Although some kickers don’t get the respect they feel they deserve, senior kicker Todd Boleski said one thing that never gets overlooked inside MSU’s locker room is the impact he brings to the team.

“As far as getting respect, I get a ton of respect on our team,” Boleski said. “(MSU head coach Mark Dantonio) puts a lot of emphasis on special teams and everyone gets how important it is.”

Boleski admitted there isn’t much to be done in practice as a kicker, adding that if he kicked all day, everyday, the power in his leg would be gone by the second week of the season.

If Boleski ever lost that power, the Spartans could be in trouble.

“He can bomb it in there,” Dantonio said of Boleski, who has averaged 64.8 yards per kick with three touchbacks in two games this season. “He was a weapon for us last year and he continues to be that.”

Unlike most kickers, Boleski is the definition of a specialist on special teams, sticking just to kickoffs and using his powerful left leg to kick the football in — and sometimes — out of the end zone.

With the emergence of junior Brett Swenson — who Boleski calls his best friend — as a standout field goal kicker, Boleski has served mainly as MSU’s kickoff specialist the past three seasons.

He kicks two or three field goals in each practice in case Swenson were to get hurt, but he usually focuses on his approach, follow-through and tempo for kickoffs.

Although he’s prepared for anything, Boleski’s main focus will be the same it’s been the past four years: Teeing the ball up, stepping back and kicking it far.

“There are a lot of teams that can’t kick it past the 10-yard line now since we’ve been kicking off the 30-yard line like the NFL,” MSU special teams coach Mike Tressel said.

“You’re not keeping the (opposition) inside the (20-yard line) unless you kick it in the end zone like Todd is.