SOUTH BEND, Ind. — It being practice, there was no reason to get breathless. But Kyle Brindza trimmed his standard pre-kick routine, leaving out the shoulder heave and massive inhale-exhale, simply because weekday afternoons at Notre Dame are not as oppressive as weekends.
Teammates, meanwhile, gasped. Reserve linebacker Kendall Moore even barked at the Irish's kicker, huffing about the lack of puffing. So Brindza added it back in.
"That's one of the biggest things everyone notices about me," Brindza said. "I take very deep breaths, just to be able to calm my nerves. It just steadies your mind."
The junior is going steady, for sure, hitting 8 of 11 attempts in 2013 — including a 53-yarder against Arizona State — after a school-record 23 makes in 2012. Most critically, Brindza is 11-for-11 on game-winning, game-tying, overtime or fourth-quarter, lead-extending field goals in his career.
As USC visits Saturday, he is utterly reliable, and a reason for it is a stretch. During a 2012 offseason workout in Florida, Brindza noticed the fluid motion and high leg finish for current Vikings kicker Blair Walsh. He was shocked by Walsh's flexibility. And possibly just as surprised at the explanation for it.
"He goes yoga and pilates just calms your whole body," Brindza said. "It's very awkward, I guess you could say, because you don't know every position and move like everyone else. But you just get into it and you understand your body a little bit more, how far you can go, or when you need to take a little load off. Which relates to kicking, even."
Brindza began practicing yoga before last season. He attends some classes on campus but mostly works off DVDs. Even as of this week, some teammates were wholly unaware that Brindza went to the mat for them.
But the correlation between that and kicking is actually plainly evident.
"You're surrounded by an environment full of guys that are amped up all the time, who are playing on adrenaline and emotion," Walsh said during a phone interview. "And you have to almost be the exact opposite of that. You have to be calm and know your technique.
"People have trouble breathing when they're in intense situations. And I think yoga really brings it out in you, to show you how to breathe, how to relax your mind and your body when you're called upon."
In fact, Brindza cites former Yankees closer Mariano Rivera as a sporting idol. That makes little sense for a Canton, Mich., native and ardent Tigers fan, but total sense otherwise: A metronomic, efficient archetype.
"When you're a reliever, obviously you have a job," Brindza said. "That's to go out and win the game for your team."
Not once has Brindza failed to do so. He kicked five field goals against USC to help close Notre Dame's undefeated 2012. There will be enough Trojans firepower Saturday to thrust Brindza into the spotlight, under the lights, once more.
In that case, the Irish breathe easy.
"He just has that feeling that he's a clutch player for us, and he has been since he's been here," Irish coach Brian Kelly said. "We can really rely on him."
Twitter @ChiTribHamilton
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