Countdown to IUFB Kickoff: 94 Days (Haydon Whitehead)

Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

 #94

There are now 94 days until the Hoosiers season opener against Ohio State on August 31st. Today we take a look at new IU punter Haydon Whitehead!

Haydon Whitehead (Redshirt Sophomore)

-Height: 6’2”

-Weight: 195 pounds

-Hometown: Melbourne, Australia

-Position: Punter

 Over the last handful of seasons the Hoosiers have struggled in the punting aspect of the game so Tom Allen and his staff went Down Under to pluck Haydon Whitehead from the Pro Kick Australia program. This is the same program that all three 2016 Ray Guy Award finalist came from.

Whitehead will be a redshirt sophomore in eligibility, while never having played American football. Despite his lack of experience in our game, Whitehead is a former Aussie Rules player and has played that version of football for 15 years. He’s a left-footed punter who Tom Allen says can punt with both feet, which could become an interesting weapon during the season.

With last year’s starting punter Joseph Gedeon missing some of spring practice, Whitehead has gotten the jump on the starting spot for 2017. While IU did not go with live punting situations during the spring game, the Hoosier punters did get a shot to strut their stuff. Whitehead boomed a few long kicks, but the competition is going to spill over into the fall. However, I expect Whitehead to take full control of the punting job by the time the season starts. IU did rank 110th nationally in average punt distance in 2016 and if Whitehead could help push that number into the 70’s it would help IU’s efforts to break through immensely.