Gators Land Commitment From PWO Punter Nicholas Inglis
Florida's found its punter in the class of 2024.
Episcopal School of Dallas (Texas) punter prospect Nicholas Inglis committed to Florida as a preferred walk-on during National Signing Day, choosing the Gators over a scholarship offer from Wyoming.
His pledge comes three weeks following former PWO pledge Bobby Engstler's move to Cal — in which he received a scholarship offer to suit up for the Golden Bears.
Florida restructured its special teams approach this offseason, adding New England assistant Joe Houston to the fold as a senior analyst in the third phase of the game.
"I think Joe Houston is an outstanding coach," Napier said when asked about the staff addition during Wednesday's National Signing Day press conference. "I think we're not only acquiring an expert in the special-teams space, but we're getting a guy who has four years of Coach Belichick and that organization. All those meetings and all those things observed, and things that he brings to our staff."
He'll work alongside incumbent special teams assistant Chris Couch in an effort to improve the unit from lackluster form over the past two seasons.
"I do think we did well statistically in some areas, but there was no doubt there were some organizational things that could have been done better," Napier admitted. "I think we added a layer of expertise and another set of eyes, another set of hands there in ultimately a big picture viewpoint. The situational football piece, too, will be put under that umbrella as well with he and Chris working together, so it's good for the Gators, I hired Joe Houston for one day at Louisiana and then Bill hired him. We're fortunate to get him back."
Inglis will be the first newcomer in the updated dynamic.
With current starting punter Jeremy Crawshaw expected to depart from the program following the 2024 campaign, Inglis will compete for head punting duties next offseason, where he could be elevated to scholarship if deemed the starter.
According to Kohl's Kicking, Inglis is considered the No. 10 punter in his class.
You can find Kohl's assessment of Inglis' skillset below.
Inglis had an excellent showing at the 2024 Kohl's Senior Challenge. He proved to be a Power 5 punter once again at the event. He is a strong and long punting prospect who commands his drop well. His stepping pattern is consistent and he hits his directional punts with ease. His overall score at camp was 104.67 and he connected with some huge punts in the final punting competition. He has the talent and leg speed to have an impact early in his college career. Inglis showed why he is a 5-star punter in December of 2023 with another good day at a winter Showcase Camp. He scored 105.79 points on his punt charts and won the camp-wide punt competition. He is someone who can play in college and at a high level as a punter. Inglis also competed in July of 2023 at the National Scholarship Camp and scored an impressive 106.92 points as a punter. He has the tools to become better in college.
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