Michigan State Football: Ryan Eckley named a Freshman All-American

A year after having the Big Ten Punter of the Year, Michigan State football fielded a Freshman All-American.

More good news rolled in for the Michigan State football team. This time, however, it’s good news on the field. Punter Ryan Eckley was named to the Freshman All-American team by The Athletic after a phenomenal season.

The Athletic named @RyanEckley1 to its Freshman All-American team!

His 46.8-yard punting average ranked 2nd in the Big Ten and 7th in the FBS. #GoGreen pic.twitter.com/EM1z8HfiKE

— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) December 18, 2023

Ryan Eckley named Freshman All-American

Ryan Eckley not only had one of the best seasons among freshmen, but his 2023 campaign was one of the best in the country. He had 56 punts on the year with a 46.8-yard average. That average was good enough for second in the Big Ten and seventh in the country. His longest punt on the season was 67 yards which is remarkable.

Ryan also racked up 24 punts (42.9%) downed inside the 20-yard line this season as well — 42.9% is another impressive stat as well. Unfortunately, I could not find where this percentage ranks among college punters, but this jumps out when comparing it to NFL punters. A 42.9% mark would put him in eighth place among all NFL punters this season. That shows just how great he was.

Is Eckley the next great Michigan State punter?

I think it’s pretty obvious that Eckley is the next great Michigan State punter. We have had a long list of elite punters come through East Lansing, and Eckley burst on to the scene at the perfect time. Bryce Baringer graduated from Michigan State after the 2022 season and was drafted by the New England Patriots. That left a large void at an important special teams position that needed to be filled.

Enter Eckley.

I for one was very nervous going into this season about who our punter was going to be. Punters are an underrated position in football and they never get the credit they deserve. Having a punter who can flip field position when your offense is struggling is a game changer. It gives your defense more room to operate which in turn can help the offense get better field position if the defense gets a stop right away. I didn’t know if we would have someone who could remotely fill Baringer’s shoes, but thankfully Eckley was able to. His average was only two yards less than what Bryce had as a senior. That sounds pretty good to me.

I hope Eckley is someone Jonathan Smith can keep in East Lansing. If he keeps this up, he could easily turn into another Spartan All-American punter by the time his Michigan State football career is over.