Michigan Tech kicker Avery Kucharski attempts a field goal during a game against Hillsdale Saturday at Frank “Muddy” Waters Stadium in Hillsdale. (Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech University)

HOUGHTON — Michigan Tech Huskies sophomore kicker Avery Kucharski has been named the Week Two Special Teams Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday. This is his second career Player of the Week accolade.

“Having the guys around him, the right guys around him, that, when things went poorly for Avery or if he had a bad kick, they were still right there to encourage him, pick him up, and say, ‘Worry about the next one,'” said Huskies special teams coordinator Phil Milbrath about Kucharski’s 2024 season. “Nobody was hanging their heads, and, ‘Oh, dang, you missed a kick. You’re our guy. Don’t worry about it.’ 

“Obviously, as a coaching staff, staying with him, encouraging him, coaching him on the things that he needs to work on to make sure he’s getting to that consistency that we talk about. I think that having a support system that he has in a locker room with 120 guys that are all on the same page, I think that helped him out throughout the year.”

The Portage, Michigan, native went two-for-two on field goals with a 35-yard make in the third quarter and a near career-high 44-yard field goal connection in the fourth quarter of the Huskies’ 34-21 victory at Hillsdale to move Michigan Tech to 3-0 to start the season.

He also went four-for-four on extra points, while having seven kickoffs averaging 57 yards with a touchback.

“The confidence in Avery has never been a question for us,” said Huskies coach Dan Mettlach. “We felt like, going into the year, he was going to be a weapon for us, and he will be. The positive thing on Saturday was the whole operation was just significantly better than it’s been. So, never a question of whether or not Avery could get it done.”

Mettlach was quick to praise the entire kicking unit for helping make things happen Saturday.

“We had some breakdowns in protection,” he said. “Snap-to-hold was taking a little longer than we wanted it to. So we got some stuff corrected last week with Coach Milbrath, and that whole entire unit. 

“I think those guys from the snapper to the holder, and everybody up front, took a little pride in what were doing last week and didn’t have any issues with the kicking game last week.”

Up next

The Huskies have completed the road non-conference portion of their schedule and will return home to conclude the out-of-conference competition, welcoming GLVC affiliate Upper Iowa to Kearly Stadium on Saturday for homecoming, with a 4 p.m. kickoff.