The Third Unit: MN's Top Punters of 2025

Continuing our recap of the top special teamers of the 2025 season, we move to the Punter position, an oft-overlooked position at face value, but playing a significant factor toward a team's success and for setting up the defense to force long drives, these Punters across MN this season have made quite a strong imprint for their team's with their strong boots and ability to pin their opponents deep. We unveil 6 of the best Punters in MN through the 2025 season!    [player_tooltip player_id='1905189' first='Landen' last='Sturges']' range was incredible throughout the 2025 season, punting with the precision and power of a D1 caliber Kicker. Sturges averaged an impressive 43.2 yards per punt on 33 punts last season, with 10 landing inside the 20 yard line. As placekicker, he finished 3 of 5 on field goals and 18 of 20 on extra points. Sturges has had punts of 60+ yards with long hangtimes, making him a reliable weapon for Owatonna's special teams to force his opponents backwards. He was quite busy this season, finishing with the most punting yards among any player in MN last season as well as the second highest average yards per punt among players with 20+ punts. It will be interesting to see where Sturges ends up heading into this offseason, but his dominance this season certainly warrants serious attention among scouts.     [player_tooltip player_id='1614789' first='Sawyer' last='Riffle']'s production was another long-range Punter this season who was best utilized in pinning his opponents deep. Riffle finished with the highest average yards per punt among placekickers in MN, averaging 43.5 yards per punt on 24 punts, including 2 touchbacks and 1 punt pinned inside the 20. He also went 4 of 10 on field goals and 20 of 21 on extra points. Riffle was considered by many as the best Punter prospect in MN heading into this season, and he shined brightly as one of the few consistent standouts for Brainerd this year. Riffle will be taking his strong leg to North Dakota, where he'll look to continue excelling for the Fighting Hawks.     Charlie Martin is another precise Punter with a penchant for pinning his opponents deep. Martin averaged 37.2 yards per punt on 28 punts, with 12 punts ending up inside the 20 yard line and 2 touchbacks. Martin also finished 2 of 4 on field goals and 16 of 18 on extra points as the team's placekicker. Whether on punts or on kickoffs, Martin has shown that he can get quite a lot of distance on his kicks, but his long hangtimes adds to his value as it allows for the coverage units to get down the field and close in on the returner, limiting their ability to make a play off the kick. Martin will be another underrated special teams commodity to watch out for in this upcoming recruiting class.     With the struggles that the Wolfpack were having this year, Matthew Kamande emerged as one of the team's most reliable facets largely for his work on special teams. Kamande averaged 37 yards per punt on 36 punts, with 3 pinned inside the 20. He also went 2 of 4 on field goals and 4 of 5 on extra points. Serving as the team's kick returner, he also had 205 return yards, averaging 17.1 yards per return. Kamande was able to make an impact in nearly every facet of the special teams' unit, but punting proved to be his specialty, and he was called upon a lot to boot the ball, proving most potent in that role. Kamande could benefit at the next level as a multi-purpose weapon on special teams.     [player_tooltip player_id='551315' first='Cade' last='Newell'] was called on a lot this season to punt, and often enough that he finished tied for first in the state in punts this season. Newell finished with 40 punts, averaging 35.2 yards per punt, with 4 landing inside the 20 and 3 touchbacks. The starting QB for Westonka finished with 7 touchdowns to 13 interceptions passing while adding 7 rushing touchdowns. While he struggled to find consistency under Center, Newell showed an impressive level of consistency on special teams, which was able to make up when his drives stalled on offense to put his defense with good field position. Newell rounds off his senior campaign at Westonka, one which included a thrilling playoff win over Providence Academy.     Ashton Arnes was a sneaky enforcer on defense, notching 4 turnovers for Hastings this season, but it was his solid consistency and steady volume on punts that proved most effective for him during his senior year. Arnes averaged 34.7 yards per punt on 37 punts with 6 landing inside the 20. In 7 appearances, Arnes had 4 games with 5+ punts, and his numbers improved as the season went on as he took the responsibility of getting the ball deep into his opponent's territory to force them to drive the length of the field. His solid performance on special teams should boost his value as a CB and special teamer worth pursuing this offseason.

Continuing our recap of the top special teamers of the 2025 season, we move to the Punter position, an oft-overlooked position at face value, but playing a significant factor toward a team's success and for setting up the defense to force long drives, these Punters across MN this season have made quite a strong imprint for their team's with their strong boots and ability to pin their opponents deep. We unveil 6 of the best Punters in MN through the 2025 season!