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Senior Spotlight: Wisconsin Football’s Drew Meyer

By Jim Oxley

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Up next in Badger of Honor’s look at all the seniors on the 2015-16 football roster is redshirt senior punter Drew Meyer.

READ ALSO: Senior Spotlight: Joe Schobert

The Badgers are looking for an improved season out of the fifth year player, as last year the Wisconsin punting game was a mess.

Meyer, a Hartland, Wisconsin, native, came to the Badgers in 2011 out of Arrowhead High School. He redshirted in 2011 during Brad Nortman‘s senior season.

Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin Badgers /

Wisconsin Badgers

Meyer has been the Badgers No. 1 punter since, totaling 180 punts in his three seasons so far.

In his freshman season in 2012, Meyer set a school record with 80 punts for 3,233 yards, the best single-season mark in Badgers history for both numbers.

He was seventh among freshman punters with a 41.5 yard average per punt, that number was also just a half-yard off from a top-10 placement in the UW record book for a single season. He put 36 punts inside the 20-yard line, had only five touchbacks, and allowed only 28 of his punts (35 percent) to be returned.

As a sophomore in 2013, Meyer punted 53 times for 2,045 yards, with 19 punts inside the 20 and only three touchbacks. Only 13 of his punts (24.5 percent) were returned. 2013 was a good year for punt Badgers punt coverage, as the combination of Meyer’s leg and the Badgers coverage resulted in opponents totaling just 94 punt return yards all season.

In 2014 things took a weird turn as the Badgers punting game turned sour. Meyer still punted 54 times for 2,020 yards, but at times punted rugby style, at times punted traditionally, and at times sat on the bench as backup quarterback Bart Houston punted for Wisconsin.

Despite the downturn in 2014, Meyer is well on his way to setting records at UW. He currently has 7,388 total punting yards, good enough for sixth best all time at UW. He’s 3,272 yards behind the UW record holder, Kevin Stemke.

His 187 punts and 39.5 yard-per-punt average are both the 8th best number in school history.

The Badgers will be looking for some consistency out of Meyer as they head into the 2015-16 season.

Next: Badgers Land 2016 Punter

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