Michigan State Football: Bryce Baringer ranked No. 1 punter in 2023 NFL Draft

Mel Kiper Jr. just released his 2023 NFL Draft prospect rankings and Michigan State football’s Bryce Baringer is the top punter/kicker.

Heading into the 2022 season, Michigan State football has talent and depth at just about every position and fans should be excited about what that could mean for the outcome.

While having talent and depth on offense and defense is important, it’s also crucial to have good special teams and Michigan State should have just that. Despite Matt Coghlin moving on, the kicking game should be solid with Jack Stone taking over.

The strength of the special teams will likely be the return game with Jayden Reed but a close second would have to be Bryce Baringer and the punt team.

Baringer was the top punter in the Big Ten last season and No. 4 in the Power Five with his 48.5 yards per punt average. He was no Matt Araiza of San Diego State, but he was as consistent as they came in college football.

This has led to Mel Kiper Jr. ranking him the No. 1 prospect for the 2023 NFL Draft among punters and kickers.

The chances of being drafted as a punter or kicker are pretty slim as only a couple are drafted every year but if he has an All-American type season for Michigan State, there’s a chance an NFL team could take him in the seventh round.

Special teams can win you games and if Baringer can continue to help the Spartans win field position battles while ranking top-five nationally in yards per punt, he’ll find a home in the NFL next year.