Will Michigan State standout Bryce Baringer be first punter taken in the NFL Draft?

Michigan State specialist Bryce Baringer may still be just the punter, but when the 2023 NFL Draft commences on April 27th, he will probably be the first punter taken in the NFL Draft.

If you don’t believe that to be true, consider this:

The Waterford, Mich., native, who rose from Illinois walk-on to scholarship player at Michigan State to consensus first team All-American and Ray Guy Award finalist, put up eye-catching numbers at the recent NFL Combine.

Baringer topped all five punters in attendance, in terms of punt distance average and hang time. He averaged more than seven yards and nearly a second more in hang time than Ray Guy Award winner and former Rutgers punter Adam Korsak, on open field punts.

Baringer, who competed against Korsak, Michigan’s Brad Robbins, Oklahoma’s Michael Turk and Tennessee’s Paxton Brooks, also dominated the directional punts category averaging over 50 yards per punt and more than five seconds of hang time. Additionally, his pooch and pin punts exhibited the most hang time.

That prompted the Twitter account @kickerupdate to declare that Baringer dominated the punting drills in Indianapolis.

On open-field punts, the Michigan State star averaged 49.5 yards per punt, and 4.92 seconds of hang-time. In directional punting, he had an average of 51.5 yards per punt, with a hang time of 5.20 seconds. Baringer also recorded the highest hang time in the pooch and pin punts department at 4.92 seconds.

Results from the punting workout today at the @NFL Combine, according to sources. pic.twitter.com/PhtU34rnRs

— Kicker Update (@kickerupdate) March 4, 2023

Tell us again, how this guy did not win the Ray Guy Award after leading the nation with a 49-yard average in 12 games and 50 punts?

No problem for the two-time Ray Guy Award National Punter of the Week.

The numbers that gained notice after a strong senior season at Michigan State where Baringer earned first team All-Big Ten honors and the Eddleman-Fields Big Ten Punter of the Year got him a Senior Bowl invite, along with teammate and wide receiver Jayden Reed.

Baringer impressed with his performance in Mobile, Ala., and put up numbers that earned him a trip to Indianapolis to further showcase his kicking skill set in front of NFL team reps.

One of those noticeable numbers was a punt that totaled 74 yards during a practice session. In the actual Senior Bowl game Baringer was only called on to punt once. That resulted in a 47-yarder that was fair caught at the 7-yard line.

Baringer also served as his team’s holder on field goals.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Baringer performed as advertised at the Combine, blowing away the field with measureables that most likely secured his chance of being on an NFL roster after April 29^th.

Former Cincinnati Bengals’ kicker Shayne Graham, who kicked in the NFL for 15 seasons and has been working with Baringer, declared on his Twitter page: “Bryce has busted his tail training. After seeing myself and many of the other great trainers out there, he came into the combine with a mission. Bryce posted what many are calling the best punter performance at the combine in recent memory.

Not only did he turn over almost every spiral, but his plus-50 pooch punts reached 5.0 hang time on almost every ball.’’  

Baringer, who has already received interest from the Bengals and Chicago Bears, received a further endorsement when ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper  tabbed him as the No. 1 punter available on the 2023 draft board.

When and if Baringer hears his name called, it will just be a continuation of a rich kicking tradition at Michigan State that has produced over the years notables like former NFL performers Morten Andersen, Greg Montgomery, Ralf Mojsiejenko, Paul Edinger and Brandon Fields.

“Being a professional, is doing something every single day and doing it well and at a high level. If I go out and do what I know how to do, I think my performance and my play will speak for itself,’’ Baringer said during the season in an interview. “I know I have a chance to play at the next level. I know what I’m capable of and how I want to pursue what I know I can take this to. I want to show the teams that I can do it.’’

Looks like he will get that chance.