Jake Camarda wraps up live-action NFL push with impressive Senior Bowl
Jake Camarda began his highly-touted college career on shaky ground.
He had the leg, but his punts didn’t always have the touch to give his coverage team a chance to down them before they rolled into the endzone.
Some of them didn’t even touch the ground first.
Then there was the Sugar Bowl against Texas, in a game when nothing went right for Georgia. Camarda’s unfortunate accidental downed knee was just one of many mistakes that allowed Bevo to hook the Dawgs, and make Sam Ehlinger feel way too confident.
He also shanked one in that game that helped the Longhorns’ efforts as well.
Ok, I’m done beating up on Jake Camarda
His career wasn’t perfect after that Louisiana night. Punters make mistakes. But he steadily grew to become Georgia’s longest-distance punter, on average (45.78 yards), beating Ray Guy award-winner Drew Butler.
Camarda only had 10 punts downed inside the 20 yard line that freshman season. Here’s what the rest of Jake Camarda’s Georgia career looked like, by comparison:
2018 43 attempts, 8 touchbacks, 10 inside the 20, long of 63
2019 61 attempts, 9 touchbacks, 25 inside the 20, long of 67
2020 36 attempts, 6 touchbacks, 18 inside the 20, long of 64
2021 47 attempts, 6 touchbacks, 17 inside the 20, long of 68
Freshman Camarda had the same leg as Senior Camarda
What improved was his touch.
Camarda’s consistency above translated to his workouts this week at the Senior Bowl, and his performance in the game on Saturday. Camarda punted six times for 306 yards with a long of 58.
That 51-yard average was better than any of his season averages at Georgia.
Camarda already set himself up to make a bunch of NFL fans very happy with that continuity, wherever he winds up. As someone who watched a young Jake Camarda come out of Norcross high school with tons of acclaim, it’s been impressive to see him live up to the hype.
Next season, the Dawgs bring in a boot from down under, with just as much acclaim. Australian Brett Thorson is ranked as the best punter in this class, and is also a wildly entertaining follow on instagram.
