Hunter Niswander
Hunter Niswander (born November 26, 1994) is an American football punter for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Northwestern University.
| No. 1 – Dallas Cowboys | |||||||||||
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| Position: | Punter | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | November 26, 1994 | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 243 lb (110 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Woodridge (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) | ||||||||||
| College: | Northwestern | ||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2018 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2020 | |||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||
Early years
Niswander attended Woodridge High School. As a freshman, he made a 35-yard field goal that sealed a state playoff appearance for the first time in school history.[1]
As a senior, he set the state record for most consecutive extra points made (111) and the school longest field goal made (53 yards). He received All-PTC and All-Ohio Division III honors.[1]
He also practiced soccer and basketball.[1]
College career
Nisander accepted a football scholarship from the Northwestern University. As a redshirt freshman, he was a backup behind Chris Gradone and punted only five times during the season. As a sophomore, he was named the starter at punter. He averaged 42.8 yards per punt and appeared in every game.[1]
As a junior, he ranked fourth in the Big Ten Conference with a 41.3 punt average. He had a 51-yard average in the season opener against Western Michigan University. He made a 62-yard punt against Illinois State University and Michigan State University.[1]
As a senior, he averaged 43 yards per punt. He had a career-high 51.5-yard average against Bowling Green State University. He tied for the fourth longest punt (80 yards) in school history against the University of Iowa. He received All-Academic Big Ten honors.[1]
Professional career
DC Defenders (XFL)
Niswander was out of football after being invited for a tryout at the Pittsburgh Steelers rookie minicamp in 2018. He was selected in the fifth phase of the 2020 XFL Draft by the DC Defenders.[2] He appeared in all 5 games, while punting 21 times for an average of 44.6 yards.[3]
In March, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the league announced that it would be cancelling the rest of the season.[4] On April 10, he had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations.[5]
Dallas Cowboys
On October 26, 2020, Niswander was signed to the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad.[6] He was promoted to the active roster on November 7, 2020, after punter Chris Jones was placed on injured reserve.[7]
References
- "Hunter Niswander". Northwestern Wildcats. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
- Nader, Tom (November 16, 2019). "From Woodridge to XFL, Hunter Niswander's career is about never giving up on a dream". The Alliance Review. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
- Halprin, Dave (November 4, 2020). "Finding out about Hunter Niswander, the Cowboys new punter after the injury to Chris Jones". BloggingTheBoys.com. SB Nation. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
- "XFL Injured Reserve". XFL.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- Condotta, Bob (April 10, 2020). "XFL suspends operations, terminates all employees, but Jim Zorn says he has hopes league will continue". SeattleTimes.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
- Ulrich, Logan (October 26, 2020). "Cowboys Waive LB Rashad Smith, Sign P Hunter Niswander To PS". NFLTradeRumors.co. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
- "Nov. 7 Updates". DallasCowboys.com. November 7, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.