Countdown to Kickoff: 86 Days (Joseph Gedeon)

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

#86

The Hoosier Huddle Countdown continues! There are now only 86 days remaining until IU invades Miami to take on the Florida International Panthers. Our profile today focuses on a new starter for the Hoosiers: punter Joseph Gedeon

Joseph Gedeon

-Height: 6’3”
-Weight: 193 pounds
-Hometown: Columbus, Indiana (Columbus North)
-Position: Punter

Former starter Erich Toth ended up having an acceptable senior season for the Hoosiers in 2015. He wasn’t amazing but he was solid and rarely had any shanked punts that negatively impacted his squad. Toth averaged 41.7 yards per punt (55th in the nation) on his 63 punts in 2015 before departing Bloomington and leaving the job for returning redshirt sophomore Joseph Gedeon. Gedeon, a native of Columbus, Indiana, joined the program as a walk-on during the 2014 season. He redshirted that initial season and then sat behind Toth and did not see any game action in 2015. Prior to coming to IU, Gedeon excelled in three different sports at Columbus North High School. He was a two-year letterwinner as a kicker and punter, a two-year basketball letterwinner and a four-year star in track and field. In fact, he ranked in the top ten in the state in hurdles. 

Gedeon has shown he has a “big leg” in practice and in spring practices and we know he’s capable of bombing 50-plus yard punts. The question that we won’t have answers to until the season kicks off is how Gedeon will do against a live rush and in a pressure-packed environment. IU was forced to punt 63 times in 2015 so this is not an inconsequential position, even with the Hoosiers high-powered offense. The hope is that Gedeon can be a punter capable of “flipping the field” with his powerful leg and also do a little better than Toth was able to at pinning opponents inside of their own 20 (the standard mark of success for punts). Gedeon is the unquestioned starter entering the summer and, if he can prove himself, that will likely be the case for the next three seasons.

Share your thoughts and expectations for Joseph Gedeon and the special teams unit as a whole in our comments section (or on the message boards) and be sure to come back to Hoosier Huddle each day during our countdown!