Michigan Football: Wolverines’ Mid-Season Standouts

Sep 3, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Michigan Wolverines punter Blake O

Blake O’Neill is a silent slayer on special teams.

He’s constantly pinning teams inside their own 20 and literally flipping the field, as evidenced by his 80-yard punt against Michigan State.

A big part of the Wolverines’ team philosophy is winning the field position battle, and that’s been happening, thanks to O’Neill.

He’s averaging 41.1 yards per punt, but most importantly he’s made opponents start drives from inside their own 20 on 17 occasions.

Having a punter like O’Neill takes a lot of pressure off an offense that maybe otherwise would try to force the issue one too many times. Instead, you know you have a safety net and can therefore live to see another down.

Next: K Kenny Allen