more comfortable."

Ruffin, who has been working with Ervin during spring practice, says his successor has the potential to be an outstanding kicker.

"First we need to get his technique to where he's comfortable with it and to where it's working," Ruffin said, "and then get him to just repeat it every single time. At the beginning of spring, he was kicking one way on one kick and another way on another kick."

Ervin's freshman year was difficult because he bore the brunt of criticism from UC fans frustrated by a punting game that consistently provided advantageous field position for UC's opponents.

"I came from a very small high school," Ervin said. "There was not a lot of speed. When you come into Division I football, the speed of the game is so much quicker. Coming in as a freshman, I wasn't quite used to it yet. I was hurrying a lot of punts and doing a lot of stuff that wasn't characteristic of my punting in high school."

His low point came against Ohio State when he averaged only 31.4 yards on five punts.

But now that he can concentrate on his specialty, he's looking forward to showing UC fans what he's capable of.

"He's got plenty of leg strength," Ruffin said. "He just needs to pick up on the consistency and accuracy. In a perfect world, you'd have my consistency and his leg strength and you'd have the perfect kicker."

RUFFIN READY: Ruffin says he doesn't expect to be selected in the April 26-27 NFL draft but believes he'll get a chance to make an NFL team.

"If I do get drafted, it'll be real late," he said. "I'm just worried about finding a good team to go to. I think somebody will sign me as a free agent. Hopefully a lot of people will so I can pick and choose."

E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com