There’s more to punting than just kicking the ball hard.
It involves technique, little adjustments to hold the ball at the right angle and drop it at the right time and catch it with the right part of the foot.
Those are the little things that recent Montana football commit Brian Buschini taught himself when he became a punter midway through his career at Helena Capital.
“I actually taught myself how to punt off of Youtube videos and stuff,” Buschini, just a kicker until his sophomore year at Capital, said. “I just tried to imitate what the guys did on the videos I watched. I practiced a ton. I’d go out in my yard for four or five hours at a time, just hitting punts around.”
The hours paid off for Buschini, who accepted a preferred walk-on offer to Montana on December 20, just two days after the Grizzlies offered him.
“Going to U of M has been a dream of mine ever since I went to my first game earlier this year, and I’m so excited to be able to represent this university and stay in Montana,” Buschini said. “I told them that I was really excited and I’d definitely commit there if they offered me. I was quick to jump the gun.”
He also had a PWO offer from Montana State.
With Griz incumbent Eric Williams graduating, he’ll have at least a chance to compete for the starting job right away.
A skinny 5-foot-6 when he started punting in high school, Buschini grew to 6-foot-1 and near 200 pounds by his senior year.
A few shanks brought Buschini’s senior year punting average down to 35.6, but he did have a long of 56 yards and said that he’s been hitting some punts with a hang time of 4.8 seconds or better — good numbers at any level.
He also made 25 of 29 extra points and five of his nine field goal attempts for Capital.
Buschini was hampered by a hamstring injury over the summer that prevented him from going to a full schedule of camps and put the pressure on the rising senior, then still without an offer.
It was a hard time for a player who had devoted himself to the study of punting and the dream of one day playing in college.
“I had a lot of FBS interest and we weren’t able to make all those camps, and so those coaches had to basically take me off their board,” Buschini said. “We ended up going to Wisconsin and we just got to sit there on the sideline and watch the other kids compete in the camp. That was probably the worst part about it.”
Luckily, he recovered enough to attend late-summer camps at Montana, Montana State and Washington State.
The Bobcats offered him soon after, on August 7. Montana and Washington State both showed interest, but stayed away from offering until right before the opening of the early signing period on December 19, when the Grizzlies struck.
For Buschini, Montana was a chance to stay close to home and play at a top-tier program.
“I was actually most impressed with Montana overall, and I really wanted to go there,” Buschini said. “The atmosphere is absolutely incredible. I went to the Washington State-Oregon game and they had (ESPN’s College) Gameday there and everything. Every UM game is like that, just absolutely incredible. The noise and the fans are amazing.”
The chance to be coached by noted special-teams guru Bobby Hauck also factored into Buschini’s decision.
“I’ve been talking to their now-former punter Eric Williams, and [Hauck] really puts an emphasis on special teams,” Buschini said. “He knows it really well, and Eric said that he’s just such a knowledgeable and helpful coach. I’m just happy that he’s my coach and he can help me with my craft.”
Buschini is the first specialist to commit to Montana in the Class of 2019. He is expected to officially sign his admissions waiver on National Signing Day on February 6.
