ATLANTA — Two of the best punters in the NFL will be on opposite sides of the field competing in Super Bowl LIII on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
It won’t be the first time Johnny Hekker of the Rams and Ryan Allen of the Patriots have found themselves vying for the same reward.
On Sunday, the reward is a Super Bowl ring. Eleven years ago, in 2008, the two walk-ons competed for a scholarship to punt at Oregon State. Hekker got the scholarship and Allen was his backup for two seasons before transferring to Louisiana Tech, where he won the Ray Guy Award as college football’s top punter twice.
“It’s cool to see where we started to now playing on the biggest stage in sports,” Allen said.
Allen has two Super Bowl rings with the Patriots, from the 2014 and 2016 seasons. This is Hekker’s first Super Bowl.
“Having that competition really set us both up for future successes,” Hekker said. “It’s been a ton of fun to just admire his career from afar, be his biggest fan and share a field with him in the Super Bowl.”
The two played against each other once in the NFL, in 2016, when Hekker averaged 53.8 yards on eight punts and Allen averaged 41.2 yards on six punts in a 26-10 Patriots win at Gillette Stadium.
“Just to play against him will be fun, and to play against him in this capacity will be awesome,” Hekker said.
The Rams signed Hekker as an undrafted free agent, and before the 2017 season he signed a six-year $20.8 million extension, with $10 million guaranteed. The Patriots also signed Allen as an undrafted free agent. He’s in the final year of a three-year, $6 million contract that included $3 million in guarantees.
As good of a punter as Hekker is as a four-time Pro Bowler, he’s an outstanding passer and a threat at any time to complete a pass on a fake punt — as he did in a crucial moment in the NFC Championship game in New Orleans.
Hekker, who played quarterback in high school, has completed 11-of-19 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown in his NFL career.
No throw was bigger than the 12-yard pass he completed to cornerback Sam Shields on a fake punt from the Los Angeles 30-yard line with the Rams trailing the Saints 13-0 in the second quarter and in desperate need of a spark.
“If you didn’t know any better, he looks like a quarterback,’’ Rams coach Sean McVay said of his versatile 6-foot-6 punter.
“It’s cool to have guy like Johnny who’s not only a great punter, but you can have some fun with him and know he’s going to execute,” Rams special teams coordinator John Fassel said.
“It’s one thing to have a punter that can throw it, it’s another to have a punter who can throw it in that situation, in the NFC Championship game, and a coach that’s going to call it,” Rams long snapper Jake McQuaide said.
“He’s a weapon on the field,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said of Hekker. “You have to respect his ability to handle the ball.”
Belichick, asked about the chances we’ll see more trick plays on Sunday, said, “It’s a one-game season. There’s nothing else to save it for.’’
