It has been a couple years since I was this excited over a rookie.* I think the last was Camarda in 22. But man oh man, I cannot wait to watch more from Austin McNamara this season. The Jets are now must see TV.
First off, I love hangtime. Because of that, I am going to be biased towards McNamara. From watching him this preseason, that’s what his game is now. He averaged 4.77 seconds per boot, way up from his collegiate days where he never topped 4.25. granted, the sample size is much smaller in the NFL.
I love JK Scott. He may be my favorite punter to watch in the NFL. I see major flashes of Scott in McNamara. Short kickstep with a very similar form. A long 2nd step and heavy lean in the back to drive the ball to the clouds. Nearly the same style so far, utilizing the sky ball as his go-to. Similar to early career JK, the miss hits are there too. Case in point, the first punt is way off target. The high hang buys the gunners time to get downfield, but this was an August punt in NY. When the weather turns, this cannot happen.
But it is not winter right now and so I feel the need to brush it off. That is a problem for later. For now, holy shit Jets fans, rejoice, because this guy looks really god damn good. Legit franchise punter vibes. I need to get this guys jersey.