Ariza was the third punter selected in this year’s draft after Penn State’s Jordan Stout (Ravens) and Georgia’s Jake Camarda (Buccaneers). Today we will discuss about Matt Araiza: Did get drafted| NFL Draft| Parents| Highlights
Matt Araiza: Did get drafted| NFL Draft| Parents| Highlights
Matt Ariza (born May 16, 2000) is an American football player for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL).
| Buffalo Bills | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Punter |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | May 16, 2000 San Diego, California |
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight: | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Rancho Bernardo (San Diego, California) |
| College: | San Diego State (2018–2022) |
| NFL Draft: | 2022 / Round: 6 / Pick: 180 |
| Career history | |
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| Roster status: | unsigned draft pick |
Did get drafted
Matt Araiza came into the 2022 NFL Draft as a fan favorite. Nicknamed “Punt God,” the San Diego state product is well known for averaging 80 yards of bounce and an NCAA-record 51.19 yards per punt in 2021.
Anticipation about where he would kick off in the NFL ended at the start of the sixth round. Buffalo, who attempted a sixth-lowest punt in 2021, took him 180th overall with the first pick of the round on Saturday.
NFL Draft
The NFL Draft doesn’t usually surprise us much when it comes to punting, but on Saturday it came with two big surprises.
The biggest surprise is that college football’s top punter, Matt Araiza, wasn’t the first punter off the board this year. The former San Diego State punter was not selected until the Bills made him the first pick of the sixth round (180th overall).
Although he was the top punting prospect in the draft, Ariza ended up as the third chosen punter. The first two punters went off the board in the fourth round, with the Ravens selecting Jordan Stout and the Buccaneers taking on Jake Camarda.
Those two picks were also somewhat surprising, if only because you almost never see two punters being taken early, with Stout going 130th overall and Camarda going three picks later, in this case. The year marked only the third time since 1993 that two punters were first taken. End of fourth round. This happened only for the second time in 1993 and 2007.
Parents
Aztec kicker Matt Ariza broke the record for most 60-yard punts in a season earlier this year.
Not only this, he has made two punts of 80 yards this season.
The NFL has only had two in the last eight years.
Now, he is among three finalists for the Ray Guy Award, which recognizes the country’s top punters, on 9 December.
Proud mom, Keri Arraiza, joined KUSI’s Elizabeth Alvarez at Good Morning San Diego to discuss her son’s future and career at SDSU.
Highlights
One of the most high-profile names in the 2022 NFL Draft is San Diego State punter Matt Ariza. The big-footed San Diego native is considered one of the best prospects in his position over the years and many are eager to see where he lands.
Here is everything you need to know about Ariza who is joining the 2022 NFL Draft.
Ariza stands at just over 6-foot-1 and weighs 200 pounds. Redshirt Jr. cited impressive athleticism for a player in his place, which includes the flexibility to play kicker, and once-in-a-lifetime leg strength to get teams excited about his potential.
One big thing scouts believe is that Ariza needs to work on her accuracy when it comes to kicking field goals, which have faltered this season. He is also tasked with improving his hang time on the punt, because if Ariza continues to kick line drives it will be a field day for playmaking returnees in the NFL.
