Jon Ryan Is One Dangerous Canadian Punter
If the spotlight is what you crave, don’t be a punter.
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If showing off your athletic ability is important, punting is not for you. I mean, really, how many punters have won multiple position awards in college? How many are chosen MVP of their college football team? Have you heard of a punter leading their college team in scoring or having success on the track team?
For crying out loud, it’s a punter. If they were that athletic they’d be a wide receiver. Right?
Jon Ryan is a punter who has accomplished these things and more.
OK, here we go: Jon Ryan, born November of 1981 in beautiful Regina, Saskatchewan (that’s in a whole other country). Regina is about 350 miles north of Billings, Montana. He attended Sheldon-Williams Collegiate High School.
On his high school football team Ryan was a punter. Oh, sorry, he was also the place kicker.
Wow, interesting. He was their running back as well. That’s very impressive. Obviously Ryan was talented in high school.
In the year 2000, Ryan started his collegiate football career at the University of Regina. As a Ram, Ryan was the team’s punter AND wide receiver. His success was recognized after the 2003 season when he was named the team’s MVP and Best Special Teams Player.
He was also Regina’s top scorer that year.
This doesn’t seem like the typical punter as they’re portrayed in the media.
After such a tremendous college career, Jon Ryan was given an opportunity to play with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League (if you haven’t watched a CFL game, be sure to sometime soon). Once again he found success and in 2005 Ryan was honored as a CFL All-Star punter.
“Jon Ryan is in a club of NFL punters where he is the only member.” -Richard Riley
In 2006, the NFL’s Green Bay Packers came calling for Ryan’s services. After two years, he was sent over to his current team, the Seattle Seahawks. It’s as a Seahawk that Jon Ryan has established himself as the best punter in the NFL. As a 12 and 12th Man writer, I know how great Jon is.
Pete Carroll never misses a chance to praise this golden legged Canadian.
Then, on Oct. 6 of this year, Jon Ryan was able to show a national audience his incredible talent.
It was Monday Night Football, in the 4th quarter, when Seattle was looking for a first down to seal the win in Washington. During the week, Seattle’s field goal unit practiced a play coaches felt could give them a few yards.
With only a yard needed for the first down, Pete Carroll believed this was a great time to try.
On field goal tries, Jon Ryan is the holder. Once the ball is snapped, Ryan’s job is to catch it and go. Seattle lined up, Ryan took the snap and five yards later it was a Seahawks first down. This would lead to the game clinching score.
For Ryan, “it was fun”. He described his run as “Walter Payton-like”. And although Jon Ryan enjoyed the play, he enjoyed the win more.
At the start of this article I wrote opinions and assumptions about the abilities of a NFL punter. There are some who don’t play the game outside of punting duties. However, there are guys with the athletic ability and intelligence to do more for their team.
Jon Ryan is in a club of NFL punters where he is the only member. He’s not only a punter, Jon is a football player in the National Football League for the defending champion Seattle Seahawks.
We’re just lucky Green Bay didn’t understand what they had.
GO HAWKS!