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There hasn’t been much innovation with regards to fake punt strategies in recent years, but that may be about to change.
Over the weekend, Thomas Downey High School (Calif.) debuted a fascinating fake punt concept — and ran it to perfection.
Facing a 4th down from their own 40-yard line, Thomas Downey lined up to punt the ball away. But instead of actually kicking it away, the punter took a couple steps forward and launched the ball into the air under-handed.
This gave the appearance to the opponent’s returners that the ball had been been punted, so they were caught off guard when a player from Thomas Downey tracked the ball and came down with it inside the 25-yard-line — thus earning a first down.
Here’s a replay:
Thomas Downey HS with the fake punt of the year
I’ve watched this on repeat this morning pic.twitter.com/S0VbsoN0qO
— The Spread Offense (@Spread_Offense) September 3, 2024
Concepts from the high school level have long matriculated up to the college game over the decades. It will be interesting to see if any collegiate program is daring enough to try out this idea in a real game this fall.
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Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
