Hunter Niswander

Hunter Niswander (born November 26, 1994) is an American football punter for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Northwestern University.

Hunter Niswander
No. 1 – Dallas Cowboys
Position:Punter
Personal information
Born: (1994-11-26) November 26, 1994
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:243 lb (110 kg)
Career information
High school:Woodridge
(Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio)
College:Northwestern
Undrafted:2018
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of 2020
Punts:26
Punting yards:1,228
Average punt:47.2
Inside 20:10
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early years

Niswander attended Woodridge High School. As a freshman, he made a 35-yard field goal that sealed a state playoff appearance for the first time in school history.[1]

As a senior, he set the state record for most consecutive extra points made (111) and the school longest field goal made (53 yards). He received All-PTC and All-Ohio Division III honors.[1]

He also practiced soccer and basketball.[1]

College career

Nisander accepted a football scholarship from the Northwestern University. As a redshirt freshman, he was a backup behind Chris Gradone and punted only five times during the season. As a sophomore, he was named the starter at punter. He averaged 42.8 yards per punt and appeared in every game.[1]

As a junior, he ranked fourth in the Big Ten Conference with a 41.3 punt average. He had a 51-yard average in the season opener against Western Michigan University. He made a 62-yard punt against Illinois State University and Michigan State University.[1]

As a senior, he averaged 43 yards per punt. He had a career-high 51.5-yard average against Bowling Green State University. He tied for the fourth longest punt (80 yards) in school history against the University of Iowa. He received All-Academic Big Ten honors.[1]

Professional career

DC Defenders (XFL)

Niswander was out of football after being invited for a tryout at the Pittsburgh Steelers rookie minicamp in 2018. He was selected in the fifth phase of the 2020 XFL Draft by the DC Defenders.[2] He appeared in all 5 games, while punting 21 times for an average of 44.6 yards.[3]

In March, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the league announced that it would be cancelling the rest of the season.[4] On April 10, he had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations.[5]

Dallas Cowboys

On October 26, 2020, Niswander was signed to the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad.[6] He was promoted to the active roster on November 7, 2020, after punter Chris Jones was placed on injured reserve.[7]

References
  1. "Hunter Niswander". Northwestern Wildcats. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  2. Nader, Tom (November 16, 2019). "From Woodridge to XFL, Hunter Niswander's career is about never giving up on a dream". The Alliance Review. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  3. Halprin, Dave (November 4, 2020). "Finding out about Hunter Niswander, the Cowboys new punter after the injury to Chris Jones". BloggingTheBoys.com. SB Nation. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  4. "XFL Injured Reserve". XFL.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  5. Condotta, Bob (April 10, 2020). "XFL suspends operations, terminates all employees, but Jim Zorn says he has hopes league will continue". SeattleTimes.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  6. Ulrich, Logan (October 26, 2020). "Cowboys Waive LB Rashad Smith, Sign P Hunter Niswander To PS". NFLTradeRumors.co. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  7. "Nov. 7 Updates". DallasCowboys.com. November 7, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
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