A Step Ahead: Jim Stefani's Underclassmen Football Recruiting Blog

Class of 2007: Punters

Most of the thumbnails listed below were written in the spring/early summer. Rankings have been slightly modified since then. Some talented combo-kicker/punters were listed in the ranking for kickers that I posted a few days ago.


Top 56

1 Bryan Anger P 6'4 189 4.70 Camarillo California California Kicking guru Chris Sailer calls Anger the top punter in the nation. A First Team Ventura County Star All-County selection as a junior, Anger was effective with his booming kicks on both punts and kickoffs. Anger topped all area punters with 31 punts for 1,268 yards, averaging just under 40 yards per punt. His long punt measured 64 yards. Anger also kept opponents pinned on kickoffs in launching 29 kickoffs for 1,444 yards. He committed to California in October. 1-Ventura County Star-County (P); 1-CIF-Division IV-Southern Section (P) OFFERS: NW, CAL, LSU, ORE, BOISE ST, WASH, STAN, CLEM

2 Chas Henry P/PK/QB 6'2 190 East Paulding Georgia Florida Chas is one of the elite punters in the nation. As a junior, he averaged 46.1 yards per punt and also hit on a 51-yard field goal. As a sophomore, he averaged 41 yards per punt. He is also a very fine kicker, showing off a strong leg and fine accuracy. Fine student, with a 3.8 GPA and strong SAT scores. He committed to Florida in July. OFFERS: FLA

3 Ryan Breen P/PK/DB 6'2 190 Clarkston Michigan Penn State Breen is the top punter in the midwest and among the best in the nation. He was the top punter and the Michigan summer camp (averaged 51.2 yards per punt and over 4 seconds in hang time at the camp) and also had the longest kickoffs at the camp. He has an exceptionally strong leg. Not just a kicking specialit, he's also a pretty good DB. He committed to Penn State in June. HM-AP-A-AS (P); HM-News-A-AS (K); HM-News-Metro (K); 2-News-North (K) OFFERS: PSU

4 Darren DeRochemont P/PK 5'10 180 4.80 Seffner Armwood Florida Chris Sailer ranks DeRochemont as one of the top 10 overall kicking specialists in the nation. A talented multi-purpose kicker who is effective on kickoffs, field goals and punting the ball. He has tremendous hang time on his punts and also gets excellent distance. As a junior, he was named Honorable Mention All-Suncoast by the St. Petersburg Times. HM-St. Petersburg Times-Suncoast (K)

5 Robbie Broach P/PK 6'0 180 Hahnville Louisiana Broach was a Second Team Junior All-American and First Team Class 5A All-State selection as a junior punter. He averaged 42.6 yards per punt. He's also a pretty good kicker. 3-AS; 1-LSWA-5A-AS (P); 1-District 5-5A (P)

6 Daniel Torres P 6'3 230 Diamond Bar California Torres ia a wide-body of a punter, but he has a booming leg and gets tremendous hang-time. As a junior he was named First Team Junior All-State. Also a pretty good kicker. 1-CAL-Junior-AS (P)

7 Blake Clingan P/PK 6'3 215 4.60 Coral Springs Florida Central Florida Already as a sophomore he was considered by some talent evaluators to be among the nations premier punters. Clingan has a very strong leg andn gets excellent hang time on his punts. As a junior, he averaged 43 yards per punt. He averaged over 42 yards per punt at one camp after his sophomore year. Has really shined at kicking camps. He committed to Central Florida in July. x

8 Ryan Tydlacka P/PK 6'3 205 Louisville Trinity Kentucky Kentucky A First Team All-State selection as a junior, he was averaging over 47 yards per punt midway through his senior season. Also a solid kicker. His older brother kicked at Louisville. Was very impressive at te Kentucky summer camp. He committed to Kentucky in October. 1-AP-AS (P); 3-LouisvilleCourier-Journal-AS (P) OFFERS: KY

9 Kiel Rasp P/PK/TE/B 6'2 185 Lake City Nathan Hale Washington A consensus First Team All-Stater as a junior, Rasp could be the top punter in the nation. He was named First Team Junior All-American by Student Sports. He is a two-time all-stater and has a superb leg plus great hang time. As a junior, he averaged school-record 46.1 yards per punt and had a 70-yarder. He also kicked field goals of 35, 19, 35 yards and played TE. 70 WASH JRs to Watch (WASH – February 5, 2006); 1-Seattle Times-AS (P); 1-AP-3A-AS (P); 1-3A-AS (P); 1-Seattle Star-Times-Area (P); 1-Metro League Sound Division (P)

10 Thomas Demarco P/PK/QB 5'10 180 Palm Desert California An All-Area selection as a junior, DeMarco was a multi-purpose performer on the field but is a big-time punter. At Chris Sailer's camp he was one of the top punters in the nation, averaging 45.5 yards per punt. As a junior, he threw for 1,912 yards and 17 touchdowns, converted eight field goals, punted 13 times over 50 yards and twice over 70. As a sophomore, he had 35 punts for 1,498 yards (42.8 avg.). 1-CIF-Division VIII-Southern Section (P); 1-Palm Springs Desert Sun-Valley; 1-PS-Inland Empire; 1-Riverside Press-Enterprise-PS-Area

11 Eric Richards P/PK 6'4 225 4.90 Vicksburg Mississippi Mississippi State Richards was a Second Team All-State punter as a junior and is also a fine placekicker. As a junior, he averaged 40.2 yards per punt sand made all four of his field goal attempts inside of 45 yards. Also a talented soccer player. He committed to Mississippi State in September. OFFERS: MSST

12 Kyle Clark P Mountain Home Idaho Clark is one of the top overall prospects in Idaho. As a junior, he was named First Team Class 4A All-State. He averaged 45.6 yards per punt after averaging 44.1 yards in 2004. Clark is a three-way player, starting on offensive line and linebacker for Mountain Home. He also looked very good at the Chris Sailer camp. 1-4A-AS (P)

13 Tyler Wheaton P/PK Polk County North Carolina Wheaton is a talented kicker/punter who was an AP First Team All-State punter as a sophomore after averaging 42.0 yards per punt. Top 25 Juniors-NC (August 2005)

14 Jonathan Schmidt P/PK/QB 6'3 190 St. Louis Chaminade Missouri The top punter in Missouri and has also shined at kicking camps. First Team All-St. Louis Area as a junior after averaging 41.4 yards per punt on 39 attempts. Also starte at QB and passed for 825 yards and 4 TDs and rushed for 135 yards and 2 TDs. Also kicked five field goals. As a sophomore, he averaged 37.9 yards per punt on 39 attempts. 1-MSS-5A-AS (P); 1-St. Louis Post-Dispatch-Metro (P)

15 Derek Epperson P 6'3 220 Keller Texas Baylor Epperson is considered by some to be one of the top two punters in Texas. He has nice size and punts the ball far with excellent hang-time. He committed to Baylor in July. OFFERS: BAY, RICE

16 Jonathan LaCour P/PK 6'2 192 Kingwood Texas Tremendous combo kicker and punter ho has really shined at kicking camps the past couple of years. Kicked 4 field goals and 19 PATs as a sophomore. As a junior, he was the leading punter in his district and hit on a 54-yard field goal. Gets his punts up very high and his kickoffs regularly go deep into the endzone. Very athletic as well. 2--Greater Houston 5A-Area (P); 1-District 22-5A-Zone A (P)

17 Anson Kelton P/TE 6'3 250 5.13 Aledo Texas Rice Strong-legged and athletic punter who gets great hang-time on his punts. Also an outstanding pooch punter. Talented DE/TE as well, but was recruited to be a punter. He committed to Rice in September. 1-District 6-4A (TE) OFFERS: RICE

18 Kyle Selden P/DL/TE Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes Michigan Selden started at WR, DE, kicker and as a punter for Lakes. His future, however, is definitely as a punter. He only punted the ball 14 times as a junior but averaged a whopping 50 yards per punt.

19 Chris Fuchs P/PK 6'0 180 Pembroke Pines Charter Florida A First Team All-Broward County Small Schools selection as a junior after averaging an impressive 45.5 yards per punt. Also had 10 extra points and three field goals as a place-kicker. 1-Fort Lauderdale SS-Broward-Small (P)

20 Jack Fulford P Ware County Georgia Fulford was the top punter at the 2005 Auburn sumer camp. He followed up with an outstanding junior season, averaging 42.6 yards on 38 punts.

21 Alex Alejo P 5'9 145 Gridley California Alejo was a Second Team Junior All-State selection after averaging 41 yards on 50 punts. Also starts at wide receiver (26 receptions for 486 yards) and DB (31 tackles and 2 INTs) and kicks off. ; 2-CAL-Junior-AS (P)

22 Kyle Farrell P/PK 6'4 205 Salem West Salem Oregon Strong-legged combo-kicker who has booted a 55-yarder in practice but is primarily receiving major looks as a punter. Also a pretty good LB and TE Portland Oregonian Top 88 Juniors (April 19, 2006); HM-Portland Oregonian-4A-AS (P); 1-Valley League (4A) (P); 2-Valley League (4A) (TE); HM-Valley League (4A) (K)

23 Kyle Smith P/PK 5'10 185 Liberty Nevada Smith was a First Team All-Stater as a junior after averaging 43.3 yards on 49 punts (long of 63 yards). Also kicked field goals of 37 and 39 yards. 1-Las Vegas Review Journal-AS (P)

24 Chris Stoddard P/PK/DB/QB 6'0 160 Jamestown Southwestern New York All-Western New York selection as a junior after averaging 42.3 yards on 32 punts. Always on the field. Also had seven interceptions at DB and led his team in rushing and passing. 3-NYSWA-B-AS (DB); 1-Buffalo News-WNY (P)

25 Heath Hutchins P 6'0 185 Saltillo Mississippi First Team All-Tupelo Area as a junior after averaging 41.2 yards per punt with long of 62 yards. Is an outstanding field position punter. 1-Tupelo Daily Journal-Area

26 Dustin Schulte P 5'10 155 Nazareth Texas A First Team AP Class 1A All-State selection after averaging 45.2 yards on 15 punts, with five inside the 20. 1-AP-1A-AS (P)

27 Nathan Ashburn P Little Rock Catholic Arkansas

28 Anthony Savone P/DB/RB/LB 5'11 205 Allen Park Michigan HM-News-Metro (K/P); 1-News-Herald-Downriver-Class A

29 Justin Beasley P Franklin Texas

30 Nick Elsmo P Severn Maryland

31 Danny Hernandez P/PK/DB 5'9 160 4.90 Dallas Molina Texas

32 Sean Dornbusch P/PK Covington Holy Cross Kentucky

33 Brad Elkin P/PK Bellarmine Prep Washington

34 Chris Cooper P/PK/DB/WR 5'9 155 Torrance South California

35 Jacob Robinson P/PK 6'0 170 4.70 Spartanburg Dorman South Carolina

36 Greg McCoy P/PK 5'11 165 Webster Groves Missouri

37 Ben Armer P 6'1 190 Janesville Parker Wisconsin 2-AP-AS (P); HM-WFCA-AS (P)

38 Andrew Newberry P/QB 6'3 180 Brentwood Missouri

39 Michael Groody P/PK 5'10 180 Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas Florida 1-Miami Herald-Broward-6A-4A (P); 2-Fort Lauderdale SS-Broward-Large (P)

40 Brendan Green P Klein Collins Texas

41 Austin White P/PK 5'7 140 Portland Tennessee 1-TSWA-4A-AS (P)

42 Jon Schmidt P/PK/DB/WR 6'2 175 St. Louis Chaminade Missouri

43 Gunter Elenburg P/LB 6'1 181 4.70 Jacksboro Texas

44 Paul Rodriguez P/PK ??? California

45 Zach Seibel P Highlands Ranch Mountain Vista Colorado

46 Aaron Bates P/PK 6'1 170 New Concord John Glenn Ohio 1-AP-Division III-AS (P); 1-OPS-III-AS (P); 3-K/P-Jrs-OH (August 2005)

47 Ryan Genco P 5'10 166 Silver Creek New York

48 Nate Mentzer P The Woodlands Texas

49 Manuel Cisneros P 5'10 150 Chicago Curie Illinois 1-Chicago Sun-Times-Public League

50 Tom Tudor P/PK 5'11 160 Niwot Colorado 1-Denver Post-3A-AS (P)

51 JaBraun Knox P DeKalb Indiana

52 Jimmy Klingensmith P/LB/OL 6'1 200 Tempe Marcos de Niza Arizona 2-Arizona Republic-5A-AS (P)

53 Zack Steffen P/PK 5'9 140 Wichita Carroll Kansas 1-Wichita City League (P); 2-Wichita City League (K)

54 Marcus Reyes P/PK 6'2 190 Allen Texas

55 Alex King P Forsyth Country Day North Carolina

56 Kasper Axtell P Flagstaff Arizona


Honorable Mention


John Dalton P/DB/QB/ATH Dansville Alabama HM-ASWA-3A-AS (ATH); 1-Hartselle Enquirer-Area (P)
Blaine Carlisle P 5'10 150 Sardis Alabama 1-ASWA-3A-AS (P)
Cody Morrow P/PK ??? Arizona
Daniel Vega P Ironwood Ridge Arizona 2-Tucson Arizona Star-Southern Arizona (P)
Tyler Wagner P/DB/WR 6'2 185 North Canyon Arizona
Zach Shultis P/PK ??? California
Luke Olmo P/PK ??? California
Colin Boyer P/PK ??? California
Andrew Aguila P 6'0 170 Bellflower St. John Bosco California 1-CIF-Division I-Southern Section (P)
Brandon Ybarra P/WR/PK 6'2 190 Encino Crespi California
Arturo Villa P 5'9 155 Golden Valley California 1-Bakersfield Californian-Area (P)
David Cruz P/PK 5'9 160 Paradise California 1-Pre-All-Northern Section
Jonathan Knack P 6'0 165 Santa Ana Mater Dei California
Ben Weber P/PK 5'11 175 Twentynine Palms California
Brady Quarry P 6'0 175 Manitou Springs Colorado 1-Rocky Mountain News-2A-AS (P)
Zack Peterson P Colorado 2-Rocky Mountain News-3A-AS (P)
Robert Beary P/DB 5'10 185 4.55 Apopka Florida 1-Orlando Sentinel-Orange County
Kevin Holland P/PK 6'1 210 Daytona Beach Mainland Florida 2-Orlando Sentinel-Volusia County; 2-Daytona Beach News-Journal-Area
John Steck P 5'10 190 Delray Beach Atlantic Florida
Daniel Harmon P 6'2 230 Josey Florida
Ryan Ruckle P Miami Monsignor Pace Florida
John Crowley P 6'0 170 Perry Taylor County Florida
Kevin Campbell P Riverview Florida
Wes Baldwin P/PK Tallahassee Godby Florida HM-Tallahassee Democrat-Big Bend-CLASS 4A-3A (P)
Mike Antonakakis P 6'2 190 Tampa Hillsborough Florida HM-Tampa Tribune-Hillsborough County
Nathan Toulson P/OL 6'3 235 West Palm Beach King’s Academy Florida HM-FSWA-2B-AS (P); 1-Fort Lauderdale SS-Palm Beach-Small (P)
Julius Patterson P Burke County Georgia
Brian Holloway P 6'6 255 North Oconee Georgia
Ashton Adams P/RB Nimitz Hill Guam Guam 1-DODDS-Pacific Far East
Tony Maxwell P/PK ??? Idaho
Josh Fossnock P Clinton Prairie Indiana
Cody Myler P 5'11 185 Missouri Valley Iowa 2-Des Moines Register-2A-AS (P)
Eric Guthrie P/PK 6'6 200 Nevada Iowa 1-INA-3A-AS (P); 2-Des Moines Register-3A-AS (P)
Stefan Welch P/PK Yokota Japan 1-DODDS-Pacific Far East
Josh Bleser P/TE 6'2 205 Covington Catholic Kentucky 2-AP-AS (P)
Trent Hebert P/QB 5'10 170 Cecilia Louisiana 1-District 5-3A (P)
Brady Glaser P 6'0 175 East Beauregard Louisiana 1-LSWA-2A-AS
John Michiels P 6'0 175 Shreveport Captain Shreve Louisiana 101-136-LA (Dandy Don-January 2005); 1-LSWA-4A-AS (P)
Christopher Bujol P 6'3 170 St. John Louisiana 1-Baton Rouge Advocate-3A-2A-1A -Metro (P)
Jesse Volk P C.M. Wright Maryland 1-Baltimore Sun-Harford County (P)
Nick Hanson P/DB/WR 6'1 150 Francis Scott Key Maryland 2-Small School-AS; 1-Baltimore Sun-Carroll County (P)
Gerrard DeWet P/LB 6'0 200 Lewiston-Altura Minnesota 54-JRs-MIN (Winter 2006)
Cory Carlson P 6'0 180 Gulfport Mississippi 1-MAC-5A-AS (P)
Charlie Fall P 6'5 141 Stringer Mississippi
Spencer Mason P/LB/QB 6'1 190 Ladue Missouri 2-MFCA-4A-AS (P)
Max Wheeler P/PK St. Louis University Missouri
Jordan Rathke P/WR 6'0 145 Centura Nebraska
Michael Kuss P/PK Holdredge Nebraska
Aaron Byers P/PK ??? Nevada
Charlie Rigoglioso P Wayne Valley New Jersey 2-AP-AS (P); 1-NorthJersey.com-Passaic (P)
Tyler Coble P 5'11 190 Cabarrus County Jay M. Robinson North Carolina
John Bensch P Weddington North Carolina 2-Charlotte Observer-Piedmont (P)
Bill Claus P 6'0 170 Toledo St. John's Ohio 1-Northwest District-I (P)
Justin Lehner P 6'2 205 Tigard Oregon 3-Portland Oregonian-4A-AS; 1-Pac 9 Conference (4A)
Jarryd Summer P 6'3 185 Sharpsville Pennsylvania 1-AP-A-AS (P)
Carlos Albaladejo P/PK/DB 165 Osan American South Korea 1-DODDS-Pacific Far East (Player of Year)
Drew Alston P/WR 6'0 180 Memphis University School Tennessee
Zach Massingill P/PK/DB/WR/ATH 6'1 200 4.50 Big Sandy Texas
Casey Russell P/QB 6'2 205 Colleyville Heritage Texas 1-District 5-5A (P)
Brandon Beck P/PK 5'9 175 New Caney Texas
Justin Miles P/PK/DB 5'9 175 4.60 Paris North Lamar Texas
Erik Loftis P 6'1 205 Colonial Heights Virginia 2-Richmond Times-Dispatch-Metro (P)
Brian Jordan P/QB 5'10 175 Goochland Virginia HM-Richmond Times-Dispatch-Metro (P)
Seth Gillespie PK/P/RB 5'8 150 4.72 Radford Virginia
Doug Foster P 6'0 170 South Lakes Virginia
Cal Cruickshank P/QB 6'0 170 Centralia Washington 70 WASH JRs to Watch (WASH – February 5, 2006); 2-Washington Preps-3A-AS; 1-Olympia Olympian-Area; 1-Pac-9
Tucker Williams P/WR/DB 6'3 195 Puyallup Washington 70 WASH JRs to Watch (WASH – February 5, 2006); 2-Washington Preps-4A-AS; 1-SPSL South
Jake Despres P 6'2 205 Amery Wisconsin HM-WFCA-AS (P)
Aaron Ehlers P 6'2 185 Menasha Wisconsin HM-WFCA-AS (P)
Chris Hagerup P/PK/QB 6'4 197 4.69 Whitefish Bay Wisconsin


Others


Morgan Hull P Austin Alabama 1-Decatur Daily-4A-6A-Area (P)
Robbie Ballard P 6'1 210 Fruitdale Alabama 1-ASWA-1A-AS (P); 1-Montgomery Advertiser-1A-AS (P)
Brandon Durant P 5'10 170 Fontana Miller California
Robert Aguirre P/PK 5'7 140 San Diego Serra California
Tyler Finley P Fort Myers Cypress Lakes Florida
Alonzo Rojas P 6'3 190 Miami Killian Florida
John Williamson P Pensacola Catholic Florida 2-Pensacola News Journal-Area (P)
Tyler Sherman P 6'5 227 Ansbach Germany 1-DODDs-All-Europe
Zach Clow P Priest River Idaho 2-3A-AS (P)
Zach Bell P/PK 6'1 175 Downers Grove South Illinois
Travis Case P/DL/OL 6'0 190 Adams Central Indiana HM-Bloomington Herald-Junior-AS (G/DE)
Mike Rayson P Calumet Indiana
Evan Eiler P 6'2 170 Huntington North Indiana
Tyler Davis P 5'9 150 Indianapolis Ben Davis Indiana
Tommy Marvel P Lapel Indiana
Tyler Martin P 6'2 205 Western Boone Indiana 1-AP-2A-AS (P)
Jeff Houk P 5'10 150 Ames Iowa
Jeff Hughes P/PK/QB/DB Tonganoxie Kansas 2-Kansas City Star-Metro (P); 1-Lawrence Herald Journal-Area (P)
Andrew Kleinpeter P 6'1 195 Belle Chasse Louisiana 1-District 8-4A (P)
Owen Hohl P 5'10 195 Metairie King Louisiana 1-District 7-5A (P)
Alex Granger P 5'10 165 Zachary Louisiana
Gran Meister P Grand Ledge Michigan 1-Lansing State Journal-Class A-Area (Chosen from eight schools-P)
Danny Kane P/LB 6'2 220 Hopkins Minnesota 74-JRs-MIN (Winter 2006); 1-Classic Lakes (P)
Nick Hitler P 6'1 185 Eureka Missouri
Nick Brewer P 6'1 195 Elmwood-Murdock Nebraska 1-Omaha World-Herald-C2-AS (P); 1-Lincoln Journal Star-C2-AS (P)
Jacob Bell P 6'2 170 South Sioux City Nebraska
Adam Richards P Hobbs New Mexico
Dominick Tomanelli P Marlboro New York 1-Middletown Times Herald-Record-Area (P)
Leo Roselli P/PK 5'10 180 Asheville A.C. Reynolds North Carolina
Chris D'Ettore P Lakewood St. Edward Ohio
Joe Harder P 6'1 190 Midview Ohio 2-Cleveland Plain Dealer-Lorain County (P)
Kody Thrall P Siuslaw Oregon HM-Portland Oregonian-3A-AS (P)
Eric Muller P 5'10 185 Penn Charter Pennsylvania 2-Philadelphia-Inquirer-Southeastern PA (P)
Tracy Asbill P 6'2 165 Batesburg-Leesville South Carolina
David Corsey P 5'10 208 Midland Valley South Carolina 2-Augusta Chronicle-Sough Carolina Area (P)
Dylan Cross P/PK/WR 5'8 150 Tullahoma Tennessee
Shea Brewster P 6'0 160 4.70 A&M Consolidated Texas
Matt Faulkenberry P 5'10 190 Alvarado Texas 1-District 15-4A (P)
Shane Fry P 6'1 180 Hallsville Texas 1-District 17-4A (P)
Jose Martinez P 5'7 130 Hirschi Texas
Chris Valdez P Lytle Texas
Albert Gomez P Mercedes Texas
Garrett Ellington P Royse City Texas
Jorge Urbine P South San Texas
Josh Guzman P West Campus Texas
David Hollaway P/WR 6'1 148 Brunswick Academy Virginia
Ken Manahan P/PK Chancellor Virginia
Benjamin Knerr P 6'0 180 Chesapeake Indian River Virginia 2-Southeastern District (P)
Brian Ingraham P 5'11 170 Hickory Virginia 1-Eastern Region (Coaches) (P); 1-Southeastern District (P)
Daniel Morrison P Lee-Davis Virginia
Thomas Kesler P 6'0 192 William Byrd Virginia
Kristopher Garwood P 6'5 200 Wilson Virginia 2-Eastern District (P)

posted by Jim Stefani @ 3:40 PM