ESPN's Mel Kiper likes ISU punter Kirby Van Der Kamp

 By Rob Gray

 Correspondent

 AMES - Iowa State punter Kirby Van Der Kamp originally honed his craft on the pitch.

He was a goalkeeper - winning games as a youth with his defense and ability to solve problems from every angle.

“For a long time I thought I would play soccer beyond high school,” said Van Der Kamp, a West Des Moines Valley graduate who's become the nation's top professional punting prospect. “That's the route I was going to go, but football just kind of fell into place. … Coach (Paul) Rhoads gave me a chance and I'm glad he did.”

Rhoads has insisted all season that Van Der Kamp is the best college punter in the country.

Thursday, ESPN NFL Draft maven Mel Kiper Jr. concurred.

“He's, right now, the top punter,” said Kiper, who added the No. 1 punter could go as high as the third or fourth round of the Draft.

With great talent, comes greater scrutiny.

Kiper and NFL scouts all noticed Van Der Kamp's rare poor punt in Saturday's 21-17 loss to TCU - a 17-yarder into a howling wind that made the Horned Frogs' game-winning scoring drive easier to construct.

Call it a blip, Kiper said.

“You look at that and say that's one little hiccup along the way,” Kiper said. “Everybody's going to have a bad punt every now and them. That happened to come at an inopportune time for Iowa State in that game this past week.”

Rhoads' confidence in Van Der Kamp extends well beyond his strong leg.

ISU's punter also delivered a 25-yard spiral to receiver Justin Coleman to convert a fake punt into a first down against TCU.

Van Der Kamp's 2 of 2 in passing in his career.

He also completed a 25-yarder as a freshman.

And he's run four times for 55 yards in his four-year career.

“He's got a long, lean body that has enough speed to it,” Rhoads said. “People might say I'm a risk-taker - that I like that piece of the game. … I'm not a 50-50 guy when it comes to those things. I'm pretty sure we're going to be successful when we take those opportunities. Kirby's a guy that delivers.”

Van Der Kamp ranks 18th in NCAA history in career punting at 42.7 yards per attempt.

He excels at directional kicking and has pinned opponents inside their 20-yard line 95 times in his career.

“Unfortunately he had that (one) punt Saturday, but other than that he's been outstanding,” Kiper said.