Gophers punter Peter Mortell is having a stellar season, and many fans have taken notice. While some of the recent “Mortell for Heisman” tweets that have popped up recently may be a bit of a long shot, the Gophers punter is no doubt having another great year. As of this point in the season, Mortell is 17th in the nation in punting average at 45.1 yards per punt, and is arguably the strongest member on an already impressive Gophers special teams unit.
Practice for a punter, or any kicker on the Gophers, is relatively different than most other position players. They get in earlier than everyone else, and work on fundamentals and drill work, before practicing punts and field goals and later watching film. While watching film, Mortell works on observing what the defense will do on the rush side of the ball, and making sure that he gets the ball to the right launch point.
Like most of the members of Gopher football, Mortell spent much of the summer honing his craft. Mortell spent a few weekends over the summer in Whitewater, Wisconsin competing and learning with many of the top punters around the country including eight Big Ten punters.
Another area Mortell focused on over the summer was his hang time, and he feels that this has been greatly improved from last year. “I’m definitely happy with where I’m at right now. I think hang times have been better,” said Mortell. “Technique wise it’s night and day.”
With these new improvements, and the confidence of a successful sophomore campaign, Mortell has entered the season with an abundance of confidence. “There’s no surprises when I go out there, I kind of know what I’m going to see,” Mortell said.
Even though the success of a punter would seem to be mostly individual, Mortell knows that his success so far requires strong support on the part of his other special team members. “I have a great long snapper, I think that gets overlooked a lot of times, and that makes the job a whole heck of a lot easier when I get the ball right at my hip,” said Mortell.
The Gophers punter also stated that the return team is doing a great job limiting returns yard and big plays. “Right now I think our special teams, in all categories, of it, has some potential to be towards the top of the big ten, and quite frankly I’d be disappointed if we’re not with all the talent we have,” said Mortell.
When it comes to getting touch backs on shorter kicks, Mortell blames nobody but himself. “That’s not on the coverage, I got to kick it a little bit higher, and that’s something I’m working on, particularly right now, and trying to get better at. Giving our defense a chance to be successful by pinning them deep,” said Mortell.
The Gophers special team coaches also give Mortell advice, and assist his development. “They kind of give me the option of which direction I want to punt, what type of punt it is, and that’s really helped me grow as a punter because it lets me adapt to the situations that you see in a game,” said Mortell.
While many would see the role of a punter as a small role, Head Coach Jerry Kill knows the importance of field position advantage that Mortell brings. When asked about Mortell’s contributions to the team so far, Kill bluntly stated that it’s “the difference between winning and losing”.
Mortell often jokes that he gets a lot of slack for being the punter, but he’s come to accept the role. “I know that sometimes you’re going to take a little heat, because we have to practice a little bit earlier, and we don’t have meetings quite as late, but it’s a role that I’ve come to embrace, and that I’m happy in,” said Mortell.
Many Gophers fans have taken notice of Mortell’s antics and noticeable humor off the field. Earlier in the year, Mortell’s “Ice Bucket Challenge” video received a lot of attention, and Mortell has been making a name for himself on Twitter, posting humorous anecdotes about teammates and interacting with fans. “I think you got to have fun with it, and that’s what college football is all about is the fans. I like having that comfortable and relaxed persona, and being able to interact with them in any way I can.”
Even though Mortell is a proud Packers fan, he still talks with many of the Minnesota Vikings special teams players, and gave them some advice about playing at TCF Bank Stadium. In return the Vikings players give Mortell their own professional advice. “They help me out if I have some questions, and they do a whole lot more for me than I do for them,” said Mortell.
If Mortell keeps up his performances, he may soon be joining the ranks of the Vikings special teamers, or playing elsewhere around the NFL. But for now he’s just taking it one game at a time as a Gopher. “I still have another season after this, but I’m excited to kind of take it one game at a time, and we’ll let the future kind of take care of itself,” said Mortell.