When Wofford’s starting kicker, red- shirt freshman David Marvin went down with a knee injury in the season- opener at Georgia Tech, the Terrier’s coaching staff might have been a little worried about who would fill David’s big shoes… Until Ben Bruggeworth stepped in.A junior and backup goalie for the soccer team from Greensboro, N.C., Bruggeworth showed up to practice the week after Marvin’s injury and told head coach Mike Ayers he might be able to help. After just two kicks, Ayers made his decision. “You’re the guy,” he told Bruggeworth, who bombed his first collegiate kick for a touchback to start Wofford’s home-opener against North Greenville.Since then Bruggeworth has taken over as Wofford’s kickoff man, averaging more than 60 yards per kick in his first two games. It’s not unheard of for soccer players to make the move to kicker, especially if they’ve had kicking experience, but this past week was the first time Bruggeworth had ever worn a helmet and pads.

The Terriers have seen great punting from Sanders in Marvin’s absence, averaging over 43 yards on four punts. A true freshman safety, Michael Sarafianos has stepped up to kick extra points and has been perfect thus far, going 10/10 in two games.

“It’s kicking by committee, and they’re all doing one heck of a job,” says Ayers.

Marvin is expected to return this weekend as the Terriers host The Citadel, however, with Wofford having a solid special teams unit in place, Marvin may sit an extra week or two to let his knee injury heal completely.

With a leg that has NFL potential and three more years of hard work to put in for the Terriers, the coaches do not want to risk worsening Marvin’s injury.

— David Wheatley