FOXBORO, Mass. — Super Bowl LIII might have bored many football fans around the country, but to Jake Bailey, the New England Patriots’ 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams was a fascinating affair.
And not because of New England’s smothering defense, either. To Bailey, the show put on by punters Ryan Allen and Johnny Hekker was the main attraction.
Allen and Hekker punted a combined 14 times in the game and landed five of those inside the opponent’s 10-yard line (three for Allen, two for Hekker). Bailey, who’d recently wrapped up a highly productive career as Stanford’s punter and kickoff specialist, was engrossed.
“Oh, it got me fired up,” he said. “I remember watching the game and all of my friends were kind of like, ‘What the heck is going on,’ and I was glued to the TV. It was one of my favorite football games of all time to watch.”
On Saturday, the winner of that punt-filled contest added Bailey to their roster. The Patriots traded up four spots in the fifth round to select him with the 163rd overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Bailey will compete for a roster spot with Allen, who re-signed with the Patriots after testing free agency this spring.
“I know he’s an awesome punter,” Bailey said during his introductory conference call. “I don’t know much about him. I have a lot of respect for any NFL punter there is. I’m just excited to get to learn from him and get out there and compete.”
Bailey left Stanford as the Cardinal’s all-time leader in punting average (43.81 yards) and also owns the school record for the longest punt: an 84-yard moonshot against Cal last season. Despite his collegiate success, he said he didn’t realize the NFL would be a legitimate possibility for him until he received an invite to the Senior Bowl.
“I remember the exact day,” said Bailey, who, unlike most Patriots punters, is right-footed. “Coach (David) Shaw called me when I was driving around in my car at Stanford and he said, ‘Jake, I just got a phone call. You got invited to the Senior Bowl.’ That was kind of the day that I was like, ‘Holy crap, this could be really real.’ That was kind of the memory I have of that.”
