Super Bowl punters Johnny Hekker, Ryan Allen share bond after competition as college teammates

Nate Davis | USA TODAY

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ATLANTA — What are the odds that a pair of freshman punters, who walked on together at Oregon State, would both wind up in the same Super Bowl?

More likely, it turns out, than any chance you'll get Johnny Hekker or Ryan Allen to engage in a war of words over the great Corvallis, Ore., punting debate of 2008-2009 ... which, shockingly, never really materialized.

"Wasn't much of a controversy," Allen, the New England Patriots punter since 2013, told USA TODAY Sports with complete sincerity — and a total refusal to feed even a faux Super Bowl squabble.

"Long story short, as we were coming to Oregon State, he was told that we had a competition for the punter position, and I was told the same. ... We ended up becoming good buddies, and we still are today. There was never any spite or hate coming from either end. We were pretty close throughout our entire time there together."

That's still true.

Hekker, a four-time all-pro for the Los Angeles Rams who's widely regarded as the NFL's best punter, revealed he and Allen met up Tuesday for coffee and memories.

"We definitely reminisced a bit. Who would have thought both of us?" he mused. "We came in, we were so raw."

So raw, Allen said he and Hekker used to pore over YouTube highlights of other Pac-10 punters, including Cal's Bryan Anger and UCLA's Aaron Perez.

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Hekker also recalled the battle for the Beavers' punting job as being "wide open" for the lone available scholarship. However he and Allen both suggested that Hekker's background as a high school quarterback for Bothell (Wash.) High School gave him a leg up ... figuratively.

"I really don't believe I was that much better of a punter than he was," Hekker told USA TODAY Sports. "Maybe just my athletic background, they trusted me handling the ball in certain situations.

"There would be days that Ryan would wipe the floor with me in practice, and I would get ticked off. ... That competitive atmosphere we had, we both really wanted to get better. It was a deal where we knew that, if I was going to get the job, Ryan was going to make sure he made it a difficult decision."

Hekker got the job. And, with no opportunity to play after two seasons, Allen made the decision to transfer to Louisiana Tech.

"I knew my opportunities there were slim," Allen said with nary a hint of bitterness. "Worked out for the best for both of us."

Even after Allen's departure, he and Hekker trained together in the offseason. Hekker became close with Oregon State friends of Allen, who hails from nearby Salem.

And they remain "genuinely good buddies," per Allen, even if that doesn't encompass good-natured ribbing through a Super Bowl reporter.

"You can go back and forth with us all day, but I think it's awesome to see both of us got an opportunity to continue doing what we enjoy," he smiled. "And to still be playing this weekend is awesome."

Yet just a bit more of that back and forth finally earned a snorting chuckle from Hekker when asked if he thought Oregon State had made a catastrophic mistake considering Allen twice won the Ray Guy Award as college football's top punter after joining the Bulldogs.

"I was a very, very average college punter," Hekker said. "I never considered myself to be one of the better punters in college football. I just thought, I'm gonna keep working hard and see if I can get a shot at this NFL thing."

Mission accomplished.

Hekker is truly a master at his craft. He broke the league's single-season record for net punting average (44.2 yards) in 2013 before blowing it out of the water (46.0) three years later. He also established another league mark in 2016, when 51 of his punts were downed inside the opponent's 20-yard line.

Yet as fantastic a punter as Hekker is, he's probably better known for the arm that has helped him to post 11 completions during his seven-year NFL career and craft a 102.1 passer rating while trying to execute fakes — the latest occurring in the NFC Championship Game at New Orleans and setting up the Rams' first points after they fell into a 13-0 hole.

"Honestly, it's a specialist's dream. But Johnny's very gifted and talented," said Allen, who's never thrown a pass in the NFL. "You'd be out of your mind if you didn't want to encourage some sort of a threat.

"They're good at what they do. Johnny's changed the game a little bit in that aspect. I don't think we've ever seen (a punter) be that type of offensive threat."

Hekker's arm has produced 10 first downs and one touchdown in his career.

"I mean this guy, this guy is a weapon," Patriots coach Bill Belichick has said previously, suggesting Hekker might even be the top punter the NFL has seen in its 99 seasons.

"I mean he’s not a good player — he’s a weapon."

Rams backup quarterback Sean Mannion, another Oregon State alumnus, says Hekker was the best basketball player on the football team. He also had a track and field background, and Allen believes Hekker could have played another Division I sport.

Hekker invoked modesty amid all the praise, especially as it pertained to his quarterbacking.

"It's a one-off talent for me," he said. "Punting is where I earn my income."

Though not as much anymore. With the Rams now transformed into an offensive powerhouse, Hekker had just 43 punts in 2018 — easily the fewest of his career and not even half as many as he sometimes had to hoist during the Jeff Fisher era.

But that's ancient history these days, just like that Oregon State punt-off.

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Follow Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis