Georgia specialist Jake Camarda latest Dawg taken in NFL draft

Longtime Georgia punter, kickoff specialist, and placeholder Jake Camarda has been taken by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the No. 133 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Camarda becomes the 11th Dawg taken in this year’s draft.

Camarda spent four years at the University of Georgia after graduating from Norcross High School in Norcross, Ga. The special teamer was ranked the No. 1 overall punter in the 2019 recruiting rankings before announcing his commitment to the Dawgs in April 2017. 

Playing 53 career games at Georgia, Camarda’s 45.8 yards per punt broke the Georgia record, surpassing Georgia’s previous record holder in Drew Butler with 45.4. In his career, 70 of Camarda’s 187 punts landed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, an impressive 37.4-percent of the time. His career-best season came in 2019 when he averaged 46.8 yards per punt and 25 punts inside the 20-yard line, both career-best for the special teamer out of Norcross.

As a kickoff specialist, Camarda had a 74.8-percent touchback rate while off of 143 attempts.

This past season, Camarda appeared at least once in each game, although the punter was limited in many games due to the dominance of the Georgia offense. His career-long came during one of his four appearances against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship, where Camarda launched a 68-yard punt to Alabama’s four-yard line. 

In 2019, Camarda received SEC Special Team’s Player of the Week award after his 11 punts with an average of 50.7 yards per attempt played a critical role in Georgia’s 21-14 win over the No. 12 Auburn Tigers.

Measuring in at the NFL Combine at, 6-foot ¾, 191 pounds, and a 75-inch wingspan, Camarda wowed scouts when he ran a blazing 4.56 40-yard dash, faster than several running backs who were also in attendance. 

Although punters are not commonly taken in the NFL Draft, with Georgia Tech’s Pressly Harvin III being the sole punter taken in the 2021 Draft, Camarda is the second punter and third specialist to be taken in this years draft following LSU kicker Cade York and Penn State punter Jordan Stout.

Heading into the draft, ProFootballNetwork had this to say about Camarda’s punting ability, and how it would translate to the NFL.

“Punting is more than just hammering the ball down the field,” explained ProFootballNetwork. “Utilizing your punter to flip field position requires accuracy and placement. In this regard, Camarda is comfortably the best in the 2022 NFL Draft class. He routinely pins the opposition behind the 20-yard line with his punts and has multiple punts downed within the 10-yard line. Camarda gets excellent hang time on his punts, allowing the punt unit to get downfield and make a play. With his combination of efficient ball handling, clean striking, and elevation, Camarda has just one blocked punt in his college career. He’s rarely flustered by opposition pressure and has shown that he can perform in the biggest of games.”

Other Jake Camarda Stories You Might Be Interested In

• Jake Camarda wraps up live-action NFL push with impressive Senior Bowl
• Jake Camarda, Georgia special teams ace, bound for the NFL
• Big shoes to fill for Brett Thorson, replacing Jake Camarda

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