One of the standout performers from Michigan State’s 20-17 win against Nebraska was redshirt freshman punter Ryan Eckley.
Eckley had seven punts against the Cornhuskers and five of them went for 50 or more yards. He also had three punts inside the 20-yard line.
Eckley’s performance earned him a spot on the Week 10 Ray’s 8, a list by the Ray Guy Award that honors eight top punters from each week of the season.
“That’s awesome,” Eckley said about being named one of the top punters of the week. “Especially in that game, with the history behind it with Sam Fultz and Mike Sadler, it’s a really important game as far as the punting world goes. So I’m glad I was able to go out there and do my job to the best of my ability.”
Eckley was recruited out of Newsome High School in Florida by special teams coordinator Ross Els. He arrived at Michigan State in January of 2022 as an early enrollee, and adjusting to the cold weather was a “big eye opener” for Eckley at first, but he used the spring practices to get used to it.
“Out of high school, being from Florida, you definitely get a little concerned about the weather and you hear about all that at Michigan State and you hear it gets so cold up there,” Eckley said. “But I wasn’t really worried about it. I knew the opportunity here, being able to learn from Bryce (Baringer) for a year, was gonna be a huge part in whether I was gonna end up committing here or not. With the resources I had here at Michigan State, I knew this was going to be the best spot for me.”
Now that Eckley has been at Michigan State for almost two years, he is used to the cold. Before the Minnesota game a few weeks ago, Eckley and kicker Jonathan Kim were warming up before the game totally shirtless in freezing conditions. Eckley said that he wanted to “embrace the cold” and that Kim brought up the idea. Eventually, the refs did tell Eckley and Kim to put a shirt on.
Learning from consensus first team All-American and sixth-round NFL Draft pick Bryce Baringer was something that Eckley took advantage of last season.
“From Bryce, I learned a lot on the field, but so much off the field too,” Eckley said about Baringer. “Just the mental aspect of punting and the way to go about everything. How to carry myself in the building. Even outside of that, he taught me a lot beyond football as well as just the fundamentals of football. So he was definitely, really a large leader and character in my life for that last year that I was here.”
Learning from Baringer set up Eckley with a chance at the starting job this season. He competed with Ohio State transfer Michael O’Shaughnessy, who has 11 punts this season. However, it appears that Eckley has a firm grasp on the starting position because he’s had all 20 of Michigan State’s punts in the past three games.
“At this level, you’re always going to have fantastic competition,” Eckley said about competing with O’Shaughnessy. “And we have a really good room here at Michigan State. All of our guys are here to compete. It’s just one of those things where you take it one punt at a time and go from there.”
Eckley’s individual goals for this season include establishing consistency, increasing his average yards per punt every game and being named to the freshman All-American team.
“I’m pleased with how I’ve done so far,” Eckley said. “And I think it’s a really good starting step for my redshirt freshman year, and something to build off of moving forward.”
