Jim Remme filled in for the future Hall of Famer during a slump when they played at South Dakota State. “Well, of course, we didn't know how this was all going to transpire."
DAYTON, Ohio – Jim Remme was a defensive lineman at South Dakota State University when coach Mike Daly sidelined junior placekicker Adam Vinatieri and directed Remme to take over placekicking duties in a game against Mankato State University on Nov. 6, 1993.
Remme would miss the only field goal he attempted in that game, but he did successfully kick four of five extra points after Jackrabbit touchdowns. SDSU would win the game, 60-42. Remme kicked again the next week in the last game of the 1993 season, a 28-0 win over North Dakota. The Jackrabbits finished the season with a 7-4 record.
So how did it feel at the time to replace a future Pro Football Hall of Fame placekicker who would go on to become the NFL’s all-time leading scorer and a four-time Super Bowl champion?
David Bordewyk
“Well, of course, we didn't know how this was all going to transpire. Nobody would have even imagined the career he (Vinatieri) had. Unbelievable,” said Remme, who owns and operates a successful plumbing and heating business in his hometown of Luverne, Minnesota.
“I kicked in high school. I came to South Dakota State as a defensive lineman, and Stig (coach John Stiegelmeier) recruited me and he knew I kicked, and so then I became the backup kicker early on in my career at SDSU.”
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Remme likened the kicking slump Vinatieri went through in 1993 to what a golfer or baseball player may face. It was a combination of mental and mechanical hiccups that needed to be fixed. And he said being benched only made Vinatieri more determined.
Vinatieri was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, on Saturday, Aug. 8. He was asked about that rough patch in his collegiate career during a press conference on Thursday.
“It was a tough time. Obviously as a kicker you want to be successful all the time. Everybody goes through tough times, a slump. But I had a lot of great teammates that helped me get through it, supported me along the way and made sure that I got back on the field at some point. I just had a bunch of guys that meant the world to me. Those are the friendships you build that stay with you a lifetime,” Vintatieri said.
Drive and determination
Former SDSU football coach Stiegelmeier remembers that time as well. Stig was the defensive coordinator on the 1993 team.
Stiegelmeier said: “There’s a lot more pressure on placekicking than punting. And coach Daly put some pressure on him. I’m sure Adam accepted the decision by coach Daly. The coach was simply saying, ‘I believe in you, but take a break. Watch it from the sidelines and we'll get you back in there.’”
Remme attributes Vinatieri’s success to that drive and determination to achieve great things as well as his athleticism.
“The kid was a tremendous athlete. He benched over 300 pounds, squatted 500-600 pounds and he was a kicker. That was unheard of in those days. He was a tremendous athlete, and he could boom the ball. He was kicking 60-yard field goals in practice in the '90s, and that was unheard of. He just had talent.”
Talent, for sure.
During his senior season in 1994, Vinatieri would reclaim all of the placekicking duties in addition to punting. Vinatieri would end his collegiate career as a first-team all-North Central Conference punter for three consecutive years and second-team all-NCC honors as a placekicker in 1992. He was a first-team selection on two All-America teams in 1994.
As for Remme, he said choosing to play football at SDSU over the University of South Dakota and a few other schools was the best decision he ever made and that his time at SDSU was “among the best days of my life.”
He still stays connected to the football program and the university as a season ticket holder and follows the Jackrabbits closely.
“For me, Jackrabbit football after college has been as meaningful as it was in college,” Remme said.
These days, he stays in close contact with Adam Timmerman, a former Jackrabbit teammate who went on to his own standout professional football career with the St. Louis Rams and the Green Bay Packers.
“You know, look at that – I played with two guys who have been in a total of nine Super Bowls coming out of South Dakota State. Not many people can say that.”
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