Near the end of the UNLV game, a special teams substitution was hardly noticed. After UH scored their only TD of the game, kicker Joseph Kim and punter Liam Dougherty trotted out for the point after. To that point, Kim was the backup kicker, and Dougherty was the backup holder. They took over for Jack Martin and holder Jake Sock. Kim booted the PAT – his first score in college.
During the week leading up to the OU game, Kim saw his name on the top line of the depth chart. He would be kicking at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, less than 80 miles from the high school he graduated from, Lawton.
Kim redshirted in 2023, a year to strengthen his leg and confidence. Jack Martin was brought in as the kickoff specialist and the placekicker. After a miss in the UNLV game, Kim was given a chance on that PAT. A week later in Norman, he booted two from 43 and 44 yards in front of his friends and family. After making the second kick, he briefly became the team’s leading scorer through six quarters of the season. He’d scored 7 points, while Joseph Manjack had scored six. A Manjack TD in the 3rd quarter erased Kim’s lead.
For his part, Dougherty says that when he was approached to hold, he was against it. He just wanted to punt. But as he’s gotten more involved in holding, he says it helps him get into the game. He’s more atune to what’s going on, which is especially important for a guy that has played in only two football games in his life. Special teams coach Mike Krysl reminds Liam often that he and the other coaches realize that all of this is very new to him.
A short chat with Kim The Kicker, sponsored by Star Pizza: