Hoosier Punter Haydon Whitehead Has Been Steady as Ever in 2019

Haydon Whitehead (94) has been terrific for IU Image: Amanda Pavelka Hoosier Huddle

Written by Andrew Walker

“Flush it. Move onto the next one.” That was fifth year punter Haydon Whitehead talking about head coach Tom Allen’s insight he tells the kicking specialists in practice. To be a kicker and/or punter in college or the NFL, you’ve got to have some sort of ability to forget the bad, forget the not so bad and forget the good, too. Being able to put aside what you have done to focus on what you are doing is a necessary attribute for a kicking specialist. 

“Forget about it and go back to the basics,” is just what Whitehead had been taught to do. Whitehead has been a great punter for the Hoosiers this year, averaging 42.7 yards per punt at around four per game. Of his 31 punts 15 have been fair caught and 14 have been pinned inside the opponents 20-yard line. The fifth year southpaw punter has helped the Hoosiers flip the field so well in the moments that matter. 

His impact doesn’t get past Allen, either. In the Nebraska game, one of the most important scores of the game came after Whitehead pinned it inside the Cornhusker 10-yard line, told by Allen, “He punts it. They fair caught it at the eight-yard line. We got a three-and-out on defense. They punt it, comes off the side of his foot. We get the ball at the 35, go in and score. So huge.” Three of Whitehead’s punts landed inside the 10 on Saturday’s game against Nebraska. 

Whitehead’s ability to flip the field isn’t always incredibly good. In Indiana’s loss to Ohio State, the punter managed to only average about 33 yards per punt, with a few of them coming off the foot awkwardly. This was when Whitehead said Allen reiterated to him, “Flush it, move onto the next one.” 

Whitehead’s contribution to this Indiana Football team cannot go unmentioned. It’s his work that puts the Hoosier defense in some great situations. It’s his work that can create opportunities for the offense, depending on where the opposing team has to punt the ball from. And it’s his work that ultimately helps Indiana win games. Field position is everything.