INDIANAPOLIS — Jack Stonehouse is not a stranger to New England Patriots special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer.
Coming out of Chaminade College Preparatory in California, Stonehouse — who comes from a long lineage of punters — was being recruited to go to punt at Arizona. At the time, Springer was the Wildcats’ special teams coordinator.
The connection never eventually happened, as many of Arizona’s sixth-year seniors remained at school after the pandemic, and Stonehouse took a redshirt season at Missouri in 2021. Now, with a chance to be reunited, Stonehouse recalled his memories of what could potentially be his new special teams coordinator.
“I really like Jeremy Springer,” Stonehouse said at the NFL Combine. “He actually recruited me in high school. Good guy. … I knew everywhere (I went, I) was going to be most likely a walk-on. And at that point, the situation just kind of happened.
“He’s a cool dude. He’s very energetic. He loves what he does, and that was the draw that I had towards him.”
Stonehouse spent time in college at two schools, Missouri and Syracuse, and found the most success this past season with the Orange. He punted the ball 59 times for a 47.1 average — the highest of his career. He tallied 2,780 total yards of punts and helped flip the field plenty of times for his defense.
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He says that he takes pride in helping his defense get the best possible field position, and compares it to golf (though he said he’s not that good at the latter).
“I think of it as kind of like a competition with yourself,” Stonehouse said. “Being able to put your defense at that point, in the best position, is the main reason why you’re out there. I take pride in that, I take more pride in saying ‘OK, our defense is gonna go make a stop.”
He’s in a class with a few other punters, including Georgia’s Brett Thorson — considered by draft experts to be the top punter in the class. For Stonehouse, going through the Combine process allows him to get to know the special teams units across the league and try to play his way into a draftable player.
Is New England an actual reality? Well, incumbent Bryce Baringer is coming off a shaky-ish season — including a performance in the AFC championship that didn’t wow anyone — and is entering a contract season. The Patriots could potentially let him play on the final year of his four-year rookie contract, and have him enter free agency ahead of 2027. What they could also do is take the avenue the last time there was a true punting competition, where the Patriots draft Stanford’s Jake Bailey in 2019 to replace Super Bowl LIII star Ryan Allen.
There’s also a connection between the Stonehouse name and head coach Mike Vrabel. In 2022, his cousin, Ryan, signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Tennessee Titans — eventually winning the starting gig. As a rookie, Ryan Stonehouse became a second team All-Pro and became one of the league’s top field flippers.
If Vrabel and Springer open up their previous encounter rolodexes, the Syracuse redshirt senior could be an interesting addition to the Patriots, either in the draft or in undrafted free agency.
“I just want an opportunity,” he said. “I don’t really mind where it is. I can punt outside, I can punt inside. Wherever you put me, I’ll be able to punt the ball.”
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