UNI punter Noah Pettinger’s contributions don’t go overlooked

CEDAR FALLS — Northern Iowa football’s win at Illinois State last Saturday may not have happened if Noah Pettinger didn’t launch a 49-yard punt late in the third quarter that pinned the Redbirds at their own 14-yard line.

In a game that had become a defensive battle, Pettinger and the Panthers punt team delivered the necessary field position that helped UNI’s defense stall Illinois State’s ensuing drive at its own 49.

After that stop and a Redbirds punt, UNI’s offense proceeded to go on what became a game-winning 15-play drive.

“He’s got the hidden yards right now because his punts have been excellent, they’re getting hang time, they’ve been fair caught and they’re inside the 20 (so opponents) got to drive the field on us,” UNI Coach Mark Farley said. “Anytime you make somebody drive the field it helps in play-calling, it helps in how you play defense. Everything dominoes off a good punt (or) good punt return.”

Asked about hitting such a clutch punt, Pettinger said he doesn’t think much about the game's circumstances at the time, but instead focuses on his process.

“(But) I ran over to the sideline and everyone dapped me up,” Pettinger said. “It was pretty cool.”

Pettinger, a Dubuque native who prepped at Hempstead, quickly established himself as one of the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s best punters in 2022, earning all-newcomer team honors as a freshman. In eight games last season he averaged nearly 43 yards per punt.

This season Pettinger has improved his numbers, averaging 44.29 yards per punt and placing 14 of 28 inside opponents’ 20-yard line.

“Special teams can win a game,” Pettinger said. “If I hit a good punt, pin them deep, they’ve got to drive the whole field to score. So, that’s how I look at it.”

His ability to help UNI win games began during his sophomore year at Hempstead when he really began to focus on realizing the potential he had as a punter. Between the work he began to put in and cutting together his own highlight tape as an upperclassman, he caught the eye of Farley and UNI’s campus caught his eye.

“UNI got back to me. Coach Farley gave me the opportunity to come here and play and I took it,” Pettinger said. “It was a lot of (recruiting from) Matthew Cook, too. He hosted me on my visit. I liked the college as soon as I stepped foot on campus.”

Next up for Pettinger and the Panthers is a home game against winless Western Illinois and he said this team can make a deep run as long as they execute.

“We’ve been playing some pretty good football the past few weeks here,” Pettinger said. “If we can go out there and execute on offense, defense and special teams we’re a great football team.”