The Hidden Importance of Transfer Will Karoll

The Plentiful Upsides

• Transferring out of Tulane, Karoll had nearly 3600 punting yards on only 83 attempts after 25 games with the Tide.

• In those 25 games, even though many of his punts ended up as fair catches out of his control, Karoll still managed to land 23/83, over a quarter, of his punts within the 20 yard line.

• His precision lines up well with the trajectory of rival USC's Sam Johnson, who became a multi-honor winning punter in his junior year; which, coincidentally or not, is the same year Karoll is entering in the 2025 season.

• Karoll also has proved very recently that he is still growing, as he hit a career long punt length of 78 yards in 2024.

• In a situation where the Bruins are trapped within the five yard line, his kicking strength can save the defense from an almost impossible position.

The Minimal Downsides

• Punters are often a plug and play position, yet even then, coming into his first year with UCLA his chemistry with his new team could be an issue, albeit a small one.

• Another issue with his transferring comes with the new conference he is in. The pressure of the BIG10 could be a lot to handle after coming out of the AAC, but he should be able to figure it out considering how he got to UCLA.

The Path to the Bruins

• Karoll never messed around with punting or his NFL aspirations, and he came all the way from Australia just to go after his dream.

• He also attended many training camps in Australia, and his work ethic did not go unnoticed, because he caught the eye of Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall, and now John Foster.

• Having come so far to chase his dream, any issues he has he will tackle head on and he will find a way to resolve them.

With so much attention lying on other transfers like Nico Iamaleava or Tulsa transfer Tai Marks, Karoll flies far under the radar; however, he is a key piece of the Bruins, and when the lights shine on him he has everything he needs to prove just that.