Name: Jordan Berry
College: Eastern Kentucky
Height: 6’5
Weight: 210
Born: 3-18-1991
The Pittsburgh Steelers have added another new player to their offseason roster, so in the spirit of that, we’ll take a look today at rugby style punter, Jordan Berry.
Berry joins the Steelers after going undrafted and unsigned last year.
At Eastern Kentucky, Berry was a four year starter for the Colonels receiving all-conference honors in the Ohio Valley Conference his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. In his senior year, Berry averaged 43.8 yards per punt and accumulated 2,584 yards. He also scored a rushing touchdown on a fake field goal attempt. Berry was not invited to the NFL scouting combine and ultimately went undrafted and did not sign with any teams. He spent the 2014 season as a free agent.
What Does The Tape Say?
Berry is good under pressure and can adapt on the fly, especially during fake punts and field goals. He seems comfortable as a field goal holder and has a lot of experience as one. He has a strong leg and a quick delivery. However, Berry is not the best in coffin-corner punt situations and has an average hang time overall on punts.
Concerns?
The main concern with Berry is his lack of experience with top-level competition. Playing for Eastern Kentucky, he didn’t exactly go against the cream of the crop in college football. It can be argued that a faster game will disrupt him and force bad punts. In addition, Berry doesn’t seem to ever punt the ball out of bounds and his lack of hang time severely limits his ability in coffin-corner punt situations.
Bottom-Line:
I’m glad the Steelers are bringing in competition to push Brad Wing in Berry and previously evaluated Richie Leone. In terms of Berry’s chances, he has as good a shot as any other punter that comes into the Steelers’ organization during training camp. I have to give credit to my readers for pointing out that Leone may struggle to be the holder for the Steelers due to his small hands and inexperience being a holder. History shows that the Steelers like their punters to be able to hold on field goals and extra points. To Berry’s advantage, he would be able to do this along with handling punting duties. Berry has just as good a chance as Wing, Leone or anyone else to be punting for the Steelers this season, but in the end, only one will earn the job.
