Punter U
On Thursday, the ACC released its preseason all-conference team. The Syracuse Orange only have one representative on this team- redshirt senior punter Jack Stonehouse.
Stonehouse makes a team that consists of 11 players from defending ACC champions Clemson, as well as three players from Pitt, and two from Miami, Duke, Louisville, SMU, and Georgia Tech. Stonehouse gained 70 out of the 180 media votes to make the first team.
Stonehouse has been the go-to punter for the Orange for two seasons since he transferred from Missouri. Last season, he was an All-ACC honorable mention, punting for 1509 yards on only 33 punts. This allowed him to set Syracuse’s net-punting average record, with an average punt of 45.7 yards. He also had 11 punts that were downed inside the 20, as well as only three touchbacks. He currently holds the career record for net punting average at Syracuse as well, with an average of 45.
Stonehouse was one of the members of Fran Brown’s ACC media day group, as he has become a leader among this Orange group. He’s also been one of the most important and consistent Syracuse players over the last few seasons, and has pinned the opposing offense deep more times than we can count.
Photo by Matt Kelley/Getty Images
Stonehouse comes from a family of incredible punters, as his father, John Stonehouse, was a punter at USC as well as having a quick stint with the New York Giants. His brother, Ryan Stonehouse, is currently playing for the Miami Dolphins, coming after three extremely solid years in Tennessee.
Jack has also tapped into the punter history at Syracuse, as at ACC media days last week, he mentioned his work with other legendary Orange punter, Riley Dixon. As Sports Illustrated reported, Stonehouse said that ”He’s teaching me how to be more consistent in different ways, different punts.”
Stonehouse is looking to make an impact for this orange team like he has the last few seasons. It will be interesting to see how he does this upcoming season, although the media clearly has high hopes for the Orange punter, and for good reason.