LSU Football 2021 Commit Peyton Todd Hoping to Carry on Special Teams Tradition of Elite Punters
LSU 2021 punter commit Peyton Todd didn't have to think twice about it. As a native of West Monroe, Louisiana, there's always been one school, one team that Todd grew up wanting to represent.
That school was LSU. So when he was asked by a recruiter after his sophomore year to come down to Baton Rouge for an unofficial visit, Todd could hardly contain his excitement.
"I went down and watched the first day of spring practice, the first day of pads and it was really exciting, really hype," Todd said. "It was the second season with coach O I think and so they were really excited to get out there and get after it with the pads on. That was just a surreal experience for me."
At his unofficial visit, that's where he first met special teams coach Greg McMahon and the two stayed in contact through June when McMahon asked Todd to be a part of LSU's special teams camp.
"He told me they really enjoyed having me down there and they were going to be recruiting me pretty hard," Todd recalls. "So as soon as the offer came August 1 my junior year I just took it right then and there."
At 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, Todd doesn't really fit the mold of the stereotypical punter. But behind all of that height, the upcoming senior packs a ton of power into that right leg.
This past year alone, Todd averaged 46.2 yards per punt and placed fifth in the Kohls kicking camp in the summer of 2019 as a rising junior, earning him the No. 1 punter rating at the camp for the 2021 class.
"I'll be making another trip to their national camp this summer," Todd said. "I just got back from one, it was a national underclassmen challenge they have in Orlando and I went down there and won a couple of challenges."
Despite his success at the high school level, Todd remains a sponge when it comes to taking in advice and tips from various coaches and players, like LSU's current punter Zach Von Rosenberg. During one of his three trips to catch a game in 2019, Todd got to meet and chat with Von Rosenberg for a few minutes after the Tigers' 50-7 win over Texas A&M.
"He just told me to keep working hard and just to kind of come up and keep the legacy going," Todd said. "I know LSU's had great punters in the past whether it's Brad Wing or Zach. They have a certain special teams standard they live up to and his message to me was to keep working hard."
Another punter that Todd has received advice and guidance from is Saints punter Thomas Morstead, who Todd got to meet last year when Morstead gave a speech at one of the local high schools.
"His advice to me was to make sure to focus on things outside of football, just make sure that you're not putting all your eggs in one basket," Todd said. "Focus on the education and everything outside of football and it will all kind of line up inside on the football field."
On the football field, Todd is always looking to improve which is why he talks with McMahon at least once a week about what he can be doing to make sure his game continues to evolve. As of now, McMahon has Todd working on directional punting while fine tuning his technique and remaining consistent.
"Being an effective punter, it's not all about leg strength, it's more about how effective the punt is to help your team win," Todd said. "A lot of that has to do with planting punts inside the 20-yard line so being able to put balls exactly where I want them is what I've focused on."
LSU is where Todd always wanted to go and nothing will stand in his way of accomplishing that dream of running out of the tunnel as a member of the purple and gold.
"LSU has always been the dream school around here and so my whole life it's been mine and my family's dream to be able to go there," Todd said.
