Eddie Czaplicki
| USC Trojans – No. 16 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Punter |
| Class | Senior |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 207 lb (94 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College | Arizona State (2021–2022) USC (2023–present) |
| High school | Providence (Charlotte, North Carolina) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Eddie Czaplicki is an American college football punter for the USC Trojans. He won the 2024 Ray Guy Award as the best college football punter nationally. He previously played for the Arizona State Sun Devils.
Early life
[edit]Czaplicki is from Charlotte, North Carolina.[1] He attended Providence High School in Charlotte, where he initially played both football and soccer before deciding to focus solely on football.[2] A punter and placekicker, he averaged 46 yards per punt in 2019, which placed 13th nationally, and also made a 51-yard field goal that year, which was the second best in the nation.[2] He was ranked a three-star recruit and the 11th-best kicker prospect nationally by 247Sports.[3] He was also ranked the third-best kicker and ninth-best punter nationally by Kohl's kicking, being one of three in the class of 2021 to be in the top 10 in both categories.[3] He committed to play college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils.[3]
College career
[edit]After initially competing for the placekicker job at Arizona State, Czaplicki switched to punter and won the starting nod as a true freshman.[4][5] He punted 45 times with an average of 43.4 yards per punt, having 13 punts of at least 50 yards in the 2021 season.[5] In 2022, he ranked ninth nationally with an average of 46.0 yards per punt and was named first-team All-Pac-12 Conference.[6]
Czaplicki transferred to the USC Trojans following the 2022 season.[7] With the Trojans in 2023, he served as punter and kickoff specialist, making 44 punts with an average of 43.3 yards per punt and 15 punts inside the 20, as well as 30 kickoffs for 1,906 yards.[8] As a senior in 2024, Czaplicki had a net average of 45.7 yards per punt and had 24 punts inside the 20 with a long of 62.[9] He was named first-team All-Big Ten Conference, the Big Ten Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year, first-team All-American and the Ray Guy Award winner for best punter nationally.[9][10]
References
[edit]- ^ "Eddie Czaplicki". ESPN.
- ^ a b Wertz Jr., Langston (February 7, 2021). "How an injury in 9th grade turned Providence High kicker into a top-10 national recruit". The Charlotte Observer.
- ^ a b c "Eddie Czaplicki". Arizona State Sun Devils.
- ^ Gardner, Michelle (August 10, 2024). "ASU football freshman Eddie Czaplicki looks to take punting job with Michael Turk gone". The Arizona Republic.
- ^ a b Trevino, Chris (August 2, 2023). "USC's Eddie Czaplicki named to the Ray Guy Award watchlist". 247Sports.
- ^ "ASU's Czaplicki and Valladay, Arizona's Singer make All-Pac-12". ArizonaSports.com. December 6, 2022.
- ^ Kartje, Ryan (November 26, 2024). "'Like a zen thing': How USC's Eddie Czaplicki became college football's best punter". Los Angeles Times – via archive.ph.
- ^ James, Donovan (August 16, 2024). "Eddie Czaplicki needs to be ready if USC offense struggles". USA Today.
- ^ a b Hart, John (December 12, 2024). "USC's Czaplicki wins 2024 Ray Guy Award". WJBF.
- ^ "USC's Eddie Czaplicki Wins 2024 Ray Guy Award". USC Trojans. December 12, 2024.