As far as college punters go, they don’t come much more accomplished than Ohio State Univerity’s Cameron Johnston.
But that doesn’t mean Johnston’s perfect. And despite an almost faultless performance, it was the one mistake he did make which received the most attention.
Regular viewers of ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast will be familiar with the “C’mon man!” segment, where each of the show’s panellists highlight a player who has made a blunder.
Johnston was featured during the build-up to the Bengals-Texans game on Tuesday (AEDT) for a questionable decision during the second quarter against Illinois.
Called out to punt after the Buckeyes finished just one yard short of a first down on their own 44-yard line, Johnston received the ball and moved out to his right.
But he was so focused on sending another perfect punt down field he failed to realise all of the members of the Illinois coverage unit had charged down field — leaving him plenty of running room to make the one yard needed for a first down.
Former star Denver Broncos defender Tom Jackson took Johnston to task for the blooper. “Ohio State, number three in the country, playing Illinois. They could be number two in the country if Cameron Johnston would realise he could get this fourth-and-one by just running the ball,” Jackson said.
“Everybody (is) running away from the line of scrimmage. Cameron, whatever you do, do not punt the ball. C’mon man!”
Read more at FoxSports.com.au
