Travis Baltz (born November 18, 1988) is a former

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. He was signed by 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 ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2011. 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 ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Early years

Travis Baltz was born on November 18, 1988 in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

to parents Jim and Debbie Baltz. He grew up in

Waterville, Ohio Waterville is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, along the Maumee River, a suburb of Toledo. The population was 6,003 at the 2020 census. History Waterville was platted in 1830 by settler John Pray on the west bank of the upper Maume ...

and attended Anthony Wayne High School where he played football,

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, basketball, and bowling. In football, he played as a punter and

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

. As a punter, he averaged 42 yards per punt in his junior year and 40 yards per punt in his senior year. As a placekicker in his junior year, he made good five of nine

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

attempts. As a senior placekicker, he made good five of six field goal attempts and 78% of his kickoffs went for

touchback In American football, a touchback is a ruling which is made and signaled by an official when the ball becomes dead on or behind a team's own goal line (i.e., in their end zone) and the opposing team gave the ball the momentum, or impetus, to trav ...

s.Player Bio: Travis Baltz

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

, retrieved January 12, 2009. As a junior in 2005, he was named an All-''

Toledo Blade ''The Blade'', also known as the ''Toledo Blade'', is a newspaper in Toledo, Ohio published daily online and printed Thursday and Sunday by Block Communications. The newspaper was first published on December 19, 1835. Overview The first issue o ...

'' punter. As both a senior and junior, he was named an all-state and

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

honorable mention All-Ohio Division II punter. As a senior in 2006, he was named a first-team all-district and first-team All-

Northern Lakes League The Northern Lakes League (NLL), is an OHSAA high school athletic conference that was formed in 1956 and comprises eight high schools in Northwest Ohio. Current members Future members On April 9, 2021, invitations were extended to four schools ...

punter, and first-team all-conference and All-''Toledo Blade'' placekicker. Baltz was not actively recruited out of high school. He wished to attend Maryland and contacted

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

coach Ray Rychleski, whom he provided with film footage. Baltz's desire to attend Maryland was solidified after he visited its College Park campus, and the nearby cities of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Baltz attended summer camp at Maryland where he received praise from former Maryland kicker

Nick Novak Nicholas Ryan Novak (born August 21, 1981) is a former American football placekicker. He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at Maryland. Novak has played for the Washington Redskins, A ...

, but he still was not extended an offer. He considered

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

, Northwestern, and

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

, the latter of which had shown interest and requested film. He considered many schools in the country, with academics and football as the primary criteria. His father recommended giving up on Maryland, but Baltz said, "Every school could have offered me and I still would have chosen Maryland." Eventually, Maryland did extend a scholarship offer to Baltz.

College career

As a true freshman in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, Baltz started in all 13 games and averaged 40.9 yards per punt. In

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC) games, he averaged 43.1 yards per punt. Against

FIU Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florida ...

, he placed five punts inside their 20-yard line, the most be any Maryland punter since

Brooks Barnard Brooks Alexander Barnard (born November 4, 1979) is an American football punter. He played professional football for the New England Patriots in the National Football League (NFL) and for the Rhein Fire in the NFL Europe. He played college footb ...

in 2001. During the course of the season, Baltz pinned 16 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line. He recorded a career-long 65-yard punt against

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, which in the fourth quarter along with a 55-yard punt helped ensure a Maryland victory. He was named a ''

The 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 ...

'' freshman All-American, ''The Sporting News'' freshman All-ACC, and

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

freshman All-ACC player. In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, Baltz punted 61 times for 2,506 yards, an average of 41.1 yards, with a long of 59 yards. He recorded seven touchbacks and 24 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line. He also served as the back-up

kickoff specialist A kickoff specialist is a special teams position in gridiron football. They are responsible for kicking the ball in the kickoff. These players tend to have a strong leg, often capable of making touchbacks, and capable of keeping a ball in the boun ...

, and saw action usually in onside kick attempts. He executed five kickoffs for 243 yards, a 48.6 yard average, one touchback, and two out-of-bounds. He received first-team All-ACC honors. Baltz was named to the 2009 preseason All-ACC team. He was also placed on 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. NFL Draft Scout rates Baltz as number-six out of 34 punters assessed for the 2011 NFL Draft.

Professional career

Baltz was signed by the

as an

following the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

on July 26, 2011. He was waived during final roster cuts on September 3, 2011. The

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

signed Baltz to a future/reserve contract on January 6, 2012. He was waived on August 12.

References

External links

Freshman Baltz kicks for two spots
''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

'', April 18, 2007.
Anthony Wayne's Baltz gets kick out of life: Maryland-bound senior excels in football, soccer
'' The Blade'' ( Toledo), October 12, 2006.
Baltz steady under pressure
''

The Diamondback ''The Diamondback'' is an independent student newspaper associated with the University of Maryland, College Park. It began in 1910 as ''The Triangle'' and became known as ''The Diamondback'' in 1921. Now a weekly online journal, ''The Diamondback ...

'', October 19, 2007.
Baltz no longer a rookie

, December 12, 2007.
No sophomore slump for Baltz
Rivals.com, November 27, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Baltz, Travis 1988 births Living people People from Waterville, Ohio American football punters American football placekickers Maryland Terrapins football players Players of American football from Ohio Indianapolis Colts players New York Jets players Sportspeople from Toledo, Ohio