Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. There have been first-round punters in the past, most recently in 1979. According to PFF, Araiza had the eighth-lowest kickoff return percentage in the country at less than 15%. Ray Guy, the only punter in the Hall of Fame, was drafted No. A story of soccer to San Diego, from punter to Punt God. section: | slug: 2022-nfl-draft-shocker-bills-land-punt-god-matt-araiza-who-surprisingly-gets-taken-behind-two-other-punters | sport: football | route: article_single.us | Of course you would use a first-round pick on the Punter That Was Promised. I recognize that my train of thought may be different from the rest of the league. He ran track as an underclassman at Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego, and recently told the Union-Tribune that the hurdles helped his footwork on punting. Stout was slightly ahead of him at 44.5 while Camarda was well below both guys at 41.6. Of Araiza's 79 punts, 37 went for at least 50 yards; 17 went for 60 yards or more; six went at least 70 yards; and two went for 80-plus yards (no other punter had two punts of 80 yards). 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. He has 28 punts of 50-plus yards; the NCAA record is 32, set in 1994. Aztecs head coach Brady Hoke recently said that Araiza is the teams MVP. , our 15th-highest-ranked prospect. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season. Araiza was chosen with the first pick in the sixth round, the 180th pick overall. Surely there's some NFL team that takes him earlier than you would expect. They attend expensive camps and begin perfecting their form. Something I hadnt really told anyone yet is if my professional football career ends and I still have a bit of gas in the tank, Im going to go out and try to play semi-pro soccer somewhere. A two-star recruit who was ranked as the 19th kicker in the class, he could have elevated his profile at one of the big-name kicking camps. Banners rationale is driven by the notion of replacement value. The Ray Guy Award winner and unanimous First-Team All-American declared for the NFL Draft last week with hopes of becoming the next punter drafted in the NFL. The crash took place before 3 a.m. on Jan. 15., just hours after the Bulldogs . When I originally went out for the football team, it wasnt to be a kicker. Did anyone nail their first three picks more than the Eagles? Gennaro Filice and Dan Parr rank each franchise's class, from No. With the new changes to the touchback rules, pretty much every kickoff is a touchback. Right now, that involves training hard and recovering sensibly. Unlike other positions, not many teams are looking to add a rookie punter to their team, let alone willing to draft a punter with a precious draft pick. Hand size 9 1/2 While that makes him significantly less employable as an NFL kickerif a righty kicker gets hurt, teams would never reach out to a lefty for tryouts, since its complicated to have a holder relearn how to get the snap down in reverseit makes him significantly more employable as a punter, as its believed that lefty punters put reverse spin on the ball that makes it tougher to catch. Zac Al-Khateeb is a content producer for The Sporting News. Brugler praised Thomas lateral quickness and constant effort to get to the ball. San Diego State's Matt Araiza is putting punters on the map, and his scouting report reveals why he's a highly rated 2022 NFL Draft prospect. Free shipping for many products! Early success formed a catalyst for what was to come later. No wonder the "punt god" is generating NFL draft buzz. Through the first 180 picks, there were more punters selected (3) than were taken in the entire 2021 draft combined (The Steelers selection of Pressley Harvin was the only punter pick last year). I always knew I could have that level of success, he said. One other theory is that teams are afraid Araiza might outkick his coverage in the NFL. several third-round selections at punter. 180 overall pick in the sixth round on Saturday. But the San Diego State punter, nicknamed "Punt God" by Twitter and anyone that has seen his 80-yard moonshots for three seasons with the Aztecs, has declared for the 2022 NFL Draft. The Aztecs are 7-0 and ranked 21st in the AP poll, with two wins over Pac-12 opponents. John Harbaugh is a former special teams coach and he has a better eye for punters and kickers than any other head coach in the NFL, so if he wanted Stout, you can bet he liked his punting style more than he liked Araiza's booming style. You can require or exclude terms using + and -: big +blue drop will require a match on blue while big blue -drop will exclude results that contain drop. Not only has he shown his prowess as a punter, but Coach Maalouf adds he kicked off as well and was good at it. Of the 27 punters drafted in the past 15 seasons, just six of these players have made a Pro Bowl these six punters only made one Pro Bowl each. But then came the 50-, 60-, 70-. He now holds the record for single-season punt average, with 51.19 yards per punt. Will Deadly January Car Accident Tank Jalen Carters Draft Stock? The Punter That Was Promised has arrivedwell be seeing his highlights for years to come. Since NFL defenses vary their fronts constantly, Thomas versatility to play inside or outside will give him a boost to climb teams draft boards. You won't want to miss a moment of the 2022 season! He has shown that he can line up on the inside shade of the guard, and he can win on the interior because he has that quickness, said Brugler. This, surprises me. This is a statement of fact rather than a prediction. And remember, the Big Punt wasnt even Araizas longest punt of the year. Also, a higher average yards per punt does not always mean better sometimes you want to directionally punt, so this can be misleading. Chad Reuter identifies 12 rookies picked on Day 3 of the NFL draft who could be in line for starter snaps in Year 1. Who will take advantage of potential opportunities? The Sporting News breaks down everything you need to know about Araiza's record-breaking season in 2021, and the elite group of punters he hopes to join who managed to leverage their collegiate career into high draft picks: Despite Araiza's incredible 2021 season, he is not expected to be among the highest-drafted punters of all time. He doesnt overwhelm his opponent [as a blocker], but more often than not, he gets the job done.. in this draft class last month and says teams view him as a second-round prospect. These were certified piss missiles not to be confused with lucky bounces and rolls. March 25, 2022 5 min read. Please enter a valid email and try again. Araiza also played cornerback for a while. Diverse team following across multiple sports leagues, but Aztecs come first in college athletics. It was awesome. The first specialist chosen was LSU kicker Cade York, who went to Cleveland in the fourth round, six picks before Stout was taken. Now for the burning question: where will Araiza be drafted in April? As for Araiza, the Bills could potentially be getting a steal with their selection of the player known as "Punt God.". Bellinger will have a massive opportunity to show teams that he should be drafted in the top 100 like his former tight end mate, starting with the Senior Bowl and then the NFL Combine. When we spoke on Tuesday night, Araiza called kicking a football really hard the greatest feeling. In addition to punting, he handles placekicking and kickoff duties for San Diego State. Will Aidan Hutchinson supercharge the Lions' pass rush? Playing sports is what I love. Plus, Nadine Smith on the Agendas Behind Wrestling Documentaries. Sorry, I cantPunt God is playing Fresno State on CBS Sports Network at 10:30 p.m. Kicking? When youre playing a field position battle, this guy will just flip the field and put the ball inside the other 20 with just one swing of his leg. Two additional teammates will look to add to the recent list of secondary players who made the jump to the NFL after excelling at San Diego State. 1, Ohio State linebacker Tom Cousineau, refused to sign with the Bills and instead inked a lucrative deal with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. Labeled the "Punt God," Araiza set an NCAA record with a 51.2-yard average on his punts in 2021. It is what it is. Even if we factor in returns and touchbacks, Araiza is on pace for history: SDSUs net punting average is 46.7 yards per punt; since the NCAA started including touchbacks in net punting average, no team has been better than 45.0. Araiza could have pursued soccer as a career. Patriots coach Bill Belichick famously fetishizes lefty puntershe probably has a hard drive full of Araiza clips lying around his office. Normally punters arent stars of undefeated teams, but Araiza is an exception. A kicker or punter has never finished in the top 10 of Heisman Trophy voting, but thats just because they fashioned the statue after a guy running instead of a guy punting. When Araiza was younger, his brother took him out to a local field with some footballs and let him kick away. Middle Tennessee State punter Kyle Ulbrich is . As Matt Araiza prepares to break positional norms in the 2022 NFL Draft class, his talents as a punter can be traced back to his roots at Rancho Bernardo High in San Diego. What Matt Araiza did in college football was revolutionary from a position where it's tough to disrupt how the game is played. Which teams helped themselves in Las Vegas -- and which teams are trending in the wrong direction? Before that, the last one came in 2013. In reality, he is an offensive weapon, the kind that ra-ra football coaches . With Camarda now in Tampa, that likely spells the end of Bradley Pinion's three-year run with the. This versatility only adds to his value heading into the NFL Draft since he can be the kickoff specialist as well as fill in as an emergency kicker should the starter suffer an injury during a game. To generate that fan base was a really cool experience and it was awesome to see. His worse pass-blocking grade came the next week against Towson, registering a 34.3 grade on 26 passing opportunities. #Bills #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/EA1iEWkdyA. Stout was among three finalists for the 2021 Ray Guy Award that went to Araiza as the nations top collegiate punter. Araiza had a 6.09 Prospect Grade on NFL.com, compared to 5.99 for Stout and 5.85 for Camarda. Wingspan 73 1/8 He's boomed multiple 80-yarders . When asked if there were any other Aztec players with potential draft stock, Brugler named left tackle Zach Thomas and running back Greg Bell as two guys who have a shot to be late-round picks or priority free agents (PFA). Yet, hed only punted in one game prior to this season. Every front office in the NFL may have Araiza at a different spot on their boards come the last week in April, but the standout college special teams player should hear his name called during the 2022 NFL Draft. 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