Nobody expected the Atlanta Falcons to pick Miami Hurricanes special teams unit Matt Bosher. In The Falcoholic's war room, most of our crew was lobbying for Nevada Wolf Pack workout warrior Virgil Green while I was pulling for Lee Ziemba, poor (and furious!) man's Harvey Dahl. We were riding high off the Jacquizz Rodgers pick, expecting another playmaker and then ... well, guys, Bosher should start from day one at one position or another, having somehow led Miami in special teams tackles.
What they're saying: ... The Falcons picked Matt Bosher ...
Best case: Fulfills Jimmy Mora's dream of having one footsman play all special teams positions. Beats Ray Guy into Hall of Fame. Sacks Drew Brees twice in one game.
Worst case: Fails at punting. Converts to kicker. Fails at kicking. Converts to linebacker. Succeeds. Matt Bosher has no downside.
Highlights, stats, videos, background and stuff: Let's be serious. Michael Koenen is not quite as good as he used to be, and is up for a new deal, which will likely price him out of Atlanta's mediocre punter budget. The confusing part, though, is nobody yet knows whether Bosher will punt or kick, having done both at The U. He was announced by the team as a kicker, but Matt Bryant kicked goodness-knows-how-many game-winners in 2010 and isn't exactly ancient.
So let's say punter. To the numbers, via Sports Reference:
| Punting | Kicking | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | Punts | Yds | Avg | XPM | XPA | XP% | FGM | FGA | FG% | Pts |
| 2007 | Miami (FL) | ACC | SO | K | 58 | 2329 | 40.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2008 | Miami (FL) | ACC | JR | K | 67 | 2683 | 40.0 | 40 | 40 | 100.0 | 18 | 20 | 90.0 | 94 |
| 2009 | Miami (FL) | ACC | JR | K | 51 | 2169 | 42.5 | 50 | 50 | 100.0 | 14 | 16 | 87.5 | 92 |
| 2010 | Miami (FL) | ACC | SR | K | 59 | 2597 | 44.0 | 37 | 40 | 92.5 | 13 | 17 | 76.5 | 76 |
| Career | Miami (FL) | 235 | 9778 | 41.6 | 127 | 130 | 97.7 | 45 | 53 | 84.9 | 262 | |||
Bosher didn't compete at the NFL Combine, despite playing 17 positions and being Miami's best tackler.
Here's a video of Bosher booting some field goals and pinning a punt on the one-inch line, a line that does not exist but is still mentioned in every football telecast:
In 2009, Bosher was named the ACC's top kicker and second-best punter, and was named to the All-ACC Second Team at one position or another for three straight years. He was Florida's top kicker as a high schooler, and Scout.com even called him the best in the country.
For more on the NFL Draft, join Mocking The Draft and browse SB Nation's 2011 NFL Draft hub. More local NFL Draft resources: live discussion of Falcons picks at The Falcoholic; coverage of the Falcons and NFC South for rounds one, two and three and rounds four through seven; final conference tallies for the SEC and ACC; and pre-Draft coverage of the Falcons and SEC and ACC prospects.