Aussie punter, veteran snapper, holder lead UC football special team efforts

At Nippert Stadium a lanky ambidextrous punter whose home is over 21 hours away hangs with another young man who often views him upside down and a third whose claim to fame began as a joke.

Together they form one of the more experienced units around as the University of Cincinnati football team prepares for its Big 12 debut this fall.

Junior Mason Fletcher has followed in the Australian footsteps of James Smith who was here before him. Smith was most recently with the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders, while "Fletch" could live on in the NFL soon. Last year he was a Ray Guy Award finalist and sent a punt into orbit some 84 yards at SMU. Fletcher, whose brother Max kicks at Arkansas, is in his third year at UC trying to bring rain with each thunderous kick.

UC football spring outlook Quarterbacks beware, UC Bearcats football sack attack could set records

UC football spring outlook Quarterbacks beware, UC Bearcats football sack attack could set records

Cayden Pfeiffer is a redshirt senior who is in line to be UC's long snapper for a fourth consecutive season. If all kicks come off without a hitch, it's doubtful you credit Pfeiffer. The snapper is often the lonely, unknown trigger to the successful execution.

Bryce Burton came to the roster as a kicker and joked around that he was trying out as a holder when Smith (the previous punter and holder) departed. As it turns out, he's pretty good at spinning laces and is about to start his third year with the gig.

Here's a little more to know about the trio who often get much of their work in prior to the rest of the team hitting the field:

The Booming Onion

With reddish-blonde hair and standing 6-foot-7-inches tall, Mason Fletcher is used to comments about his height and his "Crocodile Dundee" accent. He's been to an Outback Steakhouse but described it as a bit "movie-like" and not much like the carnivorous offerings of Melbourne.

Fletcher averaged 42.94 yards per punt his first season, then 46.2 last year which was fourth in the nation. In terms of interviews and fame, he had a good mentor in father Dustin Fletcher, a 23-year Australian Rules football star in his homeland. Mason Fletcher started on that path but then hooked up with Prokick Australia who guided James Smith's trek to then-coach Luke Fickell.

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You can kick with both feet?

"In Australian rules football it's part and parcel. You have to be able to kick with both legs because there might be someone trying to tackle you from either side. You have to be able to swing on from the left or the right foot. I'm mainly right here because it's the strong leg and more accurate, but if something happened and coverage blew up, I could swing on to the left for sure."

How did you come to American football?

"I played Australian rules football back home and in my draft year I had an injury that set me back through the draft combine. I was like, 'Well I can still definitely play a sport at a really high level'. I thought I may as well come over here and get my education paid for and try to go pro as well."

Are you more than a rugby-style kicker?

"I try and spiral and go some straight up and down because that's what they want in the NFL. I was really lucky to have Coach (Brian) Mason my freshman year, Coach Fickell was really good with that last year and Coach (Kerry) Coombs this year. He's really confident in me and almost lets me do what I want which is all the backing I need."

Bachelor of Backward Spirals

Heading into season No. 4 with the Bearcats, Cayson Pfeiffer has snapped for 95 PATs and 52 field goals. Last year the operation between Pfeiffer, Burton and then-kicker Ryan Coe was successful in 19-of-23 field goal attempts. At 6-foot, 220 pounds Pfeiffer came from Dublin Scioto where he moonlighted as a defensive lineman with 63.5 tackles and six tackles for loss his senior year making Second Team All-Ohio.

How did you figure out you could snap the ball?

"It really started in middle school. They just needed a guy. I was a guy who played offense, defense, linebacker, tight end. I just gave it a shot. I really didn't start taking it serious 'til my junior year in high school. I started going to camps in Vegas where guys literally just long-snapped in high school. I thought that was crazy but I found out that was my best route to play Division I football."

Do you feel somewhat unsung?

"It definitely matters. Long-snapping is a spot that goes unnoticed. You don't really want anyone to know you unless you make a tackle. They really only know you if you mess up or make a tackle. Fletcher makes it easy for me being a big target. I kind of just throw it and aim it toward his hip. Field goals are easy with Bryce too. We work on perfect laces. It's kind of like riding a bike at this point. I try to stay under the radar and let the kicker and punter do their thing."

1.25 seconds of glory

Burton came to UC to kick after serving as a high school linebacker at Princeton. The 5-foot-10, 200-pounder did have 55 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery making Second Team Greater Miami Conference his senior year. He also punted and kicked. His road to Bearcat fame as a pinpoint pigskin placer was almost a fluke.

How does a kicker become a holder?

"Our punter left and there was an opening in the spring. I was like, 'I probably won't get a ton of kicks so I might as well learn how to hold.' At first, it was a joke and we were doing it in the hallway where we lived. It just actually stuck. It's something I practiced for fun and got good at. People at Cincinnati actually respect it (holding) which is shocking because people don't always do that. It is pretty difficult. We try to get an operation in 1.25 seconds. It's like this (snaps fingers) when you have to put it down and spin it and make sure everything is pretty precise."

Do you get tired of one another?

"We're together 24/7. It's almost like brothers always bumping heads. What people don't really see is when everyone else is in meetings we're out here an hour or so before practice just doing a bunch of repetitive things."

The kicker?

UC kickers have not yet been offered up for interviews but the frontrunner would appear to be Arizona State transfer Carter Brown who made 11-of-14 for the Sun Devils with a long of 53 yards in addition to making all 33 of his PATs.

Junior Christian Lowery, who kicked in the Fenway Bowl after Ryan Coe transferred is also on the roster along with Temple transfer Rory Bell who once made a 55-yarder vs. UC at Nippert.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: A booming Aussie leg backed with veterans leads UC special teams unit