Michigan State has turned punter into a position of real comfort, and Rhys Dakin looks like the next name in that line.
The Spartans have already watched Bryce Baringer go 192nd overall in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft to the New England Patriots, then saw Ryan Eckley come off the board 211th overall in Round 6 this year to the Baltimore Ravens. With Eckley declaring early despite having a year of eligibility left, Michigan State answered by going into the transfer portal and landing Dakin, the former Iowa starter who now checks in at No. 14 on this top-30 countdown.
Dakin spent the last two seasons handling the job for the Hawkeyes and did it well. He averaged 43.9 yards per punt during his time there, earned second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2024 and was an honorable mention all-conference pick last season.
For Dakin, the path to college football started a long way from East Lansing. He grew up in Melbourne, Australia, where his sporting background was rooted more in Australian rules football than in American football.
His route eventually led him to ProKick Australia, an academy for punters that has produced a notable name in Tory Taylor, the Iowa punter Dakin replaced. Taylor was a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and is now the starting punter for the Chicago Bears.
Dakin followed a similar track by landing at Iowa, where he was recruited by LeVar Woods. That relationship helped bring him to Michigan State, too, and Dakin explained the first meeting this way during the spring: "I just met him in the city of Melbourne at a little cafe," Dakin said during the spring.
"That's when I first met LeVar. Then he came to training the next day, and then had dinner with my family at my house.
That was the sort of Coach Woods' introduction that I had. He flew out to come and meet my family and meet me, get to know me as a person rather than just recruit me, you know.
So that says a lot about Coach Woods as a person."
There’s also plenty of runway left. Under the NCAA’s recent “5-in-5” eligibility system, Dakin has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
He’ll turn 22 in December, but because he enrolled at Iowa in time, he shouldn’t lose that year under the new setup. That puts him in position to keep kicking through the 2028 season.
Michigan State also brought in Northern Arizona transfer Alex Weeks, who has four seasons of eligibility left, but the expectation is clear: Dakin is the starter.
And he’s part of a much bigger special teams overhaul. Woods has added a new kicker, long snapper and kick returner through the portal and recruiting.
Charlotte transfer Liam Boyd is the favorite to win the kicking job, though freshman Stephen Gonzales has a big leg. Oregon transfer Nick Duzansky should handle long snapping, Trey Serauskis is coming in as part of the next recruiting class, and Nebraska transfer Kenneth Williams is the Spartans’ newest kick returner.
Woods’ arrival was one of Pat Fitzgerald’s biggest offseason moves. Michigan State gave him the assistant head coach title and a contract that averages $1.2 million over three years after he built a reputation as one of the country’s top special teams coordinators at Iowa.
That kind of investment makes sense when you look at how much special teams hurt the Spartans last season. Against Iowa, MSU gave up multiple huge punt returns, including a touchdown, in a loss that ended on a game-winning field goal.
The problems kept showing up in other games, too. Nebraska blocked a punt early, helping MSU fall behind 14-0, and later in that game the Spartans muffed a kickoff with the score tied late in the third quarter before losing 38-27.
Minnesota brought more frustration. Martin Connington missed two field goals, one from 46 yards in the first quarter and another from 23 yards with the game tied and about five minutes left in regulation. Michigan State likely would have won in regulation if either kick had gone through, but instead the Spartans lost in overtime.
Fitzgerald is banking on Woods to clean up that side of the ball. It’s not all on Dakin, of course, but having a proven Big Ten punter in place gives Michigan State a real foundation at one of the most important hidden spots on the field.
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