Ryan
Eckley.
Ryan
Eckley.
Michigan State· 6'1"· 200 lb
R6 · #211 · Baltimore Ravens"The best college punter in the country by gross average and only average by net — Baltimore is buying the leg and coaching the hang time."Pre-draft read
Ryan Eckley operates as a traditional drop punter who consistently demonstrates a powerful leg without needing a rollout or extensive runway. He takes the snap and delivers the ball efficiently, reaching gross averages that led the country. He exhibits the ability to shape the ball, producing spirals, banana punts, and hooks with sufficient backspin to pin opponents deep.
While his gross distance is exceptional, a primary characteristic of his play is the persistent gap between his gross and net averages, driven by hang time that, while improving, still allowed for significant return yardage. He also displays soft hands when handling errant snaps and is willing to engage in tackles, traits that add value beyond his kicking ability.
NFL special teams schemes prioritize field position and minimizing returns, valuing consistency and hangtime over raw distance.
Eckley projects as a Year 1 starting punter with the Ravens, using his elite leg and directional ability to flip field position, with a ceiling to be a Pro Bowl punter if his hangtime continues to improve.
Any scheme that relies heavily on advanced coffin corner placement without adequate gunner coverage, emphasizing net yards over gross punting distance.
Eckley's elite leg strength and improving hangtime make him a valuable asset, but his net average needs to catch up to his gross to maximize his effectiveness in the NFL.
Ryan Eckley endears himself to MSU fan base with booming punts and swagger
Local coverage of the Michigan State season that ended with the FBS lead in gross average and Big Ten Punter of the Year.
Michigan State punter Ryan Eckley on why recruits should choose the Spartans
Eckley on camera during his Michigan State run, with the walk-on-to-record-holder framing.
Baltimore Ravens punter Ryan Eckley — learning to punt in middle school
Origin-story footage of the mechanics that became the best career average in Big Ten history.
Eckley projects as a big-leg traditional punter, a specialist whose primary asset is his ability to drive the ball for unmatched gross distance. A team acquiring him expected to invest in coaching to bridge the gap between his exceptional raw power and the nuance required for consistent net yardage, aiming to maximize his clear talent in a crucial third-down role.
A former preferred walk-on, Eckley ascended from a redshirt season to become the most productive punter in Big Ten history, earning Freshman All-America honors and leading the conference/nation in average punt distance over three seasons. He was a multi-year award winner within the Big Ten, a consensus All-American, and showed his versatility by holding on placekicks for four years.
Evaluators noted his significant hang-time issue and the resulting disconnect between his gross and net averages as his main developmental hurdle, seeing him as a high-upside project. Despite this, he was widely considered the top punter in his class and ultimately became the first punter drafted, going to the Baltimore Ravens as the 211th overall pick.
- 01
Big Ten record gross average
47.6 yards on 149 career punts, the best career mark in conference history, surpassing previous records.
- 02
National-leading volume production
led FBS in gross average in 2025 (48.5) after leading the Big Ten in 2024 (47.9), with three consecutive seasons above 46.7.
- 03
Directional placement
20 punts inside the 20 in 2025, with ten inside the 10 and four downed at the one-yard line.
- 04
Improving hang time
increased from 3.82 seconds in 2024 to 4.07 in 2025, an improvement demonstrating coachability.
- 05
Holder and multi-role value
served as a four-year holder on placekicks, showcasing additional situational utility.
- 01
Net average lags the gross
40.32 yards in 2025, which ranked 60th among 209 punters despite leading the nation in gross average.
- 02
Coverage-friendly hang time
still below the NFL standard required for such a strong leg; allowed returners opportunities to gain significant yardage.
- 03
Rep-to-rep consistency
tendency for mishit boots and shanks appearing alongside impressive long punts.
- 04
No athletic data
absence of traditional combine athletic testing (forty, jumps, bench) limits the evaluation beyond his on-field punting performance.
| Yr | Team | G | FGM | FGA | FG% | XPM | XPA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Michigan State | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2024 | Michigan State | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2025 | Michigan State | 12 | 0 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 34 | 0 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Honors
- Best career punting average in Big Ten history (47.6 yards), ahead of Tory Taylor's 46.3
- 2025: led all of FBS at 48.5 yards per punt, a Michigan State single-season high
- 2025: Big Ten Punter of the Year (Eddleman-Fields Award), first-team All-Big Ten, second-team All-America (AFCA, ESPN), third-team All-America (AP)
- 2025: Ray Guy Award watch list and National Punter of the Week in week two after a 54.7-yard average against Boston College
- 2024: led the Big Ten at 47.9 yards per punt; second-team All-Big Ten
- 2023: Freshman All-America at 46.7 yards per punt; second-team All-Big Ten
- Four-year holder on placekicks at Michigan State
- 2026 Senior Bowl (National Team) and 2026 NFL Combine invitee
- 2026 NFL Draft: sixth round, 211th overall — the first punter off the board
The man he replaces — a strong-legged drafted punter who holds the job for years while the net average stays merely solid.
The record he broke, and the ceiling: a big-leg Big Ten punter who becomes an immediate high-volume NFL starter on a team that punts a lot.
A journeyman who bounces between rosters because the hang time never catches up to the gross average.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Baltimore has employed exactly three punters this century — Sam Koch for sixteen years, then Jordan Stout, now Eckley — and Randy Brown does not miss on this position. That context is most of the pick.
The rest is a leg that led the nation in gross average and a net that ranked 60th, which is a coaching problem rather than a talent problem: the ball travels far enough, it just does not stay up long enough.
He fixed a quarter-second of hang time between 2024 and 2025 on his own. If the Ravens get another quarter-second out of him, they have the best punter in the league.