Big Ten Football Top 150 Players: No. 148, Ben Buchanan, Ohio State P

No. 148: Ben Buchanan, #17, P, Ohio State
 

2011 Stats: 70 punts, 2889 yards, 41.3 ypp, 25 fair catches, 27 inside 20, 3 touchbacks, 2 blocked punts

Strengths

Ben Buchanan was an integral part of Ohio State's gameplan in 2011, which is a really sad thing to have to say about a punter, but it's true. He booted 70 punts last year; by way of comparison, Wisconsin's Brad Nortman had fewer than 50 on the year, which means he fell short of the 3.6 punts per game needed to even qualify for the NCAA official rankings.

Buchanan was third in the Big Ten in punting yardage last year and second among returners behind only Nebraska K/P Brett Maher (who, rest assured, is higher on the Top 150). He boomed eight 50-plus-yard punts on the year, and his ratio of 27 punts inside the 20 to only three touchbacks is satisfying for purists and game theorists. Do not punt the ball into the end zone, for the love of god!

Weaknesses

Having two punts blocked in one season is problematic, and while that's just as much on the blockers as Buchanan, he still needs to quicken his release. Moreover, 25 fair catches out of 70 punts isn't terribly impressive, so while that too can be blamed on OSU's punt team, some extra loft on the punts would cut down on the number of returns.

Buchanan would also be well-served by topping 50 yards more than once every nine punts, but every single punter in America would also qualify for "should kick it higher and longer" as a weakness, so don't get too angry at Buchanan on this one.

2012 Prediction

Barring a crippling bout of football amnesia* on the part of Urban Meyer, Buchanan will not be punting 70 times in 2012 because Ohio State's offense will not be that bad again. It just can't be. With a more productive offense, Buchanan should be put in position to pin the opposition deep more often, either with situational/directional punting inside the 50 or just plain not having to boot from the Buckeye 15 so often anymore.

Unless his per-punt yardage drops off substantially or his touchbacks spike, Buchanan should garner some consideration for second team All-Big Ten in 2012.

*Unrelated but troubling side-note: it took me a good three minutes to remember that word.