The New Orleans Saints will be heading to Irvine, CA in a little over a week to start training camp, and position battles being fought all over the field. One of the positions that might not be discussed as often is punter, but as we saw last year with the Saints, a good punter can be the difference between a win and a loss.
Aussies Rule for the New Orleans Saints
Currently, 31-year-old Lou Hedley is the starting punter for the New Orleans Saints. Hedley played Australian Rules Football at a high level in his teens and early twenties and was invited to join ProKick Australia in 2013. ProKick Australia is a development and training program that helps standout Aussie Rules players transition into NCAA and NFL Football.
Hedley started his college career in 2017 at City College of San Francisco before transferring to Miami in 2019. He had a solid career at The U, being named to the All-ACC Team for multiple years as well as being nominated for The Ray Guy Award and the William V. Campbell Trophy. The New Orleans Saints signed Hedley as an undrafted free agent in April of 2023.
Hedley’s performance last year left much to be desired, as he was the worst in the league in average yardage per punt and among the worst in hang time. He is very accurate, however, ranking in the Top 10 league-wide in punts inside the 20-yard line. Also, only five percent of his punts were touchbacks.
Two Aussies are Better than One
Enter Matthew Hayball, another Australian who played Aussie Rules and came through ProKick Australia. Hayball is a few years younger than Hedley at 27, but still quite a bit older than your average rookie. Hayball was signed by the New Orleans Saints earlier this year as an undrafted free agent after a stellar career at Vanderbilt. Hayball averaged 47.6 yards per punt at Vandy and was named first All-SEC team and Ray Guy Award finalist.
Hayball uses the same rugby-style punt that Hedley uses, but he is left-footed. Both punters are deficient in the key area of hang time, because the rugby-style kick lends itself more to distance than height. Lou Hedley has indicated that he has improved his distance and hang time, but Hayball averages almost five yards longer per punt over his college career.
Who Will Get the Starting Job?
With both punters having similar styles but excelling in different areas, it’s hard to say if there will be a clear starter anytime soon. It would seem that the two punters could each be used situationally, based on what was required. Distance or accuracy, different hash marks, etc., could all come into play for situational decisions.
For example, if the New Orleans Saints are pinned inside their own 20 and need the biggest boot possible, they could go with Hayball. If they stall out on their own 40 and have to rely on accuracy more than distance, go with Hedley. There could also be situations where punting from one side of the field or the other could be advantageous, so having one lefty and one right-footed punter could create an advantage, or at least a distraction.
When training camp begins and the New Orleans Saints start holding open practices and media days, we should know more about who will be the starter, or if the Saints will choose to use the two punters situationally. The two should work well together though, considering their similar backgrounds and kicking styles.
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