The New Orleans Saints spent the 2020 season cut off from fans and its unquestioned home-field advantage, but the man responsible for some of the loudest cheers is excited to get them back in view later this month.
Saints kicker Wil Lutz spoke on SportsTalk with Bobby Hebert, Kristian Garic and Mike Detillier this week, and explained his excitement for the team welcoming back fan attendance when the team begins training camp at the end of July.
“They’re the ones who kind of make us go, you know," Lutz said. "So just getting a taste of them back at practice is going to be nice after going a whole year without anything."
The Saints held their 2020 training camp in Metairie without the typical horde of fans skirting the edge of the field due to NFL and team policies amid the coronavirus pandemic. The scene will be back mostly to normal when the team holds its first open practice on July 30, with the team announcing its full offseason schedule on Tuesday.
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The team ultimately hopes to return to playing games at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome at full capacity after a season with a maximum of a few thousand fans on hand to see the final Saints seasons of Drew Brees and Thomas Morstead.
"Hopefully the dome filling up will follow that up and we’ll be rocking and rolling,” Lutz said.
But there will be some changes for Lutz whenever he does get out in front of fans again, most notably the man who holds the ball as he tries to put points on the board. The Saints and Morstead parted ways this offseason after 12 years, meaning there will be a new punter in New Orleans, but more importantly for Lutz: a new holder for the first time in his NFL playing career.
Lutz has been the Saints kicker in each of his five NFL seasons, knocking through 142 of 164 kicks and 11 of 15 in the playoffs over that span, including 13 of 23 from 50-plus yards and multiple game-winners.
"Having a guy like him, that’s been around for 10 years for a few losses and a whole lot of wins, I can lean on him a lot in a bunch of different situations. That guy’s won a Super Bowl, he’s hit one of the biggest kicks, as far as onside kicks, in Saints history, and that’s a moment we all dream of, so he’s got 12 years of experience that I was able to basically pick his brain every day, as far as football and just life in general," Lutz said. "So at the end of the day he gets to hang his hat that he played for one team for 12 years and I think that’s something that we all hope we can do."
The most likely successor is Blake Gillikin, the former Penn State Nittany Lion whose UDFA signing last season was one of the first signs that Morstead's tenure could be coming to an end. The job won't simply be handed over, though, with former Syracuse punter Nolan Cooney brought in as competition. Lutz has high expectations for the young punter, who already has the holding part of the job down.
“Super fiery leg. He’s athletic," Lutz said. "Now, he’s young, so obviously as with anybody it’s going to take some time to mold him into a professional punter. But the dude’s got a freaky-talented leg."
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“Yea, I mean, listen at the end of the day that’s a third of the engine, right? We’ve got to be on the same page there. But to answer your first question, we’re not really too concerned how people look at our jobs. At the end of the day we’re professionals and we’ve got to find a way to perfect what we do. You know, we’ve got to be ready for the moment whether people don’t look at it like we do or not.”
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Follow Jeff Nowak on Twitter @Jeff_Nowak or contact him by email at jeffrey.nowak@audacy.com