Vanderbilt takes strange victory lap over connection to ‘butt punt’ highlight

Everyone is looking for their 15 minutes of fame, but former Vanderbilt standout Trent Sherfield needed a kick in the butt to reach his. While attempting to block for Miami Dolphins punter Thomas Morstead, the wide receiver and special teams contributor backed up into the path of the ball and created a memorable NFL blooper reel moment.

After numerous jokes spread online, Vanderbilt decided they could get some milage out of their former players misfortune to promote the brand. In a post on social media, the Commodores used the image of Sherfield being struck by the ball to highlight the five former players now in the NFL.

Week 3⃣#AnchorDown | #DoresInTheNFL pic.twitter.com/lGfVTHRnh6

— Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) September 27, 2022

The stats for each player are also included. Casey Hayward, Dayo Odeyingbo, Tre Herndon and Zack Cunningham all had impressive weeks, but under Trent Sherfield’s statline one moment in captures in bold print and underlined. 1 butt punt.

More on the ‘butt punt’

The Miami Dolphins created one of the most unusual highlights in NFL history after a punt ricocheted off a player’s butt for a safety. After forcing a turnover-on-downs from Buffalo on the goal line, Miami took over with less than two minutes in the game backed up against their own end zone. After three plays resulting in nothing, the Dolphins were forced to punt from their own one-yard line with no room to block effectively.

The resulting play was one for the history books as Thomas Morstead’s punt was kicked directly off the rear of his teammate blocking, and went straight up into the air and out of bounds for the safety.

Although it was not ideal to cut their lead to less than a field goal by giving up the safety, the mistake had a fortunate result by letting the resulting punt from the safety pin Buffalo further back. The kick gave Buffalo the ball back with time and a two-point deficit, cutting Miami’s lead from 21-19. Miami was able to hold on to their lead down the stretch and take a 3-0 start to their season — handing the Bills their first loss of the year.

The wild punt scenario was just one more piece of an incredible matchup between two of the hottest teams in the NFL this year, with Buffalo being widely touted as the Super Bowl favorites this season. Miami is entering their first year with new head coach Mike McDaniel and are off to a quick start behind quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.