Former Gophers punter Justin Kucek hopes to speak to Michigan punter

I wrote my Tuesday column on the crazy similarities between the Michigan loss Saturday and the Gophers loss to Wisconsin 10 years ago.

Both happened because of a muffed snap on a punt in the final minute. I had talked to former Gophers punter Justin Kucek a few years ago about his bad experience and how it changed him.

I tried to reach Kucek on Monday for his reaction to Michigan's Blake O'Neill's gaffe but he was unavailable. For good reason.

Kucek was in the Dominican Republic on his honeymoon. Kucek called me this morning after returning and said he'd like to talk to O'Neill to share his own story.

Kucek couldn't watch the Michigan game in the Dominican but saw replays of O'Neill's dropped snap. He had immediate flashbacks.

"It looked like it was the exact scenario that happened to me," Kucek said.

On Sunday, Kucek met a Wisconsin fan at the resort's pool. He introduced himself and the man immediately recognized him.

"He's like, 'Oh my gosh, I actually thought of you last night when I saw what happened,'" Kucek said.

The man asked Kucek about his career, his former teammates and bowl games that he played in.

"He said, 'Being an athlete, playing with Eric Decker and Laurence Maroney and Marion Barber and going to four bowl games, shoot, I would have dropped three or four punts just to be in your shoes," Kucek said. "I thought that was kind of funny."

Kucek said he'd like to share that story with O'Neill and also how he rebounded to have a nice career.

"Right now, he's got the spotlight," Kucek said. "People are looking at him seeing what he's doing now. Really this is his opportunity to shine. If he can come out the next game and the rest of the season and start crushing punts and doing his job effectively, this could be a positive situation for him."

Kucek recently took a job as a national sales rep for a large company. He went through six interviews before being hired. His final interview was with the company's vice president.

One of the questions the VP asked Kucek is how he handles adversity.

"I absolutely got to tee off on that question," he said.

Kucek went through the whole scenario with his mistake and the fallout. He received death threats and hundreds of hate messages and emails. People also called his parents' home in Ohio.

Kucek went on to earn All-Big Ten honors as a senior. He earned his degree and now has a successful career.

"The best thing you can do in life is turn a negative into a positive," he said.