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Quick! Name every Notre Dame Fighting Irish player who has punted the football in a game since 2015.
Tyler Newsome: The team captain who has punted 217 times in his four-year career. The other two?
If you’re struggling to come up with an answer, that’s exactly why a guy named Jay Bramblett is such an integral part of the class of 2019.
Bramblett is a three-star punter from Tuscaloosa, Ala., who was receiving attention from the hometown Alabama Crimson Tide when he committed May 30 to the Irish.
The 6-foot-2, 185 pound prospect was the best punter available, according to Chris Sailer Kicking.
Sailer wrote:
“Jay is a big time high school punting prospect. A great looking athlete with an explosive leg. He has an ideal frame for a D1 college punter. Jay punts for outstanding distance and big hang time. He easily averages 45+ yards, with 4.6+ hang time. He also shows the ability to hit punts 50+ yards, with 5.0+ hang time. He has great hands, his footwork is solid and he is one of the most consistent punters in the nation. He is a great competitor that punts with confidence. Jay is a fine young man that is always a pleasure to work with. Look for him to dominate this off season and pick up multiple D1 offers. He will not last. Phenomenal prospect.”
Bramblett wasn’t just working on his leg in high school. According to Irish Illustrated, the All-American was a quarterback for Hillcreast High. He went 178-of-260 for 2,341 yards (68-percent completion) and 18 touchdowns to six interceptions in his senior season.
His average kick during 2018 was 45.1 yards, with a long of 59. Newsome’s career average is 44 yards, with a long of 71.
Bramblett will enroll early and is expected to start as a freshman, with kicker Jonathan Doerer as his backup. With the right conditioning, he should exhibit the same durability as Newsome has during his four-year stop in South Bend.
(Did you guess Jeff Riney and DeShone Kizer? Riney had one kick during the 2017 game against the Miami-Ohio Redhawks, and Kizer executed three quick-kicks during his three-year career.)