How effective has punter Chapman been?

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Just how effective has Auburn punter Oscar Chapman been?

Nathan King

5-6 minutes

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Oscar Chapman won't be charted as a returning starter for Auburn's defense, but he's as key as any Tiger for that unit's and field position entering 2022, as he looks to improve upon a standout 2021 campaign.

The rising junior had one of the best punting seasons in recent history for Auburn last year, routinely setting Auburn's defense up with optimal field position when asked to do so. He's the second straight starting punter for Auburn from Australia, after Arryn Siposs left for the NFL as a junior.

For most of the season, Chapman led the SEC in net yards per punt (how many yards each punt set the opposing offense back), and he finished the year in the top 20 nationally in that category and No. 3 in the conference.

Pro Football Focus graded Chapman as the No. 5 punter in college football last season.

His best game of the season came in the four-overtime Iron Bowl thriller, when Chapman was asked to punt 10 times in a defensive struggle. Five of those punts backed Alabama inside its own 20-yard line, including three inside the 10.

Of course, Auburn's punt-coverage unit has to be sound, as well, and the Tigers were effective last season in downing the football and displaying discipline and communication close to the opposing goal line.

"He's going to put the ball right where we need to put it," defensive tackle Colby Wooden said of Chapman in the spring. "If we need to put it in that back corner, that's where it's going. Defense, we can go out there and not let them get out of that corner. He's just tremendous."

We logged every punt from Chapman last season, based on where the ball was snapped, and where the kick ended up. The results show that Chapman was effective in pinning opponents deep, regardless of where he kicked the ball from.

PUNTING IN AUBURN TERRITORY

• Average: 46.7 yards

• Inside 20-yard line (touchbacks included): 43.2%

• Inside 15-yard line: 27.3%

• Inside 10-yard line: 9.1%

• Inside 5-yard line: 6.8%

Of course, punting distance varies, especially from your own territory; booting it away from the 49-yard line is a lot different than the 6-yard line. But on average, even when Chapman was able to let it fly and go for distance, he still found precision pinning opponents back.

Chapman’s average rose slightly (2.6 yards, to be exact) when punting from his own side of the 50, which is to be expected. His inside-the-15 rate is probably the most impressive figure here: On more than one-fourth of his punts from his own territory, he managed to create an 85-plus-yard field for the opposition.

PUNTING ACROSS MIDFIELD

• Outside 20-yard line: 8.3%

• Inside 15-yard line: 66.7%

• Inside 10-yard line: 50%

• Inside 5-yard line: 25%

Yardage is mostly pointless to assess on kicks across the 50-yard line, as punters begin to aim and place the ball at that distance, rather than go for power.

On only one punt all season from across midfield did Chapman shank and fail to put Auburn’s defense inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

Chapman could be counted on to pin the ball inside the 10 at a high rate, too, doing so on half of his 12 punts from opposing territory.

Here are some more numbers on Chapman’s 2021 season, via PFF:

• Only 14.0% of Chapman’s punts were returned all season, good for the sixth-best rate in college football and No. 2 in the SEC.

• In total, 43.4% of all Chapman’s punts pinned the opposing offense at or within its own 20-yard line, good for the eighth-best clip in the country. Among punters with 60 or fewer attempts on the season, he was No. 5 in that category.

• Opposing return men averaged only 4.0 yards per punt return against Chapman, which ranked No. 21 in the FBS and No. 2 in the SEC.

Chapman's primary competitors for the preseason All-SEC first team later this week are Tennessee's Paxton Brooks (No. 2 in the conference last season in both net punting and No. 1 in return rate) and Texas A&M's Nik Constantinou, who led the league in net average but allowed the fourth-most returns among SEC punters.