The punt is one of the most critical plays in football, and the differences in the play between college and the NFL are fascinating.
It’s probably one of the weirdest-looking plays in football, just giving the ball to the other team, but football would not be what it is today without the punt.
The punt flips field position while handing the other team possession but giving the kicking team’s defense an equal opportunity to get a stop. It’s a safe option for coaches that, if it didn’t exist, would force offenses to go for it on fourth down every time, changing the game of football as we know it.
Unlike any other play in football, the punt is very different from college to the pros.
In the NFL, teams line up in a Spread Punt Formation with two gunners on each side, a seven-man offensive line, a personal protector behind the line of scrimmage, and the punter.
But in College Football, teams line up in a Shield Punt Formation, with two gunners on each side, a standard five-man offensive line, a personal protector, two shield players behind the line of scrimmage and the punter.
Why is there such a difference?
In the NFL, ineligible receivers can’t pass the line of scrimmage until the ball is kicked, which is not valid in the NCAA.
Both of these formations have their strengths and weaknesses.
Nothing can change a football game’s momentum like a punt block. It’s both the stuff of dreams and nightmares for special teams coordinators, hoping they’re on the right side of the game-changing play.
As a punting unit, the first and most important thing is ensuring the punt gets off clean. So, which formation does a better job at it?
Out of the over 6,000 punts in the NCAA last year, 75 were blocked, around 1.25%. Out of the over 2,000 punts in the NFL last season, 12 were secured, approximately .55%.
So the NCAA’s Shield Formation gets nearly double their kicks blocked, but why is this?
The NFL’s ineligible receivers rule prevents linemen from going upfield to cover the punt, leaving them to block until the ball is kicked.
So, while the NFL’s Spread Formation prevents punt blocks better, what about one of the most exciting plays in the entire sport, the punt return?
Three punts were run to the house in the NFL last season, around .14% of all punts. The NCAA had 30 house calls, around .30% of all punts, again, nearly double that of the NFL.
This is somewhat strange, as College Football’s lack of an ineligible man downfield rule allows the lineman to block for a split second before bolting downfield to cover the kick, unlike the NFL.
It’s not a schematic issue; it just comes down to the pure nature of college football.
Some players can outrun everybody on the field in the NCAA, meaning if you’re the best athlete, you’re the best player on the football field.
That isn’t necessarily the case in the pros, where everybody around you is not only just a world-class athlete but also has a high IQ and truly understands the sport of football.
There are some cases where these world-class athletes, such as Johnny Manziel or JaMarcus Russel, make it to the league but crumble at the first thought of learning an NFL playbook.
The pros have fewer mental errors, which also applies to the punt. Special teams coordinators force their players to work at these same schemes and styles daily, as it’s their job and livelihood. College football players are more likely to miss their assignment on a punt than an NFL player.
On a play with such thin margins as a punt, all it takes is one mental error to change the foundation of the rest of a game.