Redshirt junior kicker Dom Dzioban woke up at 7 a.m. on Sept. 28 like any other game day. The University of Massachusetts Minutemen were visiting Oxford later that day at 3:30 p.m. It’s the RedHawks’ final non-conference game of the season.
The RedHawks meet for a quick breakfast before the players go about their individual preparation. Dzioban and his roommate, senior punter Alec Bevelhimer, watch Chelsea beat Brighton in the Premier League.
At 11 a.m., the team meets for a pregame meal. Head coach Chuck Martin addresses the players with final reminders of the game before they board the bus and ride through Oxford.
Dzioban went about his morning and pregame routine as usual. He doinked a 40-yard field goal in front of the Minutemen in his pregame warmup.
Nothing about the day would have led anyone to believe he’d have two of the biggest plays in the RedHawks’ overtime victory over the Minutemen.
Dzioban played soccer growing up. He only put on a football jersey in high school after his friends convinced him.
“A lot of my buddies were all playing youth football, and going into high school, [they said], ‘We need a kicker,’” Dzioban said. “At high school, special teams start to matter a little bit more.”
Dzioban’s parents, both Polish immigrants, were hesitant with the path this sport would bring him. College was out of the picture if he didn’t get a scholarship for football.
“Heading into junior year, my high school coach [said], ‘Hey, you got a shot at this,’” Dzioban said. “When I told [my dad] I was gonna stop playing soccer… he [said], ‘You better be all in with this because if you don’t get a scholarship, it’s really no college for you.’”
During recruiting season, Miami’s special team coordinator at the time, Doug Shearer, developed a good friendship with Dzioban, and Martin offered him a full scholarship. At the postgame press conference after defeating UMass, Martin claimed Dzioban was the only specialist he’s given a scholarship to out of high school.
The RedHawks’ placekickers in 2020 competed heavily for the starting job, which eventually went to Henry Beckett. Dzioban instead served as a punter for his first two seasons.
Graham Nicholson stepped in as the team’s placekicker from 2021-22. Dzioban continued punting for the team, recording 3,136 yards across 13 games in 2022.
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Despite finding success as a punter, Dzioban wasn’t ecstatic about his position on the team.
“I didn't really plan on punting [in] college,” Dzioban said. “But I kind of embraced my role as the punter. I got good at it because that’s what was going to help the team win.”
His collegiate career was going well so far, but 2023 had different plans for him. A leg injury before the year began sidelined him for the season that saw the RedHawks claim a MAC championship.
He spent three years as a punter instead of a placekicker, and his injury kept him off the field when the RedHawks boasted one of their best seasons in recent years. But his teammates were left guessing whether Dzioban was disappointed, content or emotional about this.
“Just seeing him last year, nothing had gone the way he wanted to with injuries and stuff, but you never noticed it,” Bevelhimer said. “Most guys are going to be down and in the dumps, but he was just the best teammate and best supporter for everyone.”
Nicholson transferred to the University of Alabama Crimson Tide following the 2023 season. Dzioban finally had a chance to step in as the team’s placekicker, but first, he needed to overcome his injury.
The RedHawks’ new special teams coordinator, Kyle Blocker, arrived in Oxford in the offseason and found a nationally-ranked punter in Bevelhimer but a bruised placekicker.
“When I first got here in the winter, he was still really banged up, almost to the point where he didn’t know if he was gonna be able to kick or punt again,” Blocker said. “Looking back on it now, it’s like, ‘Geez, look how far he’s come.’”
Going into summer, Blocker was still unsure if Dzioban would be ready for the season. By fall, it was clear that nothing was going to stop him from kicking the team’s field goals and extra points for the year.
Through the first three games of the season, Dzioban went 4-6 on field goals and 1-1 on extra points. The RedHawks slipped to 0-3 going into the matchup against the Minutemen.
At 6:45 p.m., the Minutemen held the lead 20-17 with 40 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The RedHawks’ offense fought to the opposing 26-yard line. Dzioban walked onto the field for a 47-yard attempt, the longest of his career.
His teammates will tell you that Dzioban doesn’t have any superstitions or pre-kick rituals. He takes kicks one at a time. Even when missing the shorter, 40-yard field goal before the game, Dzioban was going into this game-tying attempt with nothing on his mind.
“He’s the master of his own fate,” Bevelhimer said. “He makes sure to preach that there’s nobody more confident than him, and he never backs down.”
The ball snapped, the kick went up and the score was suddenly tied 20-20 and heading into overtime.
The defense stopped UMass from impacting the scoreboard, and the RedHawks’ offense wasn’t able to move the ball but still set Dzioban up for a game-winning field goal.
At 7 p.m., 12 hours after his day started, Dzioban’s right foot met the ball and ended the game on another 47-yard attempt, 23-20.
“I don’t know why, but I felt like, no matter what, as long as I’m out on that field, we’re gonna win the game,” Dzioban said. “I hit it right off the right part of my foot, and I knew I followed through well. I didn’t even have to look up, honestly.”
Dzioban ended Miami’s three-game losing streak in the last non-conference game of the season. Looking ahead to conference play, he said he hopes his teammates know that he can make those game-changing plays.
“I love those moments,” Dzioban said. “I wanted my team to count on me, and I’m glad I was able to execute.”
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