Jordan Stout answered quickly when asked how much confidence he's punting with.
"A lot," Stout said with a smile.
"I think it has to be that way. If you're going to be one of those guys going out on Sundays, you have to have a lot of confidence. If you don't have confidence, you're not going to make it, so I feel like I go out there every day with a lot of confidence."
It shows. The Ravens' rookie fourth-round punter had an impressive Sunday night in Arizona, averaging 51.3 yards on three boots. He twice pinned the Cardinals at their own 3-yard line, then launched his final punt 58 yards before it sailed out of bounds for no return.
Stout can boom it, he can place it, and he does it all with swag. The long hair, the cutoff practice shirt, the ease with which he answers questions, comes with the talented package that Stout brings to the Ravens. After Sam Koch's superb 16-year run as Baltimore's punter ended with his retirement this spring, the torch was passed to Stout and he looks built for center stage.
"I think this transition has been pretty easy," said Stout, the Penn State product who was the first punter taken in this year's draft. "I feel like nothing has really changed, besides [that] I have a lot of really good coaches now – not that my coaches in college weren't great, but they didn't know how to coach punting; it was more like a scheme aspect."
Working with Stout has been an enjoyable process for Special Teams Coach Randy Brown and Koch, who's now a Special Teams Consultant. Stout's learning things every day, honing in on the nitty gritty details. And he has the athleticism to apply their advice.
Stout has charisma, but he's also a hard worker who's determined to maximize his talent. He knows Koch was the best punter in Ravens history and Stout wants to continue that standard of excellence. The two punters have already formed an effective player-coach chemistry.
"Sam is genius on the field," Stout said. "He really knows what he's doing. Me and Sam are very different punters. Let's say I make a mistake, or I consistently make a mistake that he wouldn't have made, he never once says, 'Oh, well, if I was out there, I would be doing this.' He's always like, 'Hey Jordan, this is what you did; let's fix it next time.' He's not trying to turn me into him, which is unbelievable, and how good of a coach he is after player for 16 years is remarkable."
Koch mastered a huge repertoire of punts during his career, including the famous "Koch Hook," and he and Brown are helping Stout add more tricks to his bag. Stout's leg strength is obvious, the ball explodes off his foot and creates a sound that differentiates him from other punters. However, adding more trajectories and spins would make him an even bigger weapon in game situations, and Stout is learning quickly.
"I've been working on a bunch (of punts) individually, and I'm starting to pick up on a lot of them," Stout said. "Randy and I chalked it up; I think we're going to have about 16 punts we can use in different situations, so that's going to be pretty cool."
Three talented punters were drafted this year – Stout, Jake Camarda,[comma] who was taken by Tampa Bay three picks after Stout, and Matt "Punt God" Araiza, who was selected in the sixth round by Buffalo. There's a friendly competition among them, and all have looked good during the preseason.
But Stout is concentrating on his own game, and he's off to a strong start.
"I would say there absolutely is a rockstar punt class coming in, and Jake Camarda, the 'Punt God', me and several more guys coming into the league this year are very talented, and it's going to be great competing this season," Stout said.
"I'm absolutely, always trying to get better. I'm nowhere close to where I'm going to be in the future, and I think with the guys I have here at my disposal, my coaching, that each and every day I'm getting better. I'm excited to see where I'm going to be at the end of the year."
