FORT COLLINS – Rarely does a punter get labeled a ‘weapon’ by his coach. But that’s just what Mike Bobo calls All-American punter Hayden Hunt. While the performance of the Colorado State offense continues to fluctuate, Hunt will be called upon to flip field position and provide more wiggle room for the defense.
He successfully did that once again last week at Boise State. The senior pinned four of his seven punts inside the Broncos’ 20-yard line, creating a long field even for an explosive offense. But it’s other plays that set Hunt apart from most punters.
Against Minnesota, he converted a fake punt for a 29-yard gain. He received the snap, but instead of punting, threw it across the middle to Braylin Scott. CSU cut the Golden Gophers’ lead to just one score six plays after the fake punt.
“Throwing the ball I felt a lot more comfortable,” Hunt said. “Just because all I have to do is fake the punt and throw the ball. There’s not much to it. It was a 5-yard dump pass. As long as I throw him in stride and make sure nobody’s in the way, it’s a pretty simple play.
Hunt pulled off more fourth down magic two weeks later in the second quarter against Utah State. Instead of throwing the ball, Hunt rushed forward for a 6-yard gain and a first down.
“That one was a little more sketchy for me,” Hunt said. “Just because of the design of the play, the punter is trying to outrun a bunch of guys who run 4.30’s or 4.40’s. Usually, on that play, I’m supposed to stay to the outside of the block, but they (Utah State) knew the fake was coming. They took out the outside man and I had to do a little cut in and dive for the first down.”
So was Hunt nervous during those two plays where his job isn’t to boot the ball down the field?
“I’d be lying to you guys if I said I wasn’t nervous for those two fakes,” Hunt said. “It was a totally different situation where I know I’m an athlete but when you’re on a field with guys that are the athletes of athletes, it’s a little different.”
That’s not all the tricks the Rams’ punter had up his sleeve, though. His two successful onside kicks last week were part of a 20-0 run during a span of 1:25 during the fourth quarter.
CSU went from being down 28-3 to having a legitimate chance to complete the comeback with the score 28-23.
Get this, though. CSU converted just one of their previous eight onside kick attempts and hadn’t recovered two in the same season since 2007.
Hunt, who has now been named the Ray Guy Punter of the Week twice this season already, acknowledged that things need to fall in place for the coverage team in order to get the ball.
“First of all, no one can be offsides at all, even their nose, anything,” said Hunt. “It’s a lot stricter than a normal kickoff. It takes a lot of discipline, especially something where you don’t have a lot of game reps. I was just really proud of our guys for staying composed. It takes a lot of concentration for such a violent act to happen.”
