During Notre Dame’s march to the 2020 College Football Playoff, two of the more overshadowed, or even forgotten, plays came from then sophomore punter Jay Bramblett.
In the opener versus Duke, the Irish offense opened with three straight three-and-out series and seven total yards in the first quarter. On the fourth possession when they faced fourth-and-eight from their 21-yard line while trailing 3-0, Bramblett faked the punt, ran to his left and made a nifty cutback for a 14-yard gain that changed the game’s momentum, resulted in a go-ahead touchdown and enabled Notre Dame to prevail 27-13 in a hard-fought opener.
Then on Nov. 7 at home versus No. 1 Clemson, the last play of the first half had Bramblett holding for senior kicker Jonathan Doerer’s 57-yard attempt. When the kick fell short, All-America Tigers running back Travis Etienne fielded it and was on the verge of a Kick Six — similar to the famous return by Auburn’s Chris Davis on the final play of the 2013 meeting versus Alabama when a 57-yard Crimson Tide field goal attempt with the score tied at 28 resulted in a touchdown. Instead, Bramblett made the crucial tackle on Etienne to prevent such a tally in what would be a 47-40 double-overtime Irish win.
A year earlier as a freshman, Bramblett skillfully handled a bad snap on an extra point that allowed Doerer to kick the game-winning extra point with 29 seconds left in a 21-20 comeback victory versus Virginia Tech that would begin a 16-game winning streak, the third longest by the program since 1950. NBC announcer Mike Tirico referred to Bramblett as “the rock star” on that play.
This is not your average punter. Bramblett earned 2018 West Alabama 6A/7A Player of the Year honors for his work at quarterback, where he completed 178 of 260 passes (68.5 percent) for 2,341 yards with 18 touchdowns and only six interceptions as a senior at Hillcrest High.
His father is the defensive coordinator there and also coaches baseball, where Bramblett followed in the footsteps of his older brothers on the mound (Geoffrey Bramblett pitched for the hometown University of Alabama Crimson Tide after getting selected in the Major League Draft).
“I really pride myself on being able to do stuff like that and being somebody that the team’s going to lean on when a big play is needed,” said Bramblett, who began to dabble in punting as a high school freshman when Hillcrest needed one. “Obviously, it’s not shiny and all great being a punter. You’re not the quarterback anymore, that’s for sure.
“With the importance of some of those plays and just being called upon, it’s a pretty big deal to me and I take that really seriously and want to be able to do everything I can for the team.”
“I love coaching the mentality of a starting pitcher, of a starting quarterback,” said fifth-year Notre Dame special teams coordinator Brian Polian, now also the associate head coach. “There’s a mental toughness there. He’s not a sensitive guy. He takes coaching.”
Recruited in 2019 to replace four-year starter and captain Tyler Newsome (2015-18), and good enough to be ranked the nation’s No. 5 punter by Rivals, Bramblett was an early enrollee that spring who had to make quick adjustments, including dealing with a different climate. Amid swirling winds in that 2019 Blue-Gold Game, his eight punts averaged a pedestrian 34.9 yards, and that was with the aid of some good rolls.
Bramblett bounced back with a solid freshman season that centered more on hang time and placement than sheer distance. His punting average was a modest 39.4, but only 18 of his 63 punts were returned for a total of 70 yards, which resulted in Notre Dame finishing 15th nationally among 130 teams in punt return yardage allowed per game (3.89 yards per attempt). Bramblett also had 18 punts that were placed inside the 20-yard line.
He displayed his mental toughness and competitiveness in his second college game, a 23-17 loss at top-five Georgia when his four punts averaged 48 yards. A 58-yarder helped flip the field, and the hang time on another resulted in a fumble inside the 10-yard line that set up a Notre Dame touchdown.
Last season as a sophomore Bramblett’s punting average improved to 42.8 yards, but far more significant is once again the lack of returns — 44 yards total. Notre Dame finished 18th nationally in net punting with a 41.3 average, above Polian’s 40.0 goal.
“I was much better last year than I was the year before,” Bramblett said. “… Fair catches and a really solid average is where I want to be. Make it as easy as possible for our defense and field position. Our cover team does a great job, and [I] definitely would not be able to do what I do without those guys.”
Whereas Polian said Bramblett was “mentally and physically exhausted” at the end of his freshman campaign, he was in a much better place after the 2020 campaign.
“He did a very good job last year,” Polian said. “The next step in the progression now is to be more consistent in terms of the mechanics, turning the ball over and making sure we don’t have that 36-yard punt. Even our misses have to be good.
“It’s been a joy to work with Jay. I expect him to take the next step in his progression to becoming a really high caliber punter in terms of his consistency.”
Or in whatever else he needs to do for the team.
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