Jonathan Fisher began the season as Syracuse’s backup punter after one of the most intense position competitions in preseason camp. Junior Shane Raupers won the job and started SU’s first three games.

But by that third game, at Southern California, Fisher got his first opportunity.

The freshman got off two solid punts against USC, and, starting with the Orange’s game against Tulane, has been the starting punter for four consecutive games. He struggled mightily in SU’s game last weekend against Connecticut, though, when three of his punts went for less than 30 yards.

That rough performance has reopened the competition between Fisher and Raupers. Fisher talked to The Daily Orange on Monday about what this year has been like and how he’s dealt with the competition.

The Daily Orange: What’s it been like for you coming in as a freshman and punting right away?

Fisher: It’s a really good experience coming straight from high school, and playing my freshman year was a big jump for me. I knew it was going to be a challenge to be able to get the job over Shane because I knew I was going to have competition when I came in. But I just did what I have been doing the past six years and used all my technique that I’ve been taught.

What has that competition done for you and how do you and Shane get along?

Outside of football, we talk a little bit. When we come into the building, when we go over film, we might see things that each other don’t see for ourselves. But once we get on the field, it’s straight competition. We don’t talk when we start kicking. If he hits a nice ball, I’ll let him know, and if he messes up a little bit, I’ll tell him a little pointer.

How intense does that competition between you two get?

This week it’s going to be intense again. I didn’t have such a good week last week, so after the game, I knew there was going to be some more competition. So now I just got to go back to what I used to do and fix the little things.

In the Connecticut game you struggled a bit. Did it have anything to do with punting outdoors as opposed to the Carrier Dome?

I haven’t played out in the cold like that since my last high school game. So to go out there and feel the atmosphere that I had in high school, like going to the Dome and back to outside, it was really rough for me. But I did what I could do and tried to help the team.

How did you first get into punting?

There was a kid named Matt Waldron that went to my high school. He went to, he walked on to Penn State and then got a scholarship at Virginia Tech. So him and his father, they taught me since I was in fifth or sixth grade. They got me into camps and hooked me up with some of the pros that were able to help me out.

What’s the most difficult thing for you as a punter?

Just getting my mind right when I go out there. It’s a lot of mental things for me, but it’s stuff I can work on and get better.

So when you have a rough punt and you have to go over and sit on the sidelines after, what does that do, like in the Connecticut game?

That kind of made me go crazy after the first one. I knew what I did wrong, so I went over to the net and tried to work on some little things, but I just got to put those bad kicks behind me. That’s a past game. Now I got to move on to the next week.

mcooperj@syr.edu

Published on November 10, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Mark: mcooperj@syr.edu | @mark_cooperjr