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. What I was asked to do was different from a skill set (perspective) than maybe other players have. SIGN UP NOW: $1,000 risk-free on FanDuel Sportsbook! Big, big leg. SOMEONE GET ME A TABLE!! Which teams knocked it out of the park? Above is a plot of the average. Freshman year of high school. 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). Soon after San Diego State's bowl win in December, Araiza declared early for the drafta rarity for a punterand began the transition from player to prospect. The draft was held May 34, 1979, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, New York. Araiza may be the greatest college punter of all time. Several other three-round mock drafts have slotted Thomas fro, m the first round to not listed. Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News, for example, projects Araiza to go 174th overall to the defending AFC champion Bengals. He has 28 punts of 50-plus yards; the NCAA record is 32, set in 1994. Gennaro Filice and Dan Parr rank each franchise's class, from No. But Matt didnt have dreams of special teams stardom. Im pretty confident in that regard.. You won't want to miss a moment of the 2022 season! Something went wrong. + Show More. I remember having some coaches pull me to the side and told me, Hey, if you take football seriously, with your leg you have a lot of potential. 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. The selection of Araiza gave SDSU four players in the 2022 NFL Draft. When I originally went out for the football team, it wasnt to be a kicker. 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. #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/ifbf6FjLa0, Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) April 30, 2022. 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). Is Araiza the Punter That Was Promised? Araiza served as SDSU's placekicker while he was in college, so he's never had to hold. The Punt God has found a new home. It was definitely a cool experience.. Hed be worthy of going first. Below are the top 10 highest-drafted punters in the history of the NFL draft: Of that group, Guy went onto become a Pro Football Hall of Famer; Stark was a first-team All Pro selection in 1983 and four-time Pro Bowler; Skladany was a 1981 Pro Bowler; Sauebrun was a four-time All-Pro selection, three-time Pro Bowler and two-time NFL punt yards leader; Tupa was a 1999 All-Pro selection; and Anger was a 2021 second-team All-Pro selection, as well as the 2013 NFL punting yards leader. By Ted McGovern Remove quotes around phrases to match each word individually: "blue drop" will match less than blue drop. Zac Al-Khateeb is a content producer for The Sporting News. I agree to receive the "Pick Six Newsletter" and marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers), and other information from CBS Sports and the Paramount family of companies. 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. Cornerback Tayler Hawkins accepted an invite to the Hula Bowl, which takes place on January 15 in Orlando, FL. These traits make for an incredibly impressive athlete, but how would he test at the NFL Combine? But he still wasnt punting. Who failed to address serious needs? in this draft class last month and says teams view him as a second-round prospect. Personally, I would not draft a punter, regardless of how good he is, until the 7th-round the 6th-round at the earliest. in this draft class last month. Achieving a historic 12-win season and earning a spot in the final College Football Playoff Top 25 Rankings brought many advantages for the San Diego State Aztecs. After three balls, he told my dad that I was going to play in the NFL, Araiza says. 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. All four players have the talent to compete and excel at the next level. DUDE HE PUNTED IT FROM THE END ZONE TO THE OPPOSING 18-YARD LINE ON THE FLYTHIS GUY IS THE GREATEST PUNTER OF ALL TIME pic.twitter.com/ED5OyqZ83k, Rancho Bernardo Alumni Matt Araiza with a 75 Yard Punt for SDSU pic.twitter.com/XPHfBMz468, Inexplicably, Matt Araiza did not win Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week despite having one of the best punting games in NCAA history. All that matters is watching him boom footballs as far as he can. The Punter That Was Promised would be the most valuable player in football by a wide margin. Highest Punter Ever Drafted Russell Erxleben was drafted No. Araiza should win the Ray Guy Award, which goes to the nations best punter. 22 San Diego State at New Mexico, Structure of Manny Machados new contract leaves Padres room to add more big names, Spring training recap: Juan Soto stays hot, Nick Martinez earns extra work in rain-shortened Padres win, Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove fractures big toe in kettlebell accident; timetable for return tough to forecast, Column: Padres roller-coaster day includes Joe Musgrove injury, Manny Machado contract, Fernando Tatis debut, Februarys athletes of the month include CIF hoops and soccer champs, standout grapplers, David Benner, Indiana Pacers longtime PR director, dies, Panthers weighing options as quarterback hunt continues, Tennessee PG Zakai Zeigler suffers season-ending knee injury, Cadiz wants to halt Spanish league after refereeing mistake, Annecy stuns favorite Marseille to reach 1st French Cup semi, No. All Rights Reserved. But colleges dont scout kickers based on who makes the most high school field goals; they scout guys who come recommended by kicking coaches, who often assess only players who paid to go to their camps. Sprint draft legal and classic sprint distance triathlon held at Mission Bay and Fiesta Island . Certainly, a benefit for Araiza is his ability to also excel at kickoffs and handle place-kicking duties if necessary, providing more reason to use a middle-round pick on the Ray Guy Award winner. While the PFF analytics are excellent indicators of success, NFL teams will trust their evaluations from watching game tape and in-person workouts. The San Diego, California native has a career kicking percentage of over 73% as the Aztecs kicker. One of the most exciting prospects in the 2022 NFL Draft is San Diego State University's Matt Araiza. released on November 30, 2021, Brugler slotted Thomas to the Dallas Cowboys with the 25th pick of the first round, adding, Thomas has been nearly unblockable this season for the Aztecs, currently leading college football with 72 pressures., Thomas won the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year afte. Araizas ascension to the summit of his position and the attention that has come with it has been one of the storylines of the college football season. Most punters dont achieve that distance in a career. Former Saints punter Thomas Morstead recently explained to the Athletic why that's a concern. I know the type of season I put on. Labeled the "Punt God," Araiza set an NCAA record with a 51.2-yard average on his punts in 2021. Araiza seems like he's going to be a good fit in Buffalo. I dont think Ive ever seen a ball travel like that before.. By Oliver Hodgkinson April 14, 2022 Jump Around This Article Click to show Punters are NFL Draft prospects, too always have been, always will be. Banners rationale is driven by the notion of replacement value. Araiza set a school record for made field goals in a season and ranked sixth in the nation in touchback percentage in 2019. According to Austin Gayle of Pro Football Focus, 63 percent of Araiza's punts were downed inside the 20; another 27 were downed inside the 10. This reinforces the significance of gross versus net punting averages. Araizas potential as a kicker and punter was immediately obvious at Rancho Bernardo. Neutral Media. Brugler ranked Thomas as the 7th-best edge rusher in this draft class last month and says teams view him as a second-round prospect. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season. He is also highly accurate as a punter, with 37 of his 79 punts (46.8%) landing inside the opponents 20-yard line in 2021 against just 15 touchbacks. Soccer was, for sure, the first sport I wanted to play professionally. National Championship Game Recap: What Went Wrong? Bucky Brooks highlights 10 perfect rookie-team fits from the 2022 NFL Draft. Only two punters since 1982 were drafted in the second round of the NFL Draft; Rohn Stark with the 34th pick in 1982 by the Baltimore Colts and Todd Sauerbrun with the 56th pick in 1995 by the Chicago Bears. Every coach will want to do their due diligence as far as timing his touch to toe operation and seeing how he does with a real NFL Duke ball. 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. Yes, thats right Araiza truly flipped the field for the Aztecs, changing the line-of-scrimmage from their own 11-yard-line to the 3-yard-line of the Spartans. According to PFF, Dunkle registered a 38.0 pass-blocking grade and committed two penalties against Arizona and a 55.6 grade against Utah the following week on 18 pass opportunities in each game. 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. Three juniors, all local San Diego kids, were named to the Associated Press All-American Teams. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. That was somewhat of a goal. Between high school punting and a love of soccer, he developed a leg of steel that was easily the most powerful in college football this last season and beyond. Early success formed a catalyst for what was to come later. Araiza shattered the all-time record of 32 punts of 50 or more yards in a single season, by achieving 39. He is exceptional on fourth down, averaging 51.2 yards per punt in his most recent season. Hes a talented guy who should help with winning the field position category., However, just like any other special teams prospect, Coach Maalouf believes the San Diego State product should be worked out by coaches. The Aztecs Punt God gained a national following for his record-setting exploits last season. Pat McAfee, all that stuff was hilarious, seeing some of the memes were really funny, the nicknames, all that stuff. The draft was held May 3-4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, New York. Overflowing with accolades and a pious sobriquet, San Diego State punter Matt Araiza is going from the sunny skies of Southern California to the wintery winds of Buffalo, as the Bills selected him with the No. Yet, hed only punted in one game prior to this season. All You Touch and All You See: Dark Side of the Moon at 50. Yet, Araiza went and nailed an 86-yard punt and an 81-yarder in consecutive games against San Jose State and Air Force. 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