When Matt Rhule hired Dana Holgorsen as the offensive coordinator he gave him full autonomy with the offensive staff. Rhule gave that same autonomy to special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler when he hired him. So, with unlimited coaches allowed on the field, it was no surprise when Ekeler brought in his own assistant in Nick Humphrey.
You don’t hand out that kind of power to assistant coaches and then not let them do things their way and run their scheme. So, while it made Rhule sick to inform Washington transfer punter Jack McCallister that he no longer fit in Nebraska’s plans, he knew he had no choice. That decision was made the day he hired Ekeler. Now, that’s not to say Ekeler came in with the idea of getting rid of McCallister.
I’m sure Rhule and Ekeler discussed rugby style punting before Ekeler was hired and that Ekeler spent a significant amount of time evaluating players. McCallister is a good punter, but one of the reasons he was so gracious when Rhule talked to him was that McCallister has struggled since arriving. The Nebraska wind and the way it swirls in Memorial Stadium convinced everyone involved a rugby style punter was needed. And that’s not McCallister. In fact, it’s no one on the current roster.
Seeing McCallister struggle probably made it easier on Rhule to make the change. But Rhule’s guilt is understandable with McCallister transferring from Washington because they also are going to rugby style punting. That, and Ed Foley was the one who recruited McCallister to Nebraska before Foley was demoted.
But Rhule hasn’t hidden the fact that his number one priority as Nebraska’s head coach is to win. And since Ekeler has had great success with rugby style punters over the last two seasons at Tennessee, Ekeler had a green light to do what was necessary.
There are several advantages to rugby style punting. For one, traditional punters use the same cadence every time, stepping forward towards the oncoming rush before kicking. This makes them predictable and allows the defense to time their rush because the punter will always be in the same spot every time he kicks. It also demands protection.
Rugby style punters run at an angle towards the line of scrimmage and kick on the move. Because of this, they hold onto the ball longer which gives the punt coverage team more time to get down the field. With the rugby punter running towards the line of scrimmage the threat of a fake is always there, and because he is on the move it allows him to hold onto the ball until the last second. Also, because rugby style punters can kick with either foot, this allows them to go left or right, making them unpredictable.
With traditional straight up punting, teams stay back to block for the punter, which allows the receiver time to catch the ball and return it. In the NFL only the outside gunners can release before the kick, however, in college football everyone on the punt team can run down the field as soon as the ball is snapped. So, the punter holding the ball longer allows his teammates to get down field and the returner is surrounded before he even thinks about catching the ball.
The flight of a Rugby style punt tends to be flatter and tumbling rather than the booming spiral of a traditional punt. This makes the ball harder to catch and with the wind at Memorial Stadium, the ball will be less affected. Traditional punts sometimes bounce forward or because of the landing, bounce backwards causing a loss of yards. The rugby style punt almost always bounces forward because of the top spin put on the ball, usually resulting in up to 20 to 30 extra yards. With the roll being unpredictable, like an onside kick, the ball is difficult for returners to handle.
Directionality of rugby style punting is also why it’s so effective, and occasionally a punter will try to hit a defensive player in the back to cause a turnover. All these things make the punting team far less predictable and make returning the ball much harder.
As of now Nebraska does not have a rugby style punter. But Matt Rhule indicated Mike Ekeler has a plan in place, and they will find a punter over the summer. More than likely, that man will come from ProKick Australia, a program that assist Australian athletes develop and transition into college football. Eight of the last twelve Ray Guy Award winners have come from ProKick. The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to college football’s most outstanding punters.
Ekeler’s punter at Tennessee was Jackson Ross, a redshirt sophomore. The 6’5” 205lb Ross is also a product of ProKick. In 25 games he has tallied 42 career punts inside the 20-yard line and has 18 career kicks of 50-plus yards. Due to Ross and his punts Tennessee’s punt unit only allowed 4 return yards in 2023.
Some have suggested Ekeler go after Ross and bring him to Nebraska. But I don’t see that happening. While Ross would be a great get, there are other guys out there. Currently there are multiple ProKick players in the transfer portal. As of the time of this writing, they include Boise State’s James Ferguson-Reynolds, Oregon’s Luke Dunne, FAU’s Nick Salmon, Louisiana Tech’s Patrick Rea, and East Carolina’s Luke Larsen. Plus, I’m sure there are several ProKick guys from ‘Down Under’ looking for a school to go to.
I like Mike Ekeler’s approach. Rugby style punting is aggressive. In fact, all three of Nebraska’s new coordinators are aggressive. That’s a good thing for Husker football. The game of football is supposed to be aggressive, and this Nebraska team has a chance to be the hammer rather than the nail.
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