Top Returning ACC Punters For 2017


Virginia’s Nicholas Conte and Miami’s Justin Vogel have exhausted their eligibility, so who’ll be the best punter in the ACC in 2017?


Last season’s first and second-team All-ACC punters, Virginia’s Nicholas Conte and Miami’s Justin Vogel, were seniors, meaning there’s an opportunity to step into their voids in 2017. That shouldn’t be a major problem for the conference, since four of its better punters were freshmen in 2016. Sterling Hofrichter, Tom Sheldon and Dom Maggio should continue honing their craft this fall. Ditto Louisville’s Mason King, who averaged more than 48 yards in the final five games of his redshirt freshman season.

Top Returning ACC Punters

3. Dom Maggio, Wake Forest

Maggio impressed the Deacon staff in the summer, and then he proved worthy of the job throughout his first season in Winston-Salem. The 6-3, 175-pound rookie averaged 42 yards per punt and dropped 24 inside the opponent’s 20-yard line to capture honorable mention All-ACC recognition. Maggio has a very strong leg for such a young punter, and it’ll only get stronger as he matures and fill out his long frame.

2. Tom Sheldon, North Carolina

Sheldon was an underrated—and unorthodox—addition for the Tar Heels in 2016. The lefty arrived from Australia, which is not all that uncommon these days, but at the age of 27 he was the senior member of the roster as a freshman. Sheldon averaged 42.7 yards a punt, but he was especially effective at limiting returns with his hang time and angles. Carolina led the country in punt return D, yielding just nine returns for two cumulative yards.

1. Sterling Hofrichter, Syracuse

Hofrichter faced a tough assignment in his first season of duty, succeeding all-star Riley Dixon, who is now the punter for the Denver Broncos. And while he’s not yet Dixon, he is off to a great start to his Orange career. Hofrichter was voted to the All-ACC Third Team in 2016 for averaging 42.7 yards a punt and dropping 24 of his 77 attempts inside the opponent’s 20. His ball placement is something that will benefit the Syracuse D for the next three years.

MORE: Top Returning Punters In College Football