TENNESSEE Colquitt fifth punter in family

Dustin Colquitt followed his grandfather, father and two cousins into punting.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Family tradition eventually caught up with Dustin Colquitt.
As a young boy, Colquitt was more interested in swimming or playing in the woods than kicking a football. In high school, he preferred soccer.
That is, until his senior year when he finally followed his grandfather, father and two cousins into punting.
Now the junior is one of the best in the nation.
But he's still working on surpassing his cousin, Jimmy, and his father, former NFL kicker Craig, in Tennessee's record books.
And Colquitt will have some competition next year when younger brother Britton, the family's sixth punter, joins the Volunteers.
A kicking tradition
"The kicking is legendary," said Colquitt's high school coach Bill Young, who has been around Colquitt punters since he was in school. "It's gone on from generation to generation. It's really amazed me."
Colquitt, who this week was named Southeastern Conference special teams player of the week, leads the SEC with a 47.1-yard average this season. Last week against Marshall, he landed two punts inside the 5-yard line. One of those measured 63 yards.
Despite his punting pedigree, Colquitt has been surprised by his success.
"Completely. This has been a blessing. I'm just kind of riding the wave in now, trying to work hard and keep doing what I (did) to get to this point," he said.
Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer offered Colquitt a scholarship while he was at Knoxville's Bearden High School, recognizing his potential despite a lack of experience.
"I think the best thing Dustin did was he started listening to his dad," Fulmer said.
And why not? Craig Colquitt, 49, was the punter for the 1978 and '79 Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Later, he ran a kicking camp.
"That might have been a reason I didn't do it in the first place because you can't beat having two Super Bowl rings and all that stuff," Colquitt said about his late start.
By chance or destiny, he joined the high school team to kick field goals and punt -- only because the regular place-kicker was hurt.
Dad coached him
Once Colquitt got on the football field, his dad was there to coach him.
"At first, I didn't really like it," he said about his father's intervention. "Then after I started getting letters from UT, he started really helping. It was serious. I knew I couldn't do it alone."
Aside from learning how to punt, Colquitt also had to master using his left hand to hold the ball because he is right-handed but kicks with his left foot. And the uniform was an adjustment from baggy soccer shorts.
"The only thing he couldn't stand was how tight the pants were. That is literally the first thing he said," Craig Colquitt said.
Young, his high school coach, remembers his new kicker caught on quickly.
"We were backed up on our goal line, and in his first game as a football player he hit a 70-yard punt, just knocked it over everybody's head," Young said.