Aaron Bates is an unusual version of the football term "Slash."
With Bates, it's punter/holder/trick-play specialist.
"He's got to be the most famous punter in America," said Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins, Bates' roommate. "I told him if he's giving out any quarterback lessons, I'd love to attend."
Bates has come to the rescue twice to help save the Spartans' perfect season.
He threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to tight end Charlie Gantt on a fake field goal to beat Notre Dame in overtime. Bates also completed a 21-yard pass to receiver Bennie Fowler on a fake punt last week that started a fourth-quarter rally at Northwestern.
Bates is now 5-for-5 on converting trick plays in his career.
As a freshman in 2007, he ran 14 yards on a fake field goal on fourth-and-3 from Indiana's 18-yard line. Later that season, Bates got stopped on a fake field goal on fourth-and-9 from Purdue's 24, but a face-mask penalty resulted in a first down.
In last season's Alamo Bowl, Bates executed another fake field goal, completing an 18-yard pass to Gantt on fourth-and-5 from Texas Tech's 26-yard line.
Four of Bates' fakes have resulted in or directly led to touchdowns while the one against Purdue three years ago ended up with a field goal.
"I came in and they knew I could throw," said Bates, who was a quarterback at John Glenn High in New Concord, Ohio. "But Coach D. (Mark Dantonio) had never been real big on throwing fakes. My freshman year, we did all running stuff.
"As I've gotten older, he's trusted me more. The biggest thing for Coach D. is if it works well in practice, he'll run it in games.
"I've got to make sure I perform Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday if I want to run something like that Saturday."
Bates, obviously, isn't your stereotypical punter. He's heard all the jokes, but they just don't apply in his case.
"It really doesn't bother me too much," Bates said. "I've seen some of the guys that fit the stereotype. I just try to change that."
Bates was a standout football, baseball, basketball player in high school. Cousins calls him "arguably the hardest worker on our team."
That's why Bates is one of Michigan State's three captains, along with Cousins and All-America linebacker Greg Jones -- the only punter ever selected for that honor in the program's 114-year history.
"He could have played Division I college baseball," Cousins said. "He's only 6-feet tall but he can dunk a basketball with ease. He's a very athletic guy and we try to take advantage of that."
Bates actually completed only 45.5 percent of his passes as a senior in high school (50-of-110) for 775 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. But he's 3-for-3 for 68 yards at Michigan State.
Bates said he works on his passing with Kevin Muma, the team's kick-off specialist.
"Mainly just messing around in practice, when I'm standing around doing nothing," Bates said. "(Muma) was a high-school quarterback as well. He's got a good arm. We have fun doing that."
Bates said lower-level schools were interested in him as a position player, but he ultimately wanted to play major college football and saw his future as a punter. He also had played at a small high school and wasn't exactly sure how his skills would translate to college.
"I had Division II schools that offered me to play quarterback," Bates said. "I thought I was a decent quarterback but I didn't really know if I had enough ability.
"Once I got here, I kind of realized I have a little more ability than I thought."
Bates, a four-year starter as the punter and holder, has become more recognizable around campus because of the publicity generated by his clutch passes. Ironically, what's starting to get a little overlooked is his punting ability.
He's not just a gimmick. Bates is one of the nation's top punters.
He ranks 17th nationally with a 45.1-yard average. He has put 75 punts inside the 20-yard line during his career, along with 45 punts of 50-plus yards.
"He has great placement," Dantonio said. "He has the ability to turn the ball over, put it inside the 10. I believe he has a future at the next level."
If not, he can always give those quarterback lessons.
Hawkeye connections
Cousins and safety Marcus Hyde have strong ties to Saturday's opponent, Iowa.
Cousins' grandfather, Ralph Woodard, and great uncle, Dick Woodard, played for the Hawkeyes in the mid-to-late 1940s.
His grandpa still lives in Iowa and has season tickets.
"I know he's rooting for me," Cousins said. "They said they'll be wearing green and white, and they don't care who gets mad at them. They said family blood runs much, much thicker than alumni blood."
Hyde's younger brother, Micah, is a sophomore cornerback for the Hawkeyes.
"My mom is all giddy right now," said Marcus Hyde, a fifth-year senior at MSU.
The Hyde brothers, who are from Fostoria, Ohio, collided last year during a Michigan State kick return.
"He kind of hit me in my back," Marcus said. "I thought it was somebody else. I looked back and it was him. I started laughing."
(Dave Dye will be in Iowa City this weekend as the Spartans try to stay perfect. Come back to FSDetroit.com Saturday evening for his analysis and commentary on the MSU-Iowa game.)
Oct. 28, 2010
