MSU's Eckley Lands Prestigious Award

Not only has Eckley been kicking for distance --- his 52.4 yards per punt ranks first in the FBS --- but he's also been incredulously good at pinning opponents deep in their own territory. He's punted the ball away nine times through two games; seven of them have landed inside the 20-yard line.

That's not even the extraordinary part. He's put the ball right on the 1-yard line three times, and there was another punt that was downed at the 2-yard line. He's so darn good at it that MSU head coach Jonathan Smith has said that his punting has an impact on whether he decides to go for it on some fourth downs.

What Makes Eckley So Important

What makes Eckley so important is that it essentially gives the Spartans an NFL-caliber player on their special teams unit. Even if you don't use his highly impressive 52.4 yards/punt number from this year and use last year's 47.9, he would've ranked in the middle of the NFL.

But he's even better than that now. The average last year was pretty good, but he only pinned an opponent inside the 20 six times. He's already surpassed that in two games.

College football teams don't get to have players that are clearly NFL-caliber while still playing in college, too often. Eckley is eligible to play in the 2026 season as well, but with the way he's been playing, the NFL Draft might be calling for him to enter a little bit early.

Knowing NFL-Caliber From Experience

Another advantage Eckley has is that he knows exactly what an NFL-level punter who is playing college football looks like.

As a true freshman at Michigan State back in 2022, Eckley was behind Bryce Baringer on the depth chart. That season, Baringer was a consensus All-American after averaging 49.0 yards per punt.

Baringer was then selected in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, where he is to this day. He had the fourth-best punting average in the league last season.