Utes punter Jack Bouwmeester is winning awards, turning heads and flipping the field

It’s generally accepted that if a punter is being highlighted as having one of the best performances on a team in a game, that game probably has not gone well for that team.

The inherent logic to it is that a punter’s very presence on the field is an indication that the offense has not gone as planned.

And while it’s true that Utah came away from Thursday’s season-opening victory against Florida feeling as though there’s significant room for offensive improvement, it’s just as true that the attention paid that night to punter Jack Bouwmeester was less an indictment of the way the Utes moved the ball than a celebration of the way the Aussie so effectively flipped the field time and again.

The Boomer was boomin’.

“It was obviously a good feeling,” Bouwmeester told The Salt Lake Tribune. “A lot of hard work [went into that]. It’s been a big journey to this point, but it was obviously good to get the win as well, and play a big role. So, yeah, it was good fun.”

Given how frequently special teams have been an issue for the Utes in recent years, having at least one of those areas potentially settled could be a big deal.

In the 2022 season, Bouwmeester punted the ball 39 times, and struggled with consistency, averaging just 39.2 yards per kick. His season-long punt of 52 yards did not come until the team’s Rose Bowl loss to Penn State.

But against Florida, Bouwmeester punted six times for 311 yards — an average of 51.8 per. Four of those went for 50-plus yards, including a ridiculous 64-yarder in the third quarter.

“Yeah, he had an exceptional game — best game, by far, of his career,” Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said.

On Tuesday, Bouwmeester was named Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week.

So, how exactly did he make the leap? What exactly does a punter do to get that much better?

“I think it’s all my coaching,” Whittingham quipped.

Weeeellllll …

Seriously, though, it turns out, there’s a bit more to it than just kick the ball farther.

“It’s not as if we’re [messing] around all the time — we’re working pretty hard at it!” Bouwmeester said with a laugh.

He has spent time training with both ProKick and the Punt Factory in Australia. He also played Australian Rules Football with the Sandhurst Dragons in the Bendigo Football Netball League. Prior to coming to the United States, he became the No. 6-rated punting prospect by 247Sports out of Bendigo Catholic College. He committed to Michigan State in 2019, but never appeared in a game, and returned home in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.

Upon transferring to Utah last season, he earned the punting gig, but acknowledges there were a few things working against him.

For one, Utah only punting 39 times all season meant that he simply didn’t get many game reps — just 2.8 per contest. Further, the coaching staff had him do a significant number of rollout punts. Beyond that, though, he concedes that his power simply wasn’t where it needed to be, and that it took him a while to acclimate to the program.

“Last year … just was a big learning year,” Bouwmeester said. “Just getting here, getting used to how Coach Whitt runs things, how [special teams assistant coach Colton] Swan does things. And then obviously [I’ve now had] another offseason to build up the leg strength.”

There’s one other factor that’s perhaps even more significant, in his estimation, though.

“Confidence plays a big part, I reckon,” he said.

And he’s gotten more of that by doing more of everything else.

Bouwmeester hit the gym harder this offseason, building up additional leg strength, yes, but also doing more stretching, and exercises designed to loosen up his hips.

He spent considerable time developing his technique, taking an NFL-style approach by putting more emphasis on dropping the ball flat rather than nose down, so as to produce more spirals. He also has worked on what Whittingham refers to as “sky territory punts” — basically, when kicking from their own 45-yard line, putting more height on it to give the team’s gunners a better chance of downing the ball inside the 10.

Bouwmeester notably had three punts downed inside the opposing 20-yard line vs. Florida.

“Actually pinned ‘em four times, [but] the one didn’t count because of the duplicate number [penalty],” Whittingham pointed out.

Touché.

The Aussie conceded those plays aren’t entirely within his control, noting that everyone seems to believe that there’s a special mustard he’s able to put on those kicks to get them to land a certain way, but that a lot of it ultimately comes down to a bit of luck.

Then again, he seems to have adopted the adage that the harder you work, the luckier you tend to be, as he added that he simply studied a lot more film and got in a lot more practice reps, too, this summer.

Whittingham said the punter’s work ethic and all-around improvement were noticeable.

“He has become a really quality punter. I mean everything about him — his mechanics, his get-off times, he’s just doing everything real well right now,” the coach said. “… He’s feeling more confident, he works at his craft. He worked hard — exceptionally hard — all summer long, and he is very dedicated to what he’s doing, very conscientious and very committed. And you saw the fruits of his labors in that first game.”

Bouwmeester’s teammates certainly noticed.

Utes safety Cole Bishop, who led the team with 11 tackles in the 24-11 victory against the Gators, was asked after the game about the impact of going out on to defend knowing that field position isn’t an issue.

“It’s a game-changer,” he said. “… It feels good when they do down them short. You can do so much more when they’re backed up and they don’t have many options.”

Bouwmeester got plenty of encouragement, too, from teammates and friends Thomas Yassmin and Charlie Vincent, both during the game and in text messages afterward.

Still, there’s nothing quite like seeing the proof yourself.

Asked about that massive 64-yard kick, Bouwmeester said he couldn’t quite believe it.

“Yeah, definitely surprised myself,” he said. “It was good to look up and see it flying.”