Harvard punter Jon Sot commits to Notre Dame as a walk-on grad transfer
Jon Sot won’t be guaranteed a scholarship at Notre Dame.
But that’s nothing new for the senior punter from Harvard, where athletic scholarships aren’t offered in the first place.
Sot, who announced Tuesday on Twitter his plans to complete a graduate transfer to Notre Dame in June, could make a strong case for a scholarship if he’s able to beat out incoming freshman punter Bryce McFerson.
Sot and McFerson will be starting with a clean slate for new special teams coordinator Brian Mason, whose hiring has yet to be formally announced by Notre Dame. The Irish will need one of them to step up to replace transferring punter Jay Bramblett, who chose to follow former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly and special teams coordinator Brian Polian to LSU.
Bramblett left Notre Dame with a career punting average of 41.6 yards. Sot will come to Notre Dame with a career average of 40.8, which set a program record at Harvard.
“His ability to flip the field is a huge asset,” Harvard head coach Tim Murphy said of Sot to Harvard Magazine last year. "Jon can do it all.
“If you want to pin the opponent down, he can pin the opponent down. If you need a 50-yard punt, he can manage that. He’s kind of like a baseball pitcher. He’s got a lot of different pitches.”
Sot achieved the lowest average of his career in 2021 at only 39.7. The Crimson’s punting unit registered a net punting average of 37.2. The Irish fared much better in net punting last season at 40.7.
Sot does have a powerful right leg. He recorded punts of 75 and 76 yards in his freshman and sophomore seasons, respectively. Twenty-four of his 137 career punts went longer than 50 yards.
One statistical advantage Sot holds over Bramblett is punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Sot finished his Harvard career with 36.5% of his punts ending inside the 20 with only four touchbacks. Bramblett hit 29.3% of his punts inside the 20 with six touchbacks.
Notre Dame signed McFerson in December as a two-star recruit. He averaged 46 yards per punt as a senior at Indian Trail (N.C.) Metrolina Christian. Rivals does not rank punters, but Chris Sailer Kicking ranks him as the No. 1 punter in the 2022 class.
The Irish also added graduate transfer kicker Blake Grupe from Arkansas State last week.
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