Ravens Special Team Coordinator Chris Horton shares early impressions of rookie punter Jordan Stout

The Baltimore Ravens will have several members of their 2022 draft class play significant roles during their rookie seasons. The first-year pro with arguably the most to prove and the biggest shoes to fill is punter Jordan Stout.

While he is the one that most fans least expect in terms of being under the most pressure and having the most to prove, he is taking over for longtime specialist stalwart, Sam Koch, who retired in May after an illustrious 16-year career. Koch was a renowned technician, a master of his craft, played the most games in franchise history, and is arguably the best holder in NFL history.

Stout was the first punter to come off the board in this year’s draft when the Ravens took the former Penn State Nittany Lion in the fourth round at No. 130 overall. He has impressed the coaching staff thus far with his tenacious work ethic and approach to the game.

“He’s trying to get better. We’re throwing a lot at him, because we want him to be the kind of punter that we’re used to,” Special Teams Coordinator Chris Horton said. “He can do it all but it’s just the way he works, how he approaches every day.”

Horton believes that Stout is doing a great job when it comes to holding for Tucker on PATs and field goal attempts thanks in large part to the incredible coaching he is receiving from Koch who is a consultant for the team, and kicking coach Randy Brown.

“We just want to make sure that we get him to where he needs to be come game time,” Horton said. “He’s doing a good job, and like I say, every day, we’re just trying to stack and become consistent.”

Stout was a dual threat specialist in college as both a punter and placekicker at Penn State. He has displayed his leg strength and accuracy punting and kicking in training camp by booting some impressive punts inside the five-yard line and some long kicks through the uprights, including a 60-yard attempt.

One of Stout’s most important duties outside of punting and perhaps his most significant is as the holder for five-time First-Team All-Pro kicker Justin Tucker. The Hall of Fame-bound specialist had a symbiotic relationship with Koch for the first 10 years of his career as knocked through perfect holds for plenty of clutch game-winning and record-breaking kicks.

Horton understands that the pressure of holding for the greatest and most accurate kicker in league history can be nerve-wracking for a player of any experience level, but has faith that the first-year pro is up to the challenge and will uphold the expected high standard.

“Once it becomes an everyday job, it becomes really easy, and it becomes second nature, and he’ll go out there and roll out, and he’ll be perfect,” Horton said.

Tucker is the last remaining founding member of the ‘Wolf Pack’ specialist trio on the roster that consisted of himself, Koch, and four-time Pro Bowl long snapper Morgan Cox who was released last offseason and impressively replaced by in the lineup by Nick Moore in 2021. It’s still early but Stout seems on track to make what is hopefully a seamless transition with the field-flipping and pin-point accurate punts he has already been showing off.