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3 unusual facts about punt


Kendra Wecker

When Wecker was 10 years old, she competed in the NFL's Punt, Pass, and Kick competition, and made the finals, playing with males on an equal basis.

Punt, Pass, and Kick

PP&K began in 1961 and at one time, event highlights were shown by CBS Sports as part of its NFL coverage.

The contest received renewed attention in 1992 when Kendra Wecker, a 10-year-old girl from Kansas, made the finals in her age group and competed on an equal basis with male competitors.


1950 NFL season

Bill Dudley of Washington returned a punt 96 yards for a touchdown in a 24–7 win over the Steelers.

1967 NFL playoffs

His 141 punt return yards was an NFL playoff record and would remain so until broken by Anthony Carter in the 1987–88 playoffs.

1973 Ohio State vs. Michigan football game

Gil Chapman, Michigan's punt returner returned OSU's ensuing kick-off all the way to the OSU 27-yard line.

1987 New Orleans Saints season

Anthony Carter returned a punt for a touchdown, and future Saints quarterback Wade Wilson threw a Hail Mary pass for a touchdown to Hassan Jones on the last play of the first half.

1994 Aloha Bowl

K-State's only score came with eight seconds left in the first quarter when Joe Gordon crashed the middle of BC's line and blocked a punt by Jeff Beckley.

1998 Minnesota Vikings season

A curious footnote to the game is that Viking Head Coach Dennis Green has been criticized for opting to take a knee on a third-down deep in Viking territory with about 30 seconds remaining rather than risk having to punt back to Atlanta following their game-tying touchdown.

2002 Tangerine Bowl

After Clemson forced a safety, Wes Welker scored on a 59-yard punt return to make it 31–2, Texas Tech.

2003 Seattle Seahawks season

Still angry over the Ravens loss the Seahawks finished the AFC North portion of their schedule by crushing the Browns 34–7; Andre King scored on a blocked Seahawks punt in the fourth quarter but by then Matt Hasselbeck had thrown three touchdowns and the Seahawks had forced three Browns turnovers.

2003 Tennessee Titans season

But in the second the Falcons dropped a punt at their five-yard line and the Titans recovered; McNair then rifled a touchdown to Frank Wycheck, but had to leave the game with a strained calf.

2003 UCLA Bruins football team

Oklahoma's Antonio Perkins set an NCAA record for punt return yards in a game with 277 yards on seven returns.

2006 Insight Bowl

Danny Amendola returned the ensuing punt 40 yards, giving the Raiders good field position on their own 44.

2007 Meineke Car Care Bowl

The punt traveled 53 yards before being caught by Connecticut's Larry Taylor on the UConn 32-yard line and run back 68 yards for the touchdown.

2012 BCS National Championship Game

The leaders of this team were CB Tyrann Mathieu (Chuck Bednarik Award recipient), CB Morris Claiborne (Jim Thorpe Award recipient, six interceptions for 173 yards, 1 TD and 6th overall draft pick), DE Sam Montgomery (13 tackles for loss, 9 sacks for −55 yards), WR Rueben Randle (53 receptions, 917 yards, and 8 TD's) and P Brad Wing (44.14 punt average).

49ers–Giants rivalry

In the OT session, 49ers punt returner Kyle Williams was stripped of the football by Giants linebacker Jacquian Williams on a punt return.

74th Grey Cup

The Eskimos finally got on the scoreboard late in the third quarter courtesy of a blocked punt by Larry Wruck which Craig Shaffer recovered at the Hamilton 37.

Andreas Hinkel

The match ended 2–0 to the Hoops with Hinkel assisting Scott McDonald for the opener then hitting a long hopeful punt up the pitch which Georgios Samaras latched onto before netting a last-minute winner.

Asa Jackson

He is probably most known for returning a punt for a touchdown against the Detroit Lions during a preseason NFL game, and then started doing the famous Gangnam Style dance.

Az-Zahir Hakim

Hakim joined the Detroit Lions as a free agent in 2002 and proceeded to have a rebound season in terms of receiving yards and in the punt return game.

Bacardi Bowl

After a Villanova punt, Auburn running back Billy Hitchcock broke loose around left end and rambled 40 yards for the Tigers' only score.

Barima-Waini

The Atlantic coastal strip of Region One features a number of beaches, including, from west to east, Almond Beach, Luri Beach, Shell Beach, Turtle Beach, Foxes Beach, Iron-punt Beach, Pawpaw Beach and Father's Beach.

Bob Casullo

There were also miscues: several fumbles on kick and punt returns, some lost, notably at (certainly not in) the hands of Josh Scobey seemed to portend ill tidings.

Brandon Boykin

As a senior he was name the MVP of the 2012 Outback Bowl after tackling Keshawn Martin for a safety, and returning a punt 92 yards for a touchdown in a 33-30 triple overtime loss to the Michigan State Spartans.

Brooks Barnard

He set a school record of 44.7 yards per punt, which surpassed Scott Milanovich's 43.8-yard average in 1993.

Charlie Peprah

On December 31 against the Chicago Bears, Peprah pushed Bernard Berrian out of bounds after Berrian completed a punt return for seven yards.

Danny Amendola

He also returned 116 punts for 1,283 yards and one TD, an 11.06 yards per return average ranking Amendola third all-time in school history in punt returns and yardage, behind only Wes Welker and Tyrone Thurman.

Fred Swift

Both Tony Polinelli and Bill Ryan kicked poorly, each scoring a behind, placing Geelong ten points behind; and then, with plenty of time for Geelong to get another goal, and breaking out of a pack, Goggin punt-kicked what seemed certain to be a goal (which would have reduced the lead to a dangerous four points).

Gary Reasons

Only a tackle by 49ers punt returner John Taylor prevented Reasons from scoring, but Matt Bahr did cap the drive with a field goal that brought the Giants to within 13-12.

Jay Feely

On January 9, 2010, Feely recorded his first career punt in a playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals, when he was unexpectedly pressed into service after his teammate Steve Weatherford was sidelined with an irregular heartbeat.

Josh Miller

Miller recorded a "single" in the 83rd Grey Cup when a punt, aided by a 50-km/h wind at Taylor Field in Regina, Saskatchewan bounded over the head of a Calgary Stampeders return man and out the back of the end zone to award Baltimore a single point.

Ken Jubb

Resilient as an India-rubber ball, restless as a panther patrolling its patch, Ken Jubb was a rattling good forward, whose 'party piece' was a massive punt, occasionally way off target, that soared into outer space to the accompaniment of good-natured banter from Headingley's South Stand.

Lugarno, New South Wales

A punt operated from Lugarno across the river from 1843.

Mike Dragosavich

At the 2008 Senior Bowl, he averaged 58 yards per punt in three punts, including a record-breaking 69-yarder.

Nehsi

He is depicted in the "Punt Reliefs" in the temple of Deir el-Bahri where he is described as having been responsible for dispatching Hatshepsut's expedition to Punt.

Northcutt

Dennis Northcutt (born 1977), American football wide receiver and punt returner

Paul Dietzel

LSU concluded the season with a 21–0 loss to Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl, two months after the top-ranked Tigers beat the third-ranked Rebels 7–3 in Tiger Stadium on Billy Cannon's 89-yard punt return, a play that helped win Cannon the Heisman Trophy.

Punt gun

Desmond Bagley's 1973 thriller The Tightrope Men features a percussion-fired punt gun.

Reggie Swinton

He was one of only two players in the league (with Kansas City's Dante Hall) to have both a kickoff and punt return for a touchdown that season.

Shaky Smithson

The game was played at McMahon Stadium and he had one reception for 3 yards, three punt returns for 11 yards and two kickoff returns totaling 37 yards.

Sixth Dynasty of Egypt

The pharaoh Djedkara sent trade expeditions south to Punt and north to Byblos, and Pepi I sent expeditions not only to these locations, but also as far as Ebla in modern-day Syria.

Stephen Gostkowski

Though the Patriots hired Todd Sauerbrun to punt, holding duties were given to the Patriots' backup quarterback Matt Cassel (which led to one regular-season kick that, while good, made two bizarre turns in mid-air).

Steve Punt

In 2008 Punt wrote the script for and performed in Rockford's Rock Opera, a critically acclaimed ecological musical story created with school friend, Matthew Sweetapple, which has been published as an audiobook.

Super Bowl II

On special teams, defensive back Rodger Bird led the AFL with 612 punt return yards and added another 148 yards returning kickoffs.

Tomasz Kuszczak

However, in a World Cup warm-up match between Poland and Colombia on 30 May 2006, he conceded a goal directly from a long punt by the opposition goalkeeper, Neco Martínez.

Torpedo punt

Australian rules footballer Gordon Rattray, who played his football with the Fitzroy Football Club between 1917 and 1928, is credited as the first player to use the torpedo punt.

Wally Teninga

In 1948, he shared the right halfback position with Leo Koceski and also handled punting duties, averaging 41.5 yards per punt.


see also