| Getting To Know Jay Ottovegio Pronunciation: ott-uh-VEG-ee-oh |
At Stanford: The only player on Stanford's roster to begin the 2007 campaign as a fourth-year starter ... Expected to be one of the top punters in the Pac-10 in his final collegiate campaign ... Has averaged 40.6 yards per punt in 194 attempts for 7868 career punting yards ... Has a legitimate chance to break Stanford's all-time record for punting yards as he enters the 2007 season just 2105 short of the 9973 compiled by all-time leader Kevin Miller from 1995-98 and just 2132 shy of becoming the first Stanford player to ever punt for 10,000 career yards ... Has landed 59 career punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line and had 20 go for 50 or more yards, proving to be a consistent and reliable punter that also has a strong leg ... Has had just two career punts blocked (both in 2006) ... Has averaged 40.0 or more yards in 23 of his 34 career contests.
Career Statistics
Career Game Highs: Punts - 10, vs. UCLA (9/1/07) • Yards - 429, vs. UCLA (9/1/07) • Avg. - 46.2, at Notre Dame (10/9/04) • LG - 59, vs. Washington (10/2/04).
The 2007 Season: Finished his career as Stanford's all-time leader in both punts (272) and punt yardage (11,083), while averaging 40.7 yards per punt ... Had career-highs of 78 punts and 3215 punting yards as a senior in 2007 with a 41.2 yard per punt average that was just below the career-best 41.3 he recorded as a freshman in 2004 ... Averaged 40.0 or more yards in 32 of his 46 career games, including nine times in 2007 ... Career-high 10 punts and 429 punting yards in 2007 season-opener versus UCLA ... Had a huge game at Arizona when he had a 2007 season-best 46.0 average on five punts and put a season-high five punts inside the Wildcats' 20-yard line in a 21-20 victory
Game-By-Game Statistics
Season Game Highs: Punts - 10, vs. UCLA (9/1) • Yards - 429, vs. UCLA (9/1) • Avg. - 46.0, at Arizona (10/20) • LG - 58, vs. UCLA (9/1).
The 2006 Season: Averaged a career-low 39.6 yards per punt on 61 attempts for 2417 yards with two punts blocked (Washington State, at Washington) after not having one blocked in his first two collegiate campaigns ... Was able to trap opponents inside their own 20-yard line 17 times, including on eight occasions in the final four games which contributed to his lower per punt average as he was unable to average 40.0 or more yards per punt in any of those last four contests ... Ran for 11 yards and a first down on a fake punt versus Oregon State ... Punted a season-high eight times against USC ... Had his best game of the season versus Arizona when he punted seven times for a season-best 45.3 yard average ... Had a pair of season-best-tying 52-yard punts at UCLA and at Arizona State ... Earned 2006 Pre-Season First Team (Steele's), Second Team (The Sporting News) and Third Team (Athlon) All-Pac-10 honors.
Game-By-Game Statistics
Season Game Highs: Punts - 8, vs. USC (11/4) • Yards - 317, vs. Arizona (10/14) • Avg. - 45.3, vs. Arizona (10/14) • LG - 52, twice.
The 2005 Season: Posted his second solid season as the team's starting punter, averaging 40.6 yards on 67 punts for 2,723 yards ... Landed 22 of his punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line and had seven go for 50 or more yards ... Had four of his season-high-tying eight punts go 50 or more yards when he averaged a season-best 45.1 yards per punt at Arizona that helped the Cardinal maintain field position in a hard-fought 20-16 victory ... Averaged more than 40 yards per punt in eight of Stanford's 11 games.
Game-By-Game Statistics
The 2004 Season: Became the first freshman punter in school history to average more than 40 yards per punt with a 41.3 average on 66 punts for 2,728 yards ... Longest punt of his career to date was a 59-yarder versus Washington ... Had 20 punts land inside the opponents' 20-yard line and nine that went for more than 50 yards ... The Sporting News named him a Second-Team Freshman All-American ... Averaged more than 40 yards per punt in nine of Stanford's 11 games ... Averaged a career-best 46.2 yards per kick on five punts at Notre Dame, including one of 58 yards and one that landed inside the 20 ... Winner of the Menlo-Atherton Trophy as the team's Most Outstanding (redshirt) Freshman player.
Game-By-Game Statistics
The 2003 Season: Did not play in 2003 as a true freshman punter.
In High School: One of the premier kickers in the nation from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florida ... A prep All-American who was ranked as the No. 2 place-kicker in the country by Rivals.com and TheInsiders.com ... Named All-Southeast Region by PrepStar and SuperPrep ... One of Max Emfinger's Top Five punters in the country ... Connected on 10-of-15 field goal attempts and 42-of-44 PATs with a season-long FG of 47 yards as a senior ... Put 70 of his 79 kickoffs into or out of the end zone ... Averaged 42 yards per punt with 12 inside the 20 ... Orlando Sentinel Super 24 as one of the Top 24 players in the state of Florida ... One of Rivals.com Top 100 players in Florida ... First-Team All-State placekicker twice ... Broward County Super 11 and First-Team All-County selection ... Hit 7-of-10 field goals with a long of 48 while averaging 40 yards per punt as a junior ... An All-State punter as a sophomore after averaging 40 yards per punt ... Also played soccer and baseball.
Personal Information: A co-term student working on his Masters and Bachelors degrees in Communication ... Also has minors in History and Psychology ... Member of the National Honor Society.
Getting To Know Jay Ottovegio
Nickname: Thunder
My favorite pre-game ritual is: Taking a shower
My favorite stadium in which to play is: Hate to say it, but Notre Dame Stadium
The reason I chose Stanford University is: Best athletics and academics in the country
Since coming to Stanford, I have learned: A lot
The best thing about Stanford is: The people
My favorite class at Stanford is: Being Heard in the Age of New Media
The sports team I followed when I was younger: Miami Dolphins
Best book I have read: The Da Vinci Code
Favorite Food: Spaghetti
Least Favorite Food: Tofu
If I had to cook all of my meals, I'd probably survive on: PB&J and spaghetti
Favorite Movies: Gladiator, Fight Club, Basic Instinct, Ladder 49
Favorite TV Show: 24
Favorite Actress: Scarlett Johansson
My ultimate SportsCenter highlight would be: Fake punt and run for a TD
Favorite musical group or performer: Linkin Park
If I were not playing college football, I would be: At college somewhere else
After my Stanford career, I'd like to be remembered as: The best punter in Stanford's history
The best advice I ever received was: If you don't mind, it don't matter
The favorite place I've visited: Spain
Hobbies: Golf, cycling and learning the guitar
Ten years from now, I'd like to be: Playing in the NFL
If I won $1 million, I would: Buy a car and invest the rest.
Last Updated: December 18, 2007