11/16/2023 football Edit

Alex Mastromanno: A field-flipping, pin-'em-deep punting maestro

Alex Mastromanno values net punting (44.2 yards) and FSU is the best in the ACC. (USA Today Sports)

Bob Ferrante • TheOsceola

Editor

Kalen DeLoach had 10 tackles and two sacks against Miami. An easy decision to have the linebacker break the rock.

Jarrian Jones had the game-sealing interception in the final minute of the win. Another easy decision to have the defensive back break the rock.

But the Seminoles weren’t done yet.

“The next thing I know they are chanting my name,” punter Alex Mastromanno told the Osceola. “I got to break it, which was pretty cool.

“It was really humbling because punters and specialists aren’t normally in the limelight. At the end of the day I’m just the beneficiary of my teammates around me. Our snapper, shielders and gunners getting down the field, I’m just a part of the punt unit.”

Mastromanno, who is one of 10 semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award, has been so valuable that everyone from coach Mike Norvell to assistant coaches John Papuchis and Adam Fuller and FSU teammates are pointing out his significant contributions toward the Seminoles’ 10-0 season. While FSU has likely punted more often (42 times) than coaches, players and fans might want, he is averaging a career-best 46.8 yards per punt — a full five yards per punt better than his 2022 average.

“I think Alex has come a really long way in terms of his understanding of ball control and game situation,” Papuchis said. “I can’t stand here and take any credit for any of that, though. That’s just something he has an innate feel for. It’s one of the advantages of having the Aussie-style punter because of his background playing Australian Rules Football. His ability to control the ball put a little bit of different spin on it.

“I don’t know if you noticed, the one that went out at the (Pitt) 9, that was on purpose that he kind of hit it sideways so that it would have that spin on it. That’s all him. That’s stuff that he works on during the offseason and during practice, and I trust him to use his judgment on when the situation applies for him to execute whatever kick is best.”

There are plenty of numbers connected with punting, from distance to touchbacks, fair catches, 50-plus-yard punts and inside-the-20 punts. Mastromanno places the highest emphasis on net punting, which is the distance of his punt minus that of the return. If there is any.

FSU’s 44.2 net yards per punt leads the ACC and reflects the benefits of his Australian football style, hang time and the ability of FSU’s gunners to have extra time to run downfield and force fair catches or down punts. The net-punt average is significantly better than FSU's in 2022 (37.9 yards), showing Mastromanno’s progress as well as those of the gunners.

“I feel like net punts is pretty reliable to go off and that’s what I hold myself to,” Mastromanno said.

Alex Mastromanno was one of three Seminoles to break the rock after the win over Miami. (FSU sports information)

Punts downed inside the 20 are good, allowing the defense a longer field to protect. Mastromanno has downed 20 punts inside the 20. But he has perfected his various punts and, much like the golfer with a pitching wedge, has figured out how to get the ball down not just inside the 10 but the 5.

At Wake Forest, Mastromanno and the gunners pinned the ball at the 1. At Boston College, one was downed at the 5-yard line. On Saturday vs. Miami, it was the 2-yard line. At Clemson, it was the 3.

“I get really fired up when the gunners get down there and make the play,” Mastromanno said. “We practice those situations. Whenever the gunners get down there and down it, it’s a special feeling."

Sometimes, there are touchbacks. And those aren’t good, especially when the trade off is improved field position for the opponent. But they are also rare: For all of Mastromanno’s success pinning teams inside the 5, he’s only had three touchbacks on 42 punts. One such touchback came at Pitt on a 59-yard punt that seemed to deaden near the goal line before momentum carried the football into the end zone.

“We were probably two or three inches away from having one inside the one,” Papuchis said.

That’s impressive precision, all while running and punting with an incoming rush and tens of thousands of people watching.

It’s not often that fans will watch a football game and realize the impact of a punter, but Mastromanno’s ability to flip the field was one of the crucial elements of FSU’s 27-20 win over Miami. Mastromanno punted seven times for 49 yards, but five pinned Miami inside its own 20 (the first punt pushed Miami back to its 2-yard line). A 55-yarder resulted in a fair catch, and a 51-yarder went out of bounds at the Hurricanes’ 5.

"Alex did a tremendous job,” Papuchis said. “He was certainly a critical factor in us winning that game. Our ability to control field position, his ability to pin them deep and create bad field position started early in the game and he kept it up throughout the course of the game. He really negated their opportunity to return any kicks, except for the one that we were backed up in the end zone.”

Recently, Mastromanno was called into a meeting. Defensive coordinator Adam Fuller brought the punter in to give him praise in front of the linemen, linebackers and secondary.

“Gave me a shout out in front of the defense,” Mastromanno said. “That’s pretty special to me. Coaches from other positions have come up to me, recognizing me like that.”

It’s easy to point to FSU’s offensive success in 2023, one that averages 38.3 points per game. And a defense that hasn’t given up 30 points in a game, one of the top 15 in the nation. But one of the reasons for the success of both is the time the Seminoles’ coaches and players have invested in special teams.

Punts that pin an opponent deep help FSU’s defense. And if the Seminoles can force a three-and-out, the offense has a shorter field with which to put together a drive that results in points. It’s the definition of complementary football.

“At the end of the day it comes down to the field position,” Mastromanno said.