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Rutgers graduate senior punter Nick Marsh has made a smooth transition coming down in sea level from three years at Utah.

(Frank Conlon/For the Star-Ledger)

NFL future and not have his ability to punt the football clouded by whether he was be aided by something else.

Altitude.

"Scouts know," Marsh said last week. "They know, but they want to see you kicking at sea level a lot, because at altitude, there’s a change. So I guess, this is giving me a chance to kick at sea level and if I can still do it, still be productive on the kickoffs, get it deep and high and still be good, then they’ll be like, ‘All right, we can compare him to other people.’ "

And that’s how a California kid who started his college career at Utah will end it in Piscataway.

After graduating from Utah, but having one year of eligibility remaining, Marsh figured he would be the Utes’ starting punter this season after sitting behind one of the nation’s best in Sean Sellwood. But Utah decided to go with its sophomore punter instead, meaning that Marsh would have the opportunity to finish his collegiate career elsewhere. With realistic goals of making it as a punter in the NFL, Marsh decided to make a bold move.

He had done all of his kicking with Utah — located about 4,327 feet above sea level in Salt Lake City — meaning that it would be hard for scouts to get a true measure on his leg strength and ability.

So he sent his tapes around the country, looking for a high-major sea-level program that needed a punter.

He found one in Rutgers.

"I had always kicked at sea level (in high school in California)," Marsh said. "And just going to Utah was the change. So I’ve played in all the weather, showed that I can kick. I’m nothing fancy."

Don’t tell that to the coaching staff at Rutgers, though.

After coach Kyle Flood didn’t see a suitable replacement for last year’s punter, Justin Doerner, who graduated, he went an alternate route. And even though Marsh didn’t do much of the punting for the Utes in his time there, he did average 40.5 yards over 20 punts in 2011. (Comparatively, Doerner averaged 37.2 yards last year for the Scarlet Knights.) So even if the Utah altitude was helping, it wasn’t masking Marsh’s ability.

"I took it for granted a little, kicking at home," Marsh said. "But it’s good to practice it here though. It teaches you better mechanics. You can’t just hit a mis-hit and because you’re at altitude, the ball still carries. I have to focus on every play and hitting a good ball. It’s not just the altitude doing it, I have to do it."

For some punters, that may be an unsettling feeling, leaving the cocoon of kicking above sea level. Not for Marsh, who says he feels he’s been punting the ball this summer the best he ever has in his career. (He said he’s only losing about 5 yards on his kickoffs — which he’ll also handle for Rutgers — but only about a yard on punts.)

"I’ve never put emphasis into just punting," he said. "I’ve always had to do field goals, kickoffs and punt. So I’ve never had time to work on consistency. Punting was always a back-seat thing. But coming here, they just wanted me to punt."

And the Scarlet Knights are glad Marsh came down to their level.

"When I have less things to worry about, I can focus on more things to do," Marsh said. "Which makes me a better punter. … Now it’s just punting. And that’s nice. Very nice."