Sean Whyte is on quite a roll.
After putting his first career field goal attempt with the Montreal Alouettes off the upright, the third-year kicker has been flawless, converting a club-record 22 straight attempts. Heading into the team's Labour Day showdown with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Monday, Whyte is just six field goals shy of Dave Ridgway's league record of 28 straight set in '93.
But when the 25-year-old native of Surrey, B.C., trots on to the turf at Ivor Wynne Stadium, thoughts of his impressive streak will be the furthest thing from Whyte's mind.
"If you start thinking about 22 straight you're going to put added pressure on yourself that you just don't need," Whyte said Wednesday. "That's when you start missing kicks.
"They say kicking is 80 to 85 per cent mental so I'm trying to stay humble, do my job and make the kicks when they come."
Had Whyte listened to his holder, third-string quarterback Ricky Santos, he'd be perfect this season.
Whyte's first attempt of the year was from 35 yards out on a windy night in Montreal's season-opening 30-26 home win over the B.C. Lions, his former team. Santos advised Whyte to account for the wind, which was gusting left to right, and aim his kick inside left.
"I just thought to myself, 'I don't think it's that windy, I don't think the ball will be affected by it,"' Whyte said. "I put it right down the pipe and hit it good but the last 10 yards it just took off and hit the upright and I couldn't believe it. I should've listened.
"We have a little golfer-caddie thing going on. Ricky will come out and give me a little lean, if I'm a little further out he'll lean the ball a little bit more so I'll drive it more. He'll be like: `Oh, we have a little wind left to right so aim inside the left upright and I'll give you about a seven-iron and just knock it down."'
In fact, Whyte credits the chemistry he's developed with Santos and long-snapper Martin Bedard for his success.
"This doesn't happen without them," he said. "Marty is probably one of my best friends on the team now and when we started training camp I don't think we left each other's side because we knew we were going to be working together this season and wanted the best chemistry possible.
"We're good buddies and room together on the road and have a good thing going."
But it seems Santos needed a little prodding to become part of the triumvirate.
"I had seen him do it, he was pretty good and looked comfortable and I heard he had done it in college so I asked him to come hold for me but he really didn't want to," Whyte said. "But I told him he was a third-string quarterback and this was a good way to get on the field and be a part of something.
"He thought about it and the next day said, `I'm ready to do this, I want to be good at this, let's go out and break some records.' When you have guys who take pride in what they do and want to be consistent at it, it helps me be consistent because they're perfect every time. I know the ball will be there at the exact time every time."
Twice this month Whyte captured the CFL's special-teams player of the week honour and Wednesday was named the league's top special-teams performer for August.
Montreal certainly had high expectations for Whyte after acquiring him from B.C. for a 2012 first-round pick in May. That came shortly after the team opted against re-signing veteran kicker-punter Damon Duval, who later joined the Edmonton Eskimos as a free agent.
Whyte said has never felt pressure to perform with the Alouettes despite the steep price the club paid to get him.
"I was just happy to get an opportunity," he said. "I had been waiting so long in B.C. to get this chance, it was very frustrating even though I loved being in B.C., it was my home province and the team was great to me.
"But it's frustrating not playing. You're an athlete, you train all off-season to play and when you don't get to do that, it's frustrating. I always said if there was another team I wanted to play for in the CFL, it would be Montreal."
Whyte spent two seasons with B.C. behind veteran Paul McCallum. He hit on 21-of-29 field goals in 2009 and finished with 90 points before converting all six field goals he attempted in 2010.
Whyte's 95.7 per cent success ratio on field goals is the best in the CFL this season. But he's ranked sixth overall in punting (41.9 yards, 33.5-yard net average) and seventh in kickoffs (56.5-yard average).
By comparison, Duval ranks first in both categories with a 46.7-yard punting average and 63.3 yards per kickoff while having made 14-of-19 field goals (73.7 per cent).
However, there's a lot more to punting and kicking off than simply booming the ball.
With the Alouettes boasting the CFL's top offence, Whyte rarely punts from deep in their zone. That means he must often sacrifice distance for ball placement and hang-time to put his cover team in the best position to be successful.
The same logic also applies on kickoffs as Whyte is sometimes required to boot the ball high or squib it downfield to reduce the chance of a big return. Other times, he must kick it to the corner and thus significantly reduce the area the return team can use.
"I'm not going to get down on myself for kicking those kicks," he said. "People in the stands might say, 'Oh, what is he doing?'
"But that's what I'm asked to do."
Whyte admits there was a stretch earlier this season when his punting was somewhat out of sync but says he's back in rhythm. The numbers would support that as Whyte has averaged 45.9 and 46.1 yards, respectively, in his last two games.
In fact, Whyte's performance has enabled Montreal to keep veteran kicker Sandro DeAngelis on the sidelines. The Alouettes signed the former Calgary Stampeder and Hamilton Tiger-Cat in the off-season but he has yet to dress for a game.
Yet Whyte isn't resting on his laurels, especially considering he won't have the luxury of playing in a domed facility once the weather turns cold. And given the nomadic lifestyle of a pro football kicker, he's anxious to call Montreal home.
"Playing in Montreal is such a treat, to be part of something special," he said. "I'm trying to establish myself as a kicker in this league and every time I'm on the field I'm trying to do my job and help the team win.
"I don't want to lose this job. I want to stay in Montreal and play with this team for years to come."
