By LARRY VAUGHT

One freshman expected to make a big impact at Kentucky this season is kicker Joe Mansour of LaGrange, Ga.

“He has a live, live leg,” said special teams coach Greg Nord. “We still have to get a few things straightened out on his timing kicking field goals, but he has a live leg and will be a very good kicker for us,.

“They all have trouble with their accuracy at this time of year when you are kicking as much as we are. There is a fine line between too many and not enough kicks. But he could eventually be pretty special.”

Mansour offered these observations on how practice has gone for him and what might lie ahead this year:

Question: How has practice been?
Mansour: “It has been pretty good. Every day I am getting more comfortable with the live snapping and live holding. I am just feeling better.”

Question: How hard is it to deal with the big expectations on you?
Mansour: “I think about that every day. The expectations in the newspaper and the Internet that are put on me is out there. The biggest thing I have to do is just concentrate on being myself and being me. If I just concentrate and do me, it shouldn’t matter what the expectations are.”

Question: What is ‘just being me’?
Mansour: “I guess just staying in a little zone like (actor) Happy Gilmore does when he makes a good shot. That is the kind of zone I get in when I run out on the field and make a kick.”

Question: Have you always had a strong leg?
Mansour: “I played soccer and acquired that skill of kicking the ball pretty far and hard. When I was 9 or 10, I kicked one from half-court and it went in over the goalie’s head, so I have had a strong leg from the beginning.”

Question: How do you get on the football team?
Mansour: “In middle school I tried kicking and I actually was pretty good at it. In high school, it was either play soccer or baseball because both were in the spring. I was good at baseball, so I quit soccer and just played basketball, baseball and football.”
Question: Are you a better kickoff guy, punter or field goal kicker?
Mansour: “I am asked this question a lot. For kickoff, it’s just natural. Just come to the ball and kick it as hard as you can. Punting and field goals are probably the same, but I am better at field goals because I know exactly what to do. When I miss it, I know exactly what I did. Punt is the same way, but Ryan (Tydlacka) is here, so I have not been punting as much as I would if I was the starter.”

Question: How often do you expect to put a kickoff in the end zone?
Mansour: “Today I did six kickoffs and a couple went to the goal line, a couple were 6 or 7 yards deep (in the end zone) and one went out of the end zone. I expect to put ball in the end zone if the wind is not in my face.”

Question: How far out do you still feel you are extremely accurate on field goals?
Mansour: “Distance is not a problem. It’s more getting comfortable and putting them through. If I keep good technique, I can put them through (the goal posts) from anywhere. If coach Phillips thinks I am able to kick a 60-yarder, then I think I can kick a 60-yarder.”

Question: Do you  have that swagger that coach Phillips says?
Mansour: “That is just me being me, and I am always going to be me. A kicker has to have confidence. You have to believe you can make it with 70,000 watching and more seeing you on TV. I want to be the guy out there kicking. There is pressure everywhere. Once I get that first kick out of the way, I will be good.”

Question: Is there any pressure when you are kicking off?
Mansour: “There is pressure if you are kicking left to make sure you kick it left. But that’s not really an issue if you just keep your head down and get up there and kick. I am pretty consistent on kickoffs. I just put it in the end zone.”

Question: If you can put the ball in the end zone, why would a coach worry if you kick left, right or straight?
Mansour: “Just in case the wind is in my face and I get it higher and it doesn’t go in the end zone.”