Cal Football: Jamieson Sheahan No. 1 Among College Punters (Not Really)

The senior from Australia is 1st in the Pac-12, 6th nationally at 48.3 yards per kick.

Websites for the Pac-12 and NCAA this week have shown Cal senior Jamieson Sheahan’s punting average at 50.62 yards, which would be the best in college football.

Except it’s not true. A software glitch, we’re told, explains why his actual average of 48.33 on nine punts became 50.62 on eight attempts somewhere after the numbers were sent from Cal to the larger entities.

Jamieson Sheahan punts against UCLA last season / Photo by Al Sermeno, KLC fotos

Sheahan, a 25-year-old Australian with a sense of humor, isn’t concerned. In fact, he said he’s trying hard not to look at the numbers this season.

“But if it was the other way around,” he said, laughing, “I’d be complaining about it.”

No one is complaining about Sheahan’s performance through two games. His 48.33 average is still best in the Pac-12, sixth-best in FBS.

“He’s doing a great job,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox says in the video above. “Jam, when he got here, we thought he had a big leg. I think he’s just more comfortable.”

Among Sheahan’s nine punts, were six of 48 yards or longer, including a career-best 65-yarder against UC Davis two weeks ago.

Even his shortest punt of the season — a 30-yarder — was a successful kick, taken from the Davis 42 and downed at the 12-yard line.

“Anytime you can pin them inside the 20, let alone the 15, if the offense on the other team has to go more than 80 yards, it’s going to be a tall task against our defense,” Sheahan said.

The 65-yarder, he acknowledges in the video above, was not the best example of his leg strength.

“I got a lucky one, a lucky bounce, in Game 1, a long roller,” he said.” You need a little bit of luck in the punt game. It didn’t really come off my foot the way I wanted, but you’ll take a 65-yarder every day of the week.”

Sheahan played Aussie rules football back home, and that game taught him to kick the ball on the run, under pressure. As a result, we’ve more often seen him this season take an extra couple steps before punting the ball if the rush isn’t coming after him.

“I feel like that’s something that comes naturally to me, playing the Australian football game. You’re always assessing the danger around you,” he explains in the video above. “It’s a 360-degree game and you can get hit from any angle.

"I feel like peripheral vision is extremely important and I’m just feeling more confident I can take those few extra steps and survey what’s going on before making the right decision. And by doing so it gives our gunners time to get down field a few extra yards. It comes with being confident and trusting our blocking scheme, which has been fantastic so far.”

Cover photo of Cal senior punter Jamison Sheahan by Nancy Paiva, KLC fotos

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo