NFL draft: Top 5 specialists
The Observer’s top 5 specialists available in the 2015 NFL draft:
1. Kyle Loomis
College: Portland State
Ht.: 6-2 Wt.: 221
Projected round: 6th
Comment: Consensus All-American after averaging 46 yards per punt the past two years. Also can kick off.
2. Justin Manton
College: Louisiana-Monroe
Ht.: 6-3 Wt.: 196
Projected round: 6th
Comment: Can handle all three jobs in the kicking game, although was inconsistent on longer field goals.
3. Trevor Pardula
College: Kansas
Ht.: 6-4 Wt.: 227
Projected round: 7th
Comment: Former soccer player averaged 44 yards a punt in two seasons with Jayhawks.
4. Wil Baumann
College: N.C. State
Ht.: 6-6 Wt.: 187
Projected round: Undrafted free agent
Comment: Four-year starter averaged an ACC-leading 45.8 yards per punt as a senior.
5. Spencer Roth
College: Baylor
Ht.: 6-4 Wt.: 227
Projected round: Undrafted free agent
Comment: Left Baylor ranked No. 2 in school history with 43.7 punting average.
Panthers’ perspective
The Panthers aren’t in the market for specialists. They locked up kicker Graham Gano with a long-term contract last offseason, and plan to do the same for punter Brad Nortman, whose rookie deal expires after this season. Carolina addressed its coverage and return teams, which struggled in 2014, by bringing back Ted Ginn Jr. and signing several special teams aces.
Local connection
Clemson punter Bradley Pinion, who played at Northwest Cabarrus High, joined a short list of specialists who have left school early to enter the draft (Sebastian Janikowski, Chris Gardocki). Pinion was fifth in the ACC with a 42.6-yard average last season. He also kicked off, hitting 102 touchbacks in 178 career kickoffs. Pinion played basketball three years in high school, and was the goalkeeper for the soccer team.
Sleeper
Tom Obarski, who played at Concordia-St. Paul in Minnesota, twice broke the Division II record for longest field goal, hitting from 56 and 59 yards. He impressed scouts at the Senior Bowl by making a 49-yarder. The Bengals and Dolphins reportedly have shown interst in Obarski, whose two brothers kicked at small colleges.
Worth noting
Loomis signed with Oregon State out of high school, and averaged 41.3 yards a punt as a freshman. But he left school to join the Army, and was with the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg. He served four years, then returned to Oregon and enrolled at Portland State. He’ll turn 28 a month into his rookie season. ... Baumann, a Wilmington native, set N.C. State records for career punts and total punting yards. He ranked fifth nationally in 2014 in punting average, and showed distance (20 punts of at least 50 yards) and touch (22 punts downed inside the 20).
Joseph Person
This story was originally published April 26, 2015 at 7:42 PM with the headline "NFL draft: Top 5 specialists."