When ASU senior punter Josh Hubner takes the field, Sun Devils’ fans are usually frustrated that the offense was unable to put points on the scoreboard.
However, Hubner, who averaged 41.3 yards per punt last season, often pins opponents deep in their own territory.
Hubner has one of the most vibrant personalities on the ASU football team and recently sat down with The State Press and talked about his progression as a punter, short snapping and his golf game.
State Press: Coach (Todd) Graham has mentioned your name a couple of times already. How would you evaluate your camp so far?
Josh Hubner: I’m my own worst critic a lot of the time, you can ask my parents and they’ll tell you that as well. If I kicked the ball 59 yards, I feel like I could have kicked it 69. Sometimes there’s satisfaction like if I pin the ball inside the five, but I’m always looking to get better. I’d say I had a pretty good camp, but overall there are some things I need to fix before I get into the season.
SP: What about your progress from the time you arrived at ASU to now?
JH: It’s a big time step. At SCC I had good coaching, but I didn’t have anybody that had a specialist’s view of someone that knew about punting. Coach Graham has been around a lot of guys that have punted in the NFL so he knows what it takes to get there. He gives me pointers here and there, nothing major. I think since I’ve gotten to ASU, I’ve taken huge steps.
SP: You’ve been working on some different drops. What other adjustments have you been working on?
JH: A lot of it is just placement. The thing about me is I’m a big guy so I have a big leg and I have to be able to trust my drop if I want to be able to swing my leg as hard as I can. That’s not necessarily meaning I’m actually swinging it as hard as I can. I trust my drop so much so I can hit the ball hard. I walk around in my cabin, I walk around the food court and wherever we’re at just dropping a ball so it’s repetition, repetition. The thing with punting is it’s all in the drop so if I repeat the same drop every day I get used to it. It’s muscle memory and I put it exactly where I need to put it (then it) connects with the foot and goes. It flies.
SP: You’ve also been working on short snapping. How is that going so far?
JH: I think it’s interesting. I kind of have a funny mentality about it. I get under there and I look in between my legs and realize ‘I don’t really have anything to lose here,’ so I just whip it back there and it goes to where it needs to go. Mike (Bercovici) is satisfied with it, the kickers are satisfied with it and I like it. I think it boosts the resume just a little bit.
SP: How’s the blocking coming along?
JH: It’s easy. Penalties come if you hit the snapper head-on when his head’s down so I tend to just keep my head down so I don’t get hit. It’s not hard snapping a ball, standing up and being big. I’m a big dude so I get to go in there and shove people a little bit. It’s fun.
SP: Physically, you’re not a prototypical punter. If you had to play another position what would it be?
JH: I would probably trim weight a little bit and play safety. I like coming across the field and hitting people. Plus I’m pretty quick.
SP: What if you had to play a different sport?
JH: Golf. I would want to be the best golfer in the world.
SP: Are you any good right now?
JH: I’m alright. I shoot below 100 if that means anything, but it would be really cool to be the best golfer in the world.
Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu
