Kickers hope to get foot in NFL’s door
UF’s star punter, placekicker know the odds are long
GAINESVILLE — Punter Johnny Townsend and placekicker Eddy Piñeiro spent the past two seasons setting records at UF.
The dynamic duo now looks to make history for the Gators this coming weekend.
Never has a punter and kicker from the same school been selected during the same NFL draft since the league reduced the number of rounds to seven in 1994.
The odds are against the two specialists because NFL teams often use draft picks on position players. But Piñeiro likes his and Townsend’s chances.
“Oh my goodness, that would be amazing,” Piñeiro said during the team’s March 28 Pro Day. “I think we have the best chance if you look around the country. But we’ll see what team takes a chance on us.”
Both UF specialists seem like no-brainers to eventually end up on one of the NFL’s 32 teams.
Townsend led the nation in punting the past two seasons and ended his career with an SEC-record punting average of 46.2 yards during four seasons. Piñeiro, who left school early for the draft, made 29 of his last 30 field goals at UF and hit all five of his attempts from 50 yards or longer.
Townsend is considered one of the top three punters available, along with Alabama’s JK Scott and Texas’ Michael Dickson.
Besides his leg strength, the 6-foot-1, 202-pound Townsend is athletic and a willing tackler. He also possesses the finesse and control to pin opponents, even when punting to a short field. Of Townsend’s 128 punts the past two seasons, 44 (34.3 percent) ended up inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.
“[NFL teams] like my competitiveness and my physicality,” said Townsend, who punted at both the Senior Bowl and NFL Scouting Combine. “As a punter, they like my consistency and my ability to have command of different types of punts that I want to hit. A lot of these coaches really like to see my directional punting and how I can crank my leg up for long field and tune it back for short field.”
Piñeiro’s freakish leg strength at 5-foot-11, 178 pounds helped him hit an 81-yard field goal during 2017 spring practices, making him a YouTube sensation. Analysts list him behind only Auburn’s Daniel Carlson on draft boards.
In fact, Piñeiro was set to showcase his power during a steady spring breeze at Pro Day until NFL decision-makers forced him to kick into the teeth of the wind.
“They know I can hit the ball,” Piñeiro said. “Just how consistent can I be? How consistently can I make it into the wind? That’s the most important thing: Can you kick in windy conditions? Can you kick when it’s raining? When it’s snowing?
“That’s what they really want to know.”
In the end, though, the main thing that could hold back either Piñeiro or Townsend is the drafting strategy often employed in the NFL.
Punters and kickers often arrive in training camps as undrafted free agents and can be bounced around from team to team until finding a home.
Townsend is well aware of the challenge ahead.
“Last year, there [were] no punters drafted, but the year before that there were three,” he said. “It all depends just on the need of the team. You kind of have to fall into it. There is only one spot in every squad.
“It is a big timing thing for us.”
Last year was the first time since 1998 no one drafted a single punter. Still, Townsend’s point is valid.
Meanwhile, three kickers were drafted in 2017, but just one prior to the seventh round — Jake Elliott of Memphis in the fifth round by the Cincinnati Bengals. Elliott would be waived but ended up with the Philadelphia Eagles to replace injured former Gator Caleb Sturgis and won a Super Bowl.
Piñeiro is a Miami native with a soccer background who did not kick a field goal during a game until he arrived at UF in 2016. But he is familiar with the ways of the NFL.
Piñeiro hopes both Gator specialists are drafted, but he also knows an opportunity is out there for the both of them.
“I feel like every kicker is replaceable,” Pineiro said. “It’s the NFL — Not For Long — so that’s how it goes.”