Watching Justin Medlock robotically strut out onto the field, swing his left leg and stare emotionless as the ball sails through the uprights brings to mind a scene from the movie ‘Terminator.’

In that clip, Arnold Schwarzenegger, playing the part of a cyborg killing machine, is in a dingy hotel room when the janitor knocks on the door and asks, ‘Hey buddy… you got a dead cat in there or what?’

Arnie the cyborg runs through a list of possible responses, among them ‘Yes/No’; ‘Or what?’; ‘Go Away’ or ‘Please come back later’ before settling on a very succinct, not-suitable-for-all-audiences three-word answer.

Well, just for the record – and despite his outwardly stone-cold approach to kicking – Justin Medlock is not a cyborg. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers placekicker/punter is simply passionate about what he does and is constantly studying, tinkering and fine-tuning his art.

“I think he eats and sleeps kicking,” began Chad Rempel, the Bombers’ veteran long snapper. “There’s been points in the offseason, and in the season, where I’ve gotten messages from him at 10 at night, seven in the morning, showing me a video of a certain hold, snap, kick… whatever it may be.

“He knows everything about punting and kicking. He’s very meticulous right down to every last detail.”

“It’s the same thing with quarterbacks and all other positions,” added Medlock.

“Guys are very particular with their craft… I’m just a little extreme with some things.” Justin Medlock

Extreme? That’s one way to refer to it.

An example: During a 14-minute chat with bluebombers.com about kicking on Thursday, Medlock shrugged off his current string of 20 consecutive field goals – a new Bombers record – which has only helped to further cement his place as the most accurate kicker in Canadian Football League history.

Instead, he was still trying to wrap his head around the four misses he had earlier in the year – for the record, from 47 (hit upright), 51, 50 and 49 yards – and his role in not preparing his field goal snapper/holder team better.

This is a guy who spent five minutes on Thursday explaining the intricacies of holding for a left-footed vs. right-footed kicker, everything from how to catch the ball to focusing on the pin.

This is a guy who was seen recently working with Julian Feoli-Gudino – the back-up to the back-up as a holder – on how he catches a long snap.

“I’ve worked with NFL guys and holders and I would say I’m the best holder on the team, so I know how to coach them up,” said Medlock. “I have a way of explaining it… something a lot of people don’t know how to do.

“You know, I’m a little bit of a clown off the field, but for that four-five hours on game day, it’s time to focus and come out and execute. That’s just the way I do it. I’d like to go out there and have a little bit more fun with it but I just can’t get into that mindset. Some guys like Paul McCallum didn’t really seem to care. He’d just swing the leg once and he’d be good to go. Maybe it was because he did it for 20-some years. Maybe in 10 years I’ll be the same way. He played until he was 46.”

Here’s what comes up in any conversation about kicking with Medlock: there’s a confident-not-cocky swagger in everything he says. That translates to when he lines up for a kick, too, in a mindset he has had dating back to his days at UCLA, when he was a consensus All-American.

He simply expects, not hopes, to make every single attempt.

“I’m supposed to make it, right?” said Medlock with a shrug. “That’s what they signed me to do: make kicks. I mean, I didn’t come here to miss kicks. I thought I was going to have a better start to the year, but it happens.

“I’ve studied other kickers, from the ball rotation to how they strike the ball to the mental side. And I’ve been around guys who are borderline cocky in what they do. It works for them and they’re solid. I have that, even if there are some times in the week or on the day I don’t feel I’m kicking it as well. You have to have that mindset.

“Watching (B.C. Lions kicker) Richie Leone the other night,” Medlock added, “we were just working out in the gym in my garage and talking about game-winning field goals and you see by the way he came out he had that same attitude (before kicking a last-minute three to beat Toronto).

“You live and learn. The one thing that really helped me was getting fired up and angry a little bit. It’s like, ‘OK, I’m going to knock it in and I’m going to knock it in right down the middle.’ That’s what helped me, where some people are like, ‘OK, breathe…’ and focusing on staying calm.”

“I’m always; ‘I’m knocking this one in, right down the middle.” Justin Medlock

BOMBER REPORT – SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

OUCH REPORT:

The Bombers completed another day with Weston Dressler working with the No. 1 offence and Ryan Smith with the second unit. Dressler has been given the thumbs up to return and while Smith said he’s good to go, head coach Mike O’Shea’s answer after practice Thursday on his status was, ‘We’ll see.’

Also, Jermarcus Hardrick is taking most of the reps at right tackle.

O’Shea said LB Sam Hurl won’t play in Sunday’s Labour Day Classic but Garrett Waggoner should be good to go.

FYI:

Former Bomber defensive coordinator Gary Etcheverry has been added by the Roughriders as a defensive consultant. Etcheverry was the first defensive boss hired by O’Shea before he was let go.

Former Bomber RB Paris Cotton has landed on the Calgary Stampeders practice roster.

Bomber safety Taylor Loffler has been named the Canada West Alumnus Player of the Month for August.

MACHO’S NOD:

Bomber safety Macho Harris, currently on the injured list, received some news to boost his spirits: he is to be inducted into his high school’s Wall of Fame. The Highland Springs High School Wall of Fame Committee recently sent him a letter informing him of the news, with the ceremony to be held Oct. 5 in Richmond Virginia.

Harris was a running back, cornerback, and safety with the Springers and was the No. 1-rated high school player coming out of Virginia in 2005. He played his college ball at Virginia Tech, was a fifth-round draft choice of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009 also had stints with Washington and Pittsburgh before signing with Saskatchewan in 2012. The Bombers added him this offseason.

“I can remember everything about those days. Everything from the players to the coaches to the teachers, my family… that was an important part of my career,” said Harris this week. “In high school it helps you get jump started and pointed in the right direction. I had huge support then and still do to this day.

“You really don’t know how important those days are until years later. I’m really honoured by this.”

QUOTABLE:

“Earlier in my career I was around some great kickers, but I was so worried about my own job. Now I feel like I’m more part of the unit. We’ve built a trust. He’s the best in the business. I can appreciate his work. He knows himself as well as anybody. I’m learning a lot from him, too.” – Bomber long snapper Chad Rempel on working with Justin Medlock.

SEA OF ROYAL BLUE?:

Bomber fan Jesse Martin is reaching out to fans asking them to wear royal blue to the Banjo Bowl.

“Wear Royal Blue,” wrote Martin in an e-mail. “T-shirts, costumes or jerseys, wigs, paint, etc… whatever you can come up with! We are now heading back to the color that once dominated the glory days in the 80’s and early 90’s.”