Power of positivity: Best-case scenarios for huge Auburn season in 2018
By Rob Maxwell
What about the punter?
In 2013 when Auburn went 12-2 and lost in the BCS title game to FSU, the punting game was one of everyone’s least worries.
Steven Clark punted 56 times that season for an average of 42.59 yards. Of those 56 punts, 26 were fair caught, 26 were inside the 20, none were blocked and only five were returned (for just 35 yards). That’s ridiculous. Clark punted — he punted the ball very high — and rarely gave the return man a chance to run it back.
Last season Aidan Marshall and Ian Shannon combined to average 39.4 yards on 57 kicks. Opponents returned 14 for 160 yards. That’s a big difference.
Marshall is back this season and reports this fall are that he’s stronger and improved. He’ll need to be because Auburn signed Australian punter Arryn Siposs, a 6-2, 205-pound former Australian Football League player.
Best-case scenario: Siposs wins the job and is a field position game changer, especially on those three-and-out possessions. He averages 45-plus yards on his punts, which places him in the top 1 nationally, and more importantly, his hang time allows few returns.
The bonus with Siposs is that you’re getting more than a punter, you’re getting an athlete. That could mean that Malzahn installs some fake punts that give Siposs the chance to run or pass for first downs.