Ryan Matthew Stonehouse (born May 11, 1999) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

punter for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Colorado State Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

and signed with the Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2022. Stonehouse currently holds the

NCAA FBS The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

and

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations o ...

records for highest career average yards per punt, as well as the NFL single-season record for average yards per punt.

Early life

Stonehouse was born on May 11, 1999, in

San Dimas, California San Dimas (Spanish for "Saint Dismas") is a city in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, its population was 34,924. It historically took its name from San Dimas Canyon in the San Gabriel ...

to parents Natalie Banks and Paul Stonehouse. His father, Paul, was a punter for

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

from 1989 to 1992. Two of his uncles were also Division I punters: John Stonehouse (

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

, 1992–95) and Jeff Banks (

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

, 1996–97). Stonehouse attended Mater Dei High School in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...

. In 2016, he helped his Mater Dei team to a 13–1 record and a deep

CIF Cif is a French brand of household cleaning products owned by the Anglo-Dutch company Unilever, known as Jif in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Middle East and the Nordic countries. Cif was launched in France in 1965 and was marketed in competit ...

playoff run, losing in the semi-finals to St. John Bosco. Stonehouse was named a Blue & Grey All-American and was named to the 2016

L.A. Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

All-Star football team, among other awards. He also participated in the Kohl's Kicking 2016 Western Winter Showcase and was rated as a five-star punter. Stonehouse was officially rated as a three-star recruit and the third best punter prospect in the class of 2017 by 247Sports.com.

College career

file:Stonehouse19 Cropped.jpg, left, 200px, Stonehouse with

in 2019 Stonehouse received 11 total offers from NCAA Division I#Football subdivisions, NCAA Division I schools. On February 14, 2017, he accepted a scholarship offer from

over offers from

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Cal Cal or CAL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty * "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov * ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanfor ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, Toledo,

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

, UTSA, and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

. As a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

in 2017, Stonehouse was named to the

Ray Guy Award The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding punter as adjudged by the Augusta Sports Council. The award is named after punter Ray Guy, an All-American for Southern Mississippi and an All-Pro in the National Foo ...

watch list, as well as receiving an All-

Mountain West The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations o ...

honorable mention. Stonehouse was one of five

true freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

to play in every game; he punted 46 times in 13 games and ranked fifth in the country with a 45.9-yard punt average. As a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

in 2018, Stonehouse played in all 12 games and finished second in the FBS with a 48.3-yard punt average. He punted 65 times for a total 3,140 yards, placing 18 punts within the 20-yard line. Stonehouse was selected to the 2018 All-

first team, as well as being named to the 2018

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

All-American second team. As a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

in 2019, Stonehouse was named to the All-

first team for the second consecutive year after punting 49 times for 2,274 yards with a 46.4-yard punt average. As a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

in 2020, Stonehouse played in all four games, as the season was heavily condensed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In just four games, he punted 26 times for 1,178 yards and was named to the All-

first team for the third consecutive year. As a

graduate student Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

in 2021, his final year at

CSU CSU may refer to: * Channel service unit, a Wide area network equivalent of a network interface card * Chari Aviation Services, Chad, by ICAO airline code * Christian Social Union (UK), an Anglican social gospel organisation * Christian Social Un ...

, Stonehouse was ranked the best punter and the 34th best overall player in the

entering the season. Stonehouse finished the season having punted 58 times for 2,953 yards, recording a career-best single-season punt average of 50.9 yards. Despite this, Stonehouse was named to the 2021 All-

second team, as

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

punter

Matt Araiza Matthew Ryan Araiza (born May 16, 2000) is an American American football, football Punter (football), punter who is a free agent. He played college football for the San Diego State Aztecs football, San Diego State Aztecs, setting the National Co ...

, who led the FBS and

with a 51.5-yard punt average, was named to the first team. Over the span of his collegiate career, Stonehouse punted 244 times for a total of 11,656 yards. He broke the

record for the highest career average yards per punt with his 47.8-yard average, which was previously held by

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

punter Johnny Townsend with a 46.2 average. Stonehouse also holds the

's highest career average yards per punt record, previously held by

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

punter Matt Payne (45.4; 2001–04).

Professional career

Tennessee Titans

2022 season

Stonehouse signed with the

as an undrafted free agent on May 13, 2022. He performed well throughout the preseason and won the punting job when the Titans released longtime punter

Brett Kern Brett Alan Kern (born February 17, 1986) is an American football punter for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Toledo and was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent i ...

on August 29, 2022. During a narrow Week 3 24–22 victory over the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

, Stonehouse punted thrice for 181 yards with a long of 70 yards. Two weeks later against the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

, he punted eight times for 416 yards in the 21–17 road victory. Stonehouse was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for October after punting 20 times for 1,033 yards and a 51.7 average. During a Week 10 17–10 victory over the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

, Stonehouse punted eight times for 432 yards, including three inside the 10-yard line with a long of 74 yards, earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. Two weeks later against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

, he had five punts for 269 yards with a long of 71 yards. In the next game against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

, Stonehouse punted seven times for 401 yards as the Titans lost on the road by a score of 35–10. Stonehouse recorded an average of 53.1 yards per punt throughout his rookie season, which set a new single-season NFL record. The record, previously set in 1940 by

Sammy Baugh Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professional football player and coach. During his college and professional careers, he most notably played quarterback, but also played as a safety and punter. He ...

with a 51.4 average, lasted 82 seasons before being broken by Stonehouse. He was also the punting yards leader in 2022, punting 90 times for 4,779 yards.

2023 season

During a Week 3 27–3 road loss to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

, Stonehouse had seven punts for 374 yards with a long of 74 yards. During a Week 8 28–23 victory over the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

, he had a season-high eight punts for 420 yards. During a Week 12 17–10 victory over the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

, Stonehouse punted seven times for 376 yards with a long of 71 yards, earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. However, in the next game the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

, he suffered a serious leg injury after a second blocked punt and was later announced to be out for the season.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Personal life

Stonehouse enjoys

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...

projects. In his spare time, Stonehouse has built various projects, including a covered outdoor kitchen in his backyard. He also enjoys fostering and working with

shelter Shelter is a small building giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger. Shelter may also refer to: Places * Port Shelter, Hong Kong * Shelter Bay (disambiguation), various locations * Shelter Cove (disambiguation), various locatio ...

dogs.

References

External links

Tennessee Titans bioColorado State Rams bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stonehouse, Ryan 1999 births Living people American football punters Colorado State Rams football players Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, California) alumni Players of American football from Los Angeles County, California People from La Verne, California Tennessee Titans players