Texas has reportedly walked away from the great Penn State fire sale with a little something for itself, nabbing kicker and punter Anthony Fera. Last year, he was both a candidate for the Ray Guy and a semifinalist for the Lou Groza last year. He was excellent on field goals, ranking No. 17 in the country in accuracy among qualified kickers, and a solid punter, placing No. 37 in average yardage.
Penn State K Anthony Fera has committed to transfer to Texas
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) August 2, 2012
Fera makes for the eighth roster player to leave PSU since the NCAA's sanctions hit, and the second starter. Since he started at two positions last year, his loss might actually be the heaviest yet.
For Texas, here's what Fera could mean, via Burnt Orange Nation:
After being spoiled for years, with kickers hitting all eight game-winning kicks in the Mack Brown era, missing one (and, therefore, missing out on a conference championship or BCS bid) could end up going down as one of the lowest moments of the head coach's tenure in Austin.
That's not a risk that Brown should be willing to take, especially after saying that he didn't have any ethical concerns about taking a Penn State player.
Adding Fera could well mark the end at Texas for a guy like Will Russ, especially since having three scholarship kickers on the roster for the next two seasons seems like overkill. But if that's the price to pay for stability at a crucial, if sometimes overlooked position, then that's simply the price to pay.
For more on Horns football, visit Texas blogs Burnt Orange Nation and Barking Carnival, plus SB Nation Dallas.
