Exclusive: Why Vanderbilt Football Is Confident in its Punting Game This Year

The Commodores will have a new punter this year and the program is excited about him for a couple of reasons.

Sep 7, 2024; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; South Dakota Coyotes punter Tyler Ebel (32) during the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

When Vanderbilt football went through spring practice between the back half of March and the first half of April, there was one position that was noticeably missing from the roster. That is because the Commodores did not have a punter at the time.

But everyone knew help was arriving this summer, and it has. Vanderbilt’s punter this fall is going to be South Dakota transfer Tyler Ebel. He has not been in action in a Vanderbilt uniform yet, but Vanderbilt’s coaching staff is already excited about what the 6-foot-4, 235-pound punter is going to bring to FirstBank Stadium this season.

“Tyler has stood in the pocket most of his career. He does a little bit of the rollout stuff, but Tyler’s got a big leg. When he makes good ball contact, he's going to be as good as the players that we've had here over the past three to four years. He's got a big time leg. He's a powerful dude,” Vanderbilt special teams coordinator Jeff LePak told Vandy On SI.

What stands out about Ebel the most is that he is left-footed. It is the first time since the 2023 Vanderbilt team that it has a punter that is a lefty. Punters that are left-footed are generally considered more difficult to prepare for.

Some of that is due to the majority of punters being right-footed, but from a technique standpoint, the ball spins a different way when kicked by a punter that is a lefty. The way the ball comes off the foot of a left-footed punter ends up flipping the picture a returner is used to seeing with a punter that is a righty.

That is one of the reasons why LePak feels Ebel can make a difference on special teams this upcoming season.

“They [punt returners] don't see it very often because there's not a whole bunch of left-footed punters, and so the read on the ball can just take a little bit longer than if you're used to playing it off of a right foot spin or a right foot tail. That ball can hit off a shoulder pad or hit off of a hand just a little bit wrong, and now you can get a turnover,” LePak said.

But there is more reason to why Vanderbilt believes Ebel can make a winning impact for the Commodores this fall. It is not just because he has the leg strength or that his frame helps him to put more power into a punt.

It is because he can get out of the pocket and punt on rollouts as well as kicking directionally sound down the field. Because of that, Ebel is able to flip the field and even pin opponents back deep into their own territory. Last season with South Dakota, Ebel had a distance average of 46 yards on his punts. His longest one went 66 yards, pinning opponents inside their own 20-yard line 37% of the time.

It is an aspect of the game that a casual fan may not notice, but it is certainly an aspect that could be an underlying factor in a winning effort from a team.

“We're excited about Tyler. He does a really, really nice job directionally punting, he can get on the move and kick a rollout, and he does a really nice job in the pin situation. Excited to see him flip the field for us. He's kind of a calm dude, kind of a low key dude, and so I think his presence is going to help out that room too,” LePak told Vandy On SI.

Follow us on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Threads and Blue Sky for the latest news.