Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Townsend tried to make most of combine
Tommy Townsend did well at this past week’s NFL combine in Indianapolis, but how that translates to the draft remains to be seen.
A good performance in Indianapolis seems to mean very little when it comes to draft. Most players come out of the combine knowing whether they achieved what they set out to accomplish. Having done that, however, the question about their NFL futures still linger.
Count former Florida Gators punter Townsend as one of those players.
“I have no idea what to expect, really,” said Townsend, a former Boone High standout. “There’s always room for improvement and always room to boost your draft stock … but it’s really up in the air. You never know what teams are going to want to do on draft day until your phone rings.
“So I can’t really say or predict where I think I’d go. I’m just excited for it to come and I’m excited for the workouts. I’m just excited to get some more opportunities to show the coaches in the private arena, one-on-one, my skills on the field and then for them to get to know me as a person, as well.”
The latter part, for a charismatic and outgoing player like Townsend, will become important in the evaluation process. The coaches know Townsend can punt the football. There is plenty of film available.
What they don’t know is Townsend, who averaged 44 yards per punt during the 2019 UF season, as a person and how he interacts with people.
“The special-teams coaches have to get to know you on a personal level. When the season comes around, you are with them from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., all day, every day,” Townsend said. “So they’re going to want to bring in a guy who they’ll have a good relationship with and also a guy who will fit in well with their teammates.”
While the combine doesn’t provide answers for athletes, it can still have an impact on their NFL fate.
Townsend got a chance to not only punt but to show his versatility as a holder and a kickoff specialist, which he had not done a lot of in his career. He was the full-time holder at UF but was used on a kickoff once.
“I think the ability to kick off is huge for a young punting prospect coming out of college,” Townsend said. “It depends on what team you go to, but there are some teams that have kickers who are older and some coaches don’t like the veteran kickers to kick off, to save their legs.”
The combine wasn’t always serious in nature. There was a little time for some fun, like the punters running the 40-yard dash. Townsend clocked a time of 4.74 seconds, second among punters.
“It was OK if I didn’t run my personalbest time, but it was just pretty cool to do,” Townsend said. “After watching 40-yard dashes in other combine events on TV as a kid … it was cool getting down in my stance and looking up ahead of me to get a line to run at and then seeing all of the cameras and hearing them click all the way down the field. … That was unreal. It’s hard to describe.”
The punters joked around about the sprints afterward, but they also knew when it was time to focus.
“It was more than just a fun trip. It was all business and that’s the only reason we were there … strictly business,” Townsend said. “But when there were those enjoyable moments and fun times, I was for sure soaking it up.”
The business trip will continue into the next month as Townsend prepares for UF’s pro day on March 31.
Then it’s the draft, a three-day event beginning April 23 in Las Vegas.
“For the next month or two, I’ll probably just be in Gainesville, training on my own and training with Johnny,” Tommy Townsend said of his older brother, Johnny, who punted for the Gators and spent his rookie season in the NFL punting for Oakland. Johnny is currently a free agent and looking for a team as well.
“I just can’t wait to see what happens,” Tommy Townsend said.