Matt Dodge biography
Date of birth : 1987-05-30
Date of death : -
Birthplace : Morehead City, North Carolina
Nationality : American
Category : Sports
Last modified : 2010-09-23
Credited as : Football player NFL, punter for the New York Giants, Pro Bowl/NFL Draft player
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CAREER NOTES
* Played in 41 games at East Carolina, punting 220 times for 9,583 yards (43.6-yard avg.) with 3 kicks blocked, a long of 73 yards, 31 touchbacks, 27 kicks that resulted in fair catches, 68 punts that were downed inside the 20-yard line and 22 others for 50 yards or longer…His net average with the Pirates was 36.8 yards…Including his freshman season at Appalachian State, Dodge played in 53 college games and punted 261 times for 11,209 yards (42.9-yard avg.) with 34 touchbacks, 34 fair catches, 73 downed inside the 20-yard line and 73 more for 50 yards or longer…Career net average was 36.4 yards…Recorded 6 solo tackles and carried 5 times for 37 yards during his time at ECU…Kicked off 137 times for an average distance of 60.5 yards, with 10 touchbacks and 5 out of bounds…Had 81 of his ECU punts returned for 860 yards (10.6-yard avg.) and 2 touchdowns…In his college career, 94 of his kicks were returned for 1,023 yards (10.9-yard avg.)…Holds 2 of the top 5 punt yardage marks on the Conference USA single season record list, ranking 4th with 3,307 yards in 2007 and 5th with 3,207 yards in 2008…His ECU yardage total of 9,583 yards rank 2nd in Conference USA and school history, topped by only the Pirates' Ryan Dougherty (10,112 yards, 2003-06)…His average of 45.8 yards in 2009 rank 3rd on the league's single-season list behind Andrew Bayes of East Carolina (48.1-yard avg. in 1999) and Brad Hill of Tulane (46.2-yard avg. in 1997)…His 80 punts for the Pirates in 2007 tied Mark Haulman of Southern Mississippi (2002) 2nd on the Conference USA list, surpassed by Blake Clingan of Central Florida (88 in 2008), and were the most by a Pirates punter in a season since Billy Wightman's 84 kicks in 1968…His 220 punts at East Carolina rank fifth in league history…Dodge's 73-yard punts in the 2008 Tulsa and 2009 Memphis contests rank as the 7th-longest kicks in school history.
2009 SEASON
* All-America 1st-team selection by The NFL Draft Report and 2nd team choice by College Football News, Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News…Third team selection by Rivals.com and honorable mention from Pro Football Weekly…First-team All-Conference USA choice…Named to the 2009 College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) Watch List for the nation's top punter...Two-time CFPA Punter-of-the-Week (vs. West Virginia and Memphis) and picked up CFPA Kickoff Specialist Performer-of-the-Week honors vs. North Carolina…Led the league and ranked 2nd in the nation with a 45.8-yard average, the 3rd-best season mark by a Conference USA punter…Punted 67 times for 3,069 yards, becoming just the 2nd punter in league history to generate over 3,000 yards punting 3 times in a career…Had one attempt blocked (vs. Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl) and matched his career-long with a 73-yard kick vs. Memphis…Had 7 of his punts result in touchbacks, 7 others called for as fair catches, 24 kicks downed inside the 20-yard line (including 3 downed inside the 5-yard line and 11 inside the 10-yard line) and 22 others that went for at least 50 yards…Had 26 of his punts returned for 277 yards (10.6-yard avg.), finishing with a 39.6-yard net average, 7th-best in the nation…
Recorded 4 solo tackles and rushed twice for 17 yards…Kicked off 62 times for an average distance of 61.6 yards, with 6 touchbacks.
2008 SEASON
* Ranked second in Conference USA and 14th in the nation with a 43.9-yard average on 73 punts for 3,207 yards (the 5th-highest total in league history)…Had 25 punts for 50 yards or longer and 20 others that were downed inside the 20-yard line…
13 kicks resulted in touchbacks and opponents called for fair catches on 8 others… Recorded 2 solo tackles, as he had 26 punts returned for an average of 7.0 yards, finishing 10th in the nation while leading the league with a 37.9-yard net average…Had 71 kickoffs for a distance average of 59.6 yards with 4 touchbacks…Just missed on a 41-yard field goal attempt vs. Tulane, but did kick an extra point vs. the Green Wave.
2007 SEASON
* Officially joined the ECU program in January 2007...Took over punting duties, as his 80 kicks rank 2nd on the school single-season list and his 3,307 yards set a school record and ranked 4th on the Conference USA chart…Had 16 kicks for 50 yards or longer and 24 that were downed inside the 20-yard line…Two of his attempts were blocked, 11 resulted in touchbacks and 12 were called for fair catches…Had 29 punts returned for 400 yards (13.8-yard avg.) and 2 touchdowns…Rushed 3 times for 20 yards (6.7-yard avg.) and kicked off 4 times for 242 yards.
2006 SEASON
* Attended ECU but was not a member of the football program.
2005 SEASON
* Played in 12 games as the primary punter at Appalachian State…Had 41 kicks for 1,626 yards (39.7-yard avg.) that included 10 punts for over 50 yards and 5 boots that were downed inside the 20-yard line…One punt was ruled a touchback and 7 others resulted in fair catches…Only 13 of his kicks were returned for 163 yards (12.5-yard avg.)…Against Northern Iowa in the NCAA Division I-AA National Championship Game, Dodge punted 7 times for 293 yards (41.9-yard avg.) while placing 3 inside the 20-yard line.
HIGH SCHOOL
* Attended West Carteret (N.C.) High School…Two-time All-State kicker and punter, lettering 3 times…Was rated one of the top 10 punters in the nation by The Gridiron Report and participated in the 2004 North Carolina/South Carolina Shrine Bowl and the North Carolina East/West All-Star Game…Received academic achievement honors as a junior and senior and was named Class President as a freshman and senior.
