Syracuse didn’t have the season it hoped for in 2025 - not even close. A team that won 10 games just a year ago stumbled to a disappointing three-win campaign. But amid the struggles, one player quietly turned in a season worthy of elite recognition: punter Jack Stonehouse.
On Tuesday, Stonehouse was named to the All-ACC First Team, earning 165 votes - a full 57 more than the next punter on the list, Virginia’s Daniel Sparks. It’s a deserving honor for a player who not only handled a heavy workload but did so with remarkable consistency and impact.
Let’s put it in perspective: Stonehouse led the ACC with 60 punts, averaging a career-best 46.5 yards per boot - third-best in the conference and good enough to rank ninth nationally in total punting yards at 2,787. In a season where Syracuse often found itself pinned deep and needing to flip field position, Stonehouse delivered, time and again.
It’s not just the volume that stands out - it’s the quality. That 46.5-yard average isn’t just a personal best; it’s the highest single-season punting average in Syracuse football history. That’s a legacy stat, the kind that puts a player’s name in the record books and keeps it there.
What makes Stonehouse’s season even more impressive is that he maintained this level of excellence while Syracuse’s special teams unit was undergoing a major overhaul. Under coordinator Ricky Brumfield, the group showed signs of improvement after a rough 2024, though Brumfield was unexpectedly let go by new head coach Fran Brown just a day before the All-ACC announcement. Still, no matter who was calling the shots, Stonehouse was steady - a constant in a year defined by change.
This wasn’t a breakout that came out of nowhere. Stonehouse entered the year with expectations - and he lived up to them.
He was named to the 2025 All-ACC Preseason Team and was on the Ray Guy Award Watch List, which honors the nation’s top punter. And he’s been putting in the work behind the scenes, too, including offseason training sessions with Tampa Bay Buccaneers punter and former Syracuse standout Riley Dixon.
Stonehouse’s journey to Syracuse started at Missouri, where he redshirted his freshman year before taking over punting duties as a sophomore. He transferred to SU after the 2022 season and made an immediate impact. His averages in his first two seasons with the Orange - 44.6 and 45.7 yards per punt - were solid, but this year he took it to another level.
Now, as he wraps up his college career, Stonehouse leaves Syracuse not just as a bright spot in a tough season, but as one of the best punters in program history. In a year where the Orange struggled to find consistency in most phases of the game, Stonehouse gave them a weapon in the field position battle - and gave fans a reason to cheer every time the punt team trotted out.