Blue Jays' Shultz had season to remember
SOUTH CENTRE TWP. — Teams never want offensive drives to end with a punt, but Central Columbia knew when it turned to Dylan Shultz, the senior would give the Blue Jays a leg up.
Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, they struggled to sustain drives and had to call on Shultz to pin opponents as far back as he could 45 times — going as many as seven times against Southern Columbia and Mifflinburg. He didn't disappoint.
According to MaxPreps, Shultz punted a nation-best 2,204 yards, averaging 48.98 yards per boot for sixth-best in the country and tops in Pennsylvania — beating out Bloomsburg's Ryan Shuman at 47.13. Less than 3 yards separated Shultz from No. 1 Joel Domineck of Georgia for the best distance per punt in a list that includes three-time All-American and former Green Bay Packers kicker Mason Crosby's son, who goes by the same name.
"I get everybody has to punt, but I also noticed a lot of schools can't punt and it impacts the game a lot," former Central coach EJ Smith said. "When you see kids like Dylan and Shuman punt, it's nice to see them take it seriously because I've grown to see it's an important phase of the game."
And to think it all started because the Blue Jays were in a bind and Shultz, then a junior, figured the task was similar to the games he once played at recess.
"Our original punter got hurt and we didn't have a backup and I kind of stepped in because I thought 'I kicked things while on the playground in elementary school'" Shultz said. "I did well, kicking it about 40 yards the first time I did it and took over. I ended up getting hurt, but I kept working on it."
Smith fondly remembers Shultz's first days as a punter but wonders how much better the athlete and team could have been if they had known of his abilities sooner.
"We didn't discover his punting talents until late in the season last year and he only got in to punt for a game or two until he broke his collarbone," Smith said. "He knew coming into this year he was going to be our punter and worked hard at it on his own to get prepared — all the credit goes to him. ... Still, when we first saw him punt, we were shocked. We asked, 'Why didn't you say you could do this? We could have you used you all year.'"
The Jays had Shultz's punting talents all of this fall, capitalizing on them a few times. The senior, who reeled in two touchdowns on six receptions for 101 yards as a tight end, as well as two interceptions and a few sacks as a linebacker, cashed in after one of his best punts against Milton in Week 7. Pinning the Black Panthers down at their own 2-yard line, the Jays forced a fumble on the ensuing defensive play and Shultz pounced on it for the touchdown.
"When you struggle offensively, flipping the field can be a momentum shift. He did that a ton of times," Smith said. "... It's a little deflating when you're on their side of the field and have to punt, but when you get a big punt, though, the defense sometimes gets momentum, and that helps in the long run of a football game. Dylan brought that to the table for us."
The PHAC-II first-team punter didn't get these results overnight — or by himself. Reaching out to his former coach, the late Scott Dennis, Shultz was put in touch with personal trainer Gerry McGroarty from Cannon Kicking of Wilkes-Barre.
The two got together for roughly a dozen sessions — an hour each — working on consistency, technique and form. Shultz continued to put the work in on his own time, as well as with Central's special teams coach Doug Brown. And when most fans are angry their favorite team is punting, Shultz is instead studying that punter's every move, hang time and distance.
The results in one year are impressive. It has caught the attention of college coaches, including from Shultz's preference, Bloomsburg University, and Shippensburg. He currently is in BU's dual enrollment program, and though he is undecided between the business and medical fields, he has decided his goals are far from over.
Having learned punting as quickly as he has, Shultz has no doubt he can learn to kick field goals, something he says he can do from 30 yards out, but not comfortably. The versatility would give whichever college team he plays for multiple ways to use his kicking prowess.
He's also aiming to keep his punts consistently within 50-60 yards with a hangtime closer to 5 seconds. His punts currently hang around 4.2 seconds.
Shultz's specialization is one that often gets overlooked, but Smith has no doubt the senior has the skills to make an impact well beyond Central Columbia.
"When you look at the next level, those guys are so good. There's not a lot of people who can do that. It's a crazy skill — either you can do it or you can't because it's not easy to teach," Smith said. "It's not fun to show that you had to punt a bunch of times, but the kid is special when he's punting. He's going to do some great things punting in the future with more practice and applying himself even more than he did this year."
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