GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The words had barely escaped Peter Mortell’s lips -- “I believe I’m an NFL punter” -- when the Green Bay Packers rookie’s point was proven for him, albeit in an unexpected way.

Following the Packers’ preseason victory over Oakland at Lambeau Field last Thursday night, Mortell found himself in a swirl of lights, cameras and questions as he stood at his locker. After another impressive performance -- he averaged 57.0 gross yards, 58.0 net yards and 4.52 seconds of hang time on his two punts -- reporters weren’t so interested in his heartwarming local-boy-makes-good story as they were in the fact that he’s turned the Packers’ punting battle into a genuine competition with incumbent Tim Masthay.

As he spoke, though, Mortell wore a black Titleist hat -- a no-no according to Section 4, Article 7 of the NFL rule book, which states (among other things) that players on camera are prohibited from wearing logos that haven’t been approved by the league office.

Ex-Packers wide receiver Bill Schroeder, the team’s NFL-appointed game-day uniform inspector, sprung into action, alerting a surprised Mortell of his violation. And off went the hat.

Welcome to the NFL, kid.

“Apparently you’re not allowed to wear these,” Mortell said with an embarrassed smile as he pulled his cap back on when the camera crews dispersed. “I had no idea.”

Peter Mortell has changed the narrative by looking like an NFL punter as he tries to make his hometown team. Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK

Most Packers fans, meanwhile, likely had no idea that Mortell would make a legitimate run at the punting job, as he has to this point. His backstory, as a Green Bay native and former walk-on at the University of Minnesota whose father and grandfather have served as the Lambeau Field clock operators, is a good one. But with back-to-back strong showings in games, there’s now more to his story.

“There’s no sentiment in the NFL; they’re not going to give me a job just because I’m a local kid. And I don’t want them to. I want to earn it,” Mortell said. “Regardless of where I’m from, I believe I belong in this league, and I’m going to do my best to prove that each and every time I get a chance.

“I believe I’m an NFL punter, and I think the Packers believe that, too. And to be honest, I’ve believed it since I signed. I think you have to. Because if you don’t believe it, how are your teammates and coaches and everyone else going to? If anything, maybe it’s more people -- fans, coaches and teammates -- are believing that more, starting to believe ‘He’s not just a local kid. He can perform in this league.’”

Nevertheless, to argue that Mortell has moved ahead of Masthay at this point would be inaccurate. Special teams coordinator Ron Zook emphasized this week that the team will evaluate them based on what they do in games and in practice, as in-game circumstances don’t always allow for true evaluation.

This week, Zook gave each punter a full day’s work at practice. On Monday, Masthay averaged 46.0 yards with 4.45 seconds of hang time on 15 punts -- including one he mishit into bleachers -- with a slight wind at his back. Mortell punted 18 times on Tuesday and averaged 56.6 yards and 3.99 seconds of hang time with a stronger headwind. While Masthay has the overall advantage in leg strength and hang time, Mortell’s forte is directional punting.

“Look at the games, the situations that Tim has been in as opposed to the situations that Peter has. If you look at the stats in the game, [you say], ‘Well, this is easy.’ But that’s not really how you can [decide],” Zook explained. “Tim had a bunch of punts going in and had the punt blocked, and those kinds of things hurt your net. They both have done some good things and both some things that they know they’ve got to work on.”

That said, Mortell has already outlasted Cody Mandell, the ex-Alabama punter the Packers brought in last year who didn’t even make it to the first preseason game before being released. That Mortell will continue his battle with Masthay in Friday night’s third preseason game at San Francisco proves he’s a legit challenger.

“We’re trying to give them -- both of them -- every opportunity that they possibly can [have],” Zook said.

Masthay’s protection unit in games hasn’t done him many favors. Against the Raiders, his first punt was almost blocked when tight end Justin Perillo was overwhelmed on the right wing, and his fourth punt was blocked for a touchdown when LaDarius Gunter missed his man on the left wing.

For the three punts he did get off, Masthay averaged 45.7 gross yards, 37.3 net yards and 4.28 seconds of hang time. His two best were a 51-yarder (4.92 seconds) and a 50-yarder (4.48 seconds).

After struggling during the second half of the 2014 season, Masthay bounced back last year with his confidence and performance. Although he was unhappy with how he kicked in the Packers’ season-ending playoff loss to Arizona, he actually finished the regular season strong.

Although he set the franchise record -- for the fifth time -- for net punting average last season at 40.2 yards, Masthay has always viewed his job as “day-to-day,” knowing that in 2008, the Packers cut their punter from the previous two seasons, Jon Ryan, at the end of training camp. While Ryan has gone on to become one of the league’s top punters with Seattle, his successors -- Derrick Frost and Jeremy Kapinos -- were disappointments before Masthay won the job in 2010.

“Ask Jon Ryan. That’s what happens around the league,” Masthay said. “I’ve been very pleased this camp with my hang time. I’ve been hitting bigger hang times on a more consistent basis than I ever have before. Those two punts [against Oakland] were examples of that. I’m pleased with that and I’m going to try to keep doing that.”