USF Football Player Profile: #44 P Jonathan Hernandez

#44 P Jonathan Hernandez - 5th Year Senior, 6’4”, 241 lbs.

2016 Stats: After walking on to the team, Hernandez won the job as USF’s punter right before the season opener against Towson. He punted 63 times for a 41.2 yard average, dropping 25 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line (often a lot deeper than that) and getting off 12 punts of at least 50 yards. His season long was a 66-yard bomb against C.

Meanwhile, the Internet (OK, it was this blog) (OK, actually it was just me) couldn’t get enough of our 241-pound punter. We affectionately called him Large Adult Punter, and the nickname is still going strong. The only disappointment was that Hernandez didn’t get to make a tackle last year. USF fans would have lost their minds if he had decleated someone in the open field.

How He Came To USF: Jonathan went to Bradenton Manatee High School, where he was a kicker and punter (and soccer player) for the Hurricanes. He averaged 41.4 yards per punt in his one varsity year, kicked off 42 times with 31 touchbacks, and made all seven extra points he attempted. He walked on at Florida State in 2013, but only attempted one punt in three years. Before the 2016 season, he transferred to USF and walked on, and since he had never had a scholarship at FSU he was eligible right away.

Recruiting Rankings: Hernandez was not ranked by any recruiting sites. They didn’t know what they were missing.

Follow Him On... We still don’t think he’s on Twitter, but his Instagram at jonhuurnandez44 isn’t private anymore.