As the first punter selected in the 2022 draft, Jordan Stout joined the Ravens with high expectations, taking over for Sam Koch, who retired after a brilliant 16-year career.
Stout displayed his powerful leg and athleticism on many occasions during practices, but wasn't as consistent as he hoped during games. The fourth-round pick ranked 24th in the NFL in punting average (45.9 yards) and 14th in punts placed inside the 20 (26). His seven touchbacks were tied for fifth-most in the league (fellow rookie Jake Camarda of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers led the league with 10).
Entering his second season, Stout expects more from himself and feels ready to let his talent take over.
"I think there should be improvement in every aspect of my game," Stout said. "I want my pooch punts to be better, long punts, short punts. I try to make an improvement each year and eventually I want to be the best in the world.
"There was definitely some anxiousness last year. I was excited to get out there and sometimes in the heat of the moment I would let the adrenaline get the best of me and lose my technique. But something I've been working the entire offseason is staying calm in high-pressure situations. Believe it or not, playing in front of 107,000 people at Penn State is different than playing in front of 68,000 here."
Stout has a strong teaching team around him that includes Special Teams Coordinator Chris Horton, Special Teams Coach/Specialists Randy Brown, and Koch, who joined the staff last season as a consultant. Horton believes that having a year of NFL experience will benefit Stout greatly.
"Year 1 he was a rookie. He was antsy and things like that," Horton said. "He's improving. We're going to expect him to hit the balls that we want hit, and we expect him to be pretty good in that plus-50 area this year where maybe we didn't do so well every game. Towards the end of the year, we got better at that. So, we're just expecting him to kind of continue that track."
Stout had an exceptional career at Penn State handling punts, field goals and kickoffs and was first-team All-Big 10. He knows that background prepared him to excel at the NFL level, and he has arrived at training camp more relaxed and eager to see the results.
"I feel like everything we do is confidence," Stout said. "Coming from Penn State, I was a two-time captain. I had so much confidence. Being a rookie last year, it was like being a freshman again. Now going into Year 2, it's so different."
