2 weeks Ago
LSU punter Blake Ochsendorf (99) finishes a punt at preseason practice on Monday, August 5, 2024 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU football has two scholarship punters , and the Tigers plan to use both of them during the 2024 season, coach Brian Kelly said Thursday. In May, LSU signed Louisiana Tech transfer punter Blake Ochsendorf , setting up a preseason camp competition with the incumbent Peyton Todd .
The two split reps in practices, but neither showed Kelly and his staff enough to earn LSU's full-time punting job. "We want to include the ability to move our punter this year," Kelly said. Ochsendorf, a 6-foot-7 seventh-year senior, can kick Australian-style punts, which are usually booted with a running start and the football angled vertically.
That skill contrasts with Todd's style of punting, the more traditional standstill, straight-line approach. The addition of Ochsendorf allows LSU to use different punters for different situations, Kelly said. Sometimes, based on how the defense lines up and where the ball is placed, it's better to opt for an Australian-style punt.
In that instance, LSU would leave the backside edge unblocked and have Ochsendorf run away from the rush, where he can angle a punt outside the numbers and toward the sideline — away from a returner. "There are times that you want to be able to implement that," Kelly said, "and he's comfortable and accomplished with it, where Peyton Todd is much more of a down-the-line guy. So, it gives us two weapons within our punt arsenal, and we're gonna be able to take advantage of that.
" Last season, Ochsendorf averaged 46 yards per punt, one of the 15 best numbers in the country. Todd, a redshirt junior from West Monroe, has yet to punt in a game in three seasons at LSU. He served as Jay Bramblett's backup in each of the past two years.
No. 13 LSU's punting team is set to face a difficult test at 6:30 p.m.
Sunday on ABC against No. 23 Southern California. The Trojans have All-American special teams ace Zachariah Branch , one of the country's most dangerous punt returners.
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