High Praise for P Austin McNamara
In the offseason, GM Darren Mougey and HC Aaron Glenn committed to fashioning a younger and more frisky roster. When the initial 53-man roster was announced recently, the players' average age was 25.7 years old, which makes the team's new punter Austin McNamara, 24, the team's youngest specialist.
"He was an unknown, not to just you guys [reporters], but a lot of guys just around the league," Special Teams Coordinator Chris Banjo said. "But for him, the thing we're proud of with him is just his relentless effort in regards to working, just being obsessed with his craft. He puts his head down every day, puts his head down, just comes to work every day, and he's just looking to get better slowly and surely on a daily basis."
In 2021, McNamara set the Texas Tech and the Big 12 record with a 48.2 yard punting average across 13 games. He also set a NCAA single-game mark in that season with the most 50-yard punts in a game.
He was not selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, but was signed and waived by Cincinnati before signing with the Jets in mid-March.
In the preseason, McNamara punted 14 times for 689 yards (49.2 per boot) with a long kick of 60 yards. He also landed 7 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. Six of his kicks were returned for a total of 22 yards.
"I definitely think I'm peaking at the right time, which is great," McNamara said last week. "Even before I got here, I thought I was at my best. When I left Cincinnati, I learned a lot, got myself better and tried to reestablish myself. And now I'm just trying to do that on a consistent basis, so I'm good."