Stonehouse Psyched About Reunion with Former Coach

It’s a feeling most of us can identify with, walking into work or school for the first time, feeling uncomfortable and just hoping to run into a familiar face in the building. In the case of new Miami Dolphins punter Ryan Stonehouse, that familiar face is likely the reason he’s in the building.

Stonehouse told Dolphins reporters in a Zoom session this week he had offers from different teams, and being reunited with his former Tennessee Titans special teams coordinator, Craig Aukerman, was a significant factor in choosing Miami.

“I think there are some things about natural fits and I truly believe the Dolphins are the best fit for me,” Stonehouse said. “I’ve kind of come to realize that being in the league for three years now that fit matters so much and understanding the player that I am matters a lot – how to use me as a weapon is truly something that I thank Craig Aukerman and (former Titans assistant and current Rams special teams coordinator) Chase Blackburn for when they brought me into Tennessee. It was very important for me to have a good fit, so I truly believe Miami is that place.”

STONEHOUSE'S STORY IN TENNESSEE

Stonehouse was brought in at Tennessee after a stellar career at Colorado State, signed as a UDFA to compete with incumbent Brett Kern, who he ultimately beat out in camp. As a punter, the odds of getting drafted are always slim, but the Titans seemed to make it clear they wanted Stonehouse.

He said he felt most comfortable with Aukerman, rating his relationship with the Titans during the pre-draft process in 2022 as “better than with any other team.”

And not only did Stonehouse win the job, he set an NFL record as a rookie when he broke Sammy Baugh’s 80-year-old mark for gross punting average at 53.1 yards per kick.

Stonehouse appeared in 46 career games in three seasons with Tennessee (2022-24). He has totaled 216 punts for 11,282 yards (52.2 avg.), including 80 punts inside the 20 and a 42.1 net average. He holds the top two single-season punting averages in NFL history – 53.1 yards in 2022 and 53.06 yards in 2023. He added the single-season rookie record for net punting average (44.03) in 2022, while leading the NFL in punting yards (4,773).

WHERE STONEHOUSE WANTS TO IMPROVE

If one were to point to that area in which Stonehouse can improve, it’s in downing the ball deep inside opponent territory. He has no problem ‘flipping the field’ with his big leg, but sometimes has issues getting the ball to stop where he wants or simply outkicks his coverage.

"I think I can hit it a long way, but I’ve really been honed in on getting a lot of hang time this offseason," Stonehouse said. "I’ve really tried to get that down. When I was coming out for the draft, that was the big knock on me that my hang time wasn’t as great. But I kind of set out to prove that wrong and I came into camp – you can ask Craig (Aukerman) when you get him on – I was hitting 5.0s consistently, and that’s what I’m striving for this year because I think it matters so much.”

Stonehouse went on to elaborate further on what he felt hurt him in regards to net average and downing the ball deep.

“If you look at like last year or what I went through in Tennessee, we had a lot of young guys,” said Stonehouse. “It was hard to kind of mesh relationship-wise, I was coming back off of a major (achilles) injury. Those relationships start at OTAs. They start before OTAs but in my situation right now, it would start in OTAs, getting with your gunners. It’s so important to have a relationship with those guys so they know what’s going on; how the punt is supposed to look, where is it supposed to end up. Your core guys, ‘Hey, we need inside-out. Don’t throw the guy to my kick side.’ We weren’t playing as a unit. We weren’t playing together; we just didn’t have guys in the right spots.”

Aukerman, who was hired in January to replace Danny Crossman after he was fired following six years with the team, has yet to meet with Dolphins media, but Stonehouse had plenty to say about his former-turned-current coach when he was given that opportunity.

“When I met Craig, I realized the passion that had for special teams, and it was great when he brought me into Tennessee,” Stonehouse said. “My work ethic and his work ethic meshed really well together; he’s a guy that values hard work. I’ve learned that in the punt team it matters about the players and who fits where, and he’s very good at that. He’s very great at developing young players, putting them in the right position. I think that’s so important. Special teams is not a thing where you play it as much in college. A lot of times drafted players, you’re not playing special teams, you’re not playing on punt team in college … so that coach it really is important when you come in, and I think Craig is that guy. When I came into Tennessee, I was blessed to have him as my coach.”

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