On Monday and Tuesday Derek Epperson (Baylor University) was here in Fountain Hills, Arizona for some One on One Punting Lessons. Derek is a big good looking punter at 6'3 245 pounds and is entering his junior year at Baylor. He had a 44 yard punting average last year, which ranked him 9th in the country in average.
Derek who was a Ray Guy finalists last year came to Fountain Hills, to take his game to the next level and prepare for his college season and a potential professional career.
I could see right away that Derek had a big leg, which was evident by some booming punts. I worked on a few drills to refine his technique including the 'Drop Progression Drill' and the 'One Step Drill'.
Derek is a student of the game and paid very close attention in the video review. As we conducted the video review, I noticed that he had a tendency to crunch and also fall back after he punted the ball.
In the photo (below) you can see the Derek has some great flexibility and extension.
After two days of lessons and video review, Derek was punting better than ever and was punting up and through the ball much better. He hit some towering punts with hang times anywhere from 4.8 to 5 seconds!
Derek told me that he liked the new drills and feels the adjustments we made where comfortable for him and he knows that they will help him to improve even more in the future.
I enjoyed working with Derek and I look forward to working with him again in the future and following his progress this season!
