Vanderbilt didn’t have a punter on the roster when spring practice wrapped up in April, but the Commodores’ special teams picture looks a lot clearer now.
South Dakota transfer Tyler Ebel is set to handle punting duties this fall, and Vanderbilt’s staff is already talking like it landed a difference-maker. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound specialist has yet to take a snap in a Vanderbilt uniform, but special teams coordinator Jeff LePak is sold on the tools.
“Tyler has stood in the pocket most of his career. He does a little bit of the rollout stuff, but Tyler’s got a big leg.
When he makes good ball contact, he's going to be as good as the players that we've had here over the past three to four years. He's got a big time leg.
He's a powerful dude,” LePak told Vandy On SI.
One of the biggest reasons Ebel stands out is the fact that he kicks left-footed. Vanderbilt hasn’t had a lefty punter since the 2023 team, and that alone changes the look for punt returners. Left-footed punters are less common, and the spin on the ball comes off differently than what returners usually see from a right-footed kicker.
LePak pointed to that as a real edge.
“They [punt returners] don't see it very often because there's not a whole bunch of left-footed punters, and so the read on the ball can just take a little bit longer than if you're used to playing it off of a right foot spin or a right foot tail. That ball can hit off a shoulder pad or hit off of a hand just a little bit wrong, and now you can get a turnover,” LePak said.
Ebel’s value, though, goes beyond being a lefty with a strong leg. Vanderbilt likes the fact that he can move on rollout punts and still keep his direction sound, which gives the Commodores a chance to flip the field and bury opponents deep.
At South Dakota last season, Ebel averaged 46 yards per punt, launched one 66 yards, and pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line 37% of the time.
That kind of production is exactly why Vanderbilt believes he can matter even in ways that don’t always jump off the stat sheet.
“We're excited about Tyler. He does a really, really nice job directionally punting, he can get on the move and kick a rollout, and he does a really nice job in the pin situation.
Excited to see him flip the field for us. He's kind of a calm dude, kind of a low key dude, and so I think his presence is going to help out that room too,” LePak told Vandy On SI.
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