Ben Skaer

NEW MEXICO: A veteran leader who showed vast improvement in 2012 … added distance to his ability to hit directionally … great poise under pressure … could be one of the nation’s best punters in 2013 … is the leader of the special teams punters, kickers and deep snappers … an Academic All-Mountain West selection in 2012 as well as a 2012-2013 MW Scholar-Athlete … last name is pronounced SCARE.

2013 (SENIOR): Was one of 25 punters named to theRay Guy Award Preseason watch listthat goes annually to the nation’s top collegiate punter … named preseason first team All-Mountain West by Bleacher Report, College Sports Madness, Athlon Sports and Phil Steele … broke a 59-year old school record for single-season punting average by recording 45.8 yards per kick on 47 punts … owns the first and sixth best punting seasons in school history now (43.9 avg. in 2012) … placed fifth in the country in yards per kick and helped the Lobos place 15^th in the nation in net punting at 39.44 … named First Team All-Mountain West for his performance … set new career marks in punts inside the 20 with 20 and punts of 50 or more yards with 19 … started the season off with a bang against UTSA in the opener by averaging 47 yards on seven kicks … had three punts of 50+ yards and down four inside the 20, including two at the 1-yard line … punted three times vs. UNLV on Sept. 28 and averaged 45.0 yards … boomed a 53-yard punt that was downed inside the 20 vs. New Mexico State on Oct. 5 … had a tremendous game at Wyoming on Oct. 12 as he punted five times for an average of 51.2 yards and placed three inside the 20 … had a season-long 61-yard boot as part of a seven-punt performance against Utah St. on Oct. 19 … averaged 48.7 yards per kick against the Aggies … did not punt in back-to-back games against Air Force and Colorado State on Nov. 8 and 16 … tied his season long with a 61-yard kick at Fresno State on Nov. 23 while placing four inside the 20 and having four longer than 50 yards … finished his career by averaging 41.9 yards per punt on 259 kicks … he had 71 punts downed inside the 20 and 54 longer than 50 yards … only had 20 punts go for touchbacks in his career.

2012 (JUNIOR): An All-Mountain West honorable mention … finished as the No. 17 punter in the nation with a 43.85-yard average per punt and helped UNM lead the Mountain West and rank 24th nationally in net punting with a 39.0-yard average … earned Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week honors in the season finale against Colorado State … punted five times for a 50.4-yard average with one touchback after a 64-yard punt and three other punts inside the CSU 10 … his performance also earned him his third straight College Football Performance Award honorable mention … was named College Football Performance Award honorable mention for the second straight week following his game against Nevada on Nov. 17 … punted five times and averaged 46.6 yards per kick, including a long of 55 yards, against the Wolf Pack … earned College Football Performance Award honorable mention for his performance against Wyoming on Nov. 10 … punted four times against the Cowboys, including a career-long 69 yard punt, averaged 48.8 yards per kick and placed two inside the 20 … also had a 51-yard punt against Wyoming, giving him a new career-high with 11 kicks over 50 yards in 2012 … booted five punts a total of 209 yards for an average of 41.8 against UNLV on Nov. 3 … had a long of 51 against the Rebels and placed one kick inside the 5-yard line … punted six times against Fresno State on Oct. 27 and averaged 45.5 yards per kick … placed two kicks inside the 20 and had a long of 60 yards … was only called on to punt twice versus Air Force on Oct. 20, booming a 45-yarder in the third quarter and a 40-yarder in the first … recorded a long of 51 against the Broncos, the fourth straight game he has booted one at least 50 yards, and his sixth punt of at least 50 yards this season … punted four times for an average of 45.2 yards against New Mexico State on Sept. 22 … recorded a long of 59 yards and had one punt downed inside the 20 against NMSU … his excellent placement of his punts helped limit the Aggies’ return game as they only had six total yards on three punt returns … had a tremendous game at Texas Tech, booting seven punts for an average of 47 yards … kicked a 65-yarder against the Red Raiders, and tied his third-best mark of 58 yards as well … his directional punting helped limit Texas Tech to six total return yards on his seven punts … made his season debut against Texas on Sept. 8 after he was not called on to punt in the season-opening win over Southern … punted five times totaling 196 yards against the Longhorns, recording a 39.2 average … had a long of 51 and placed one punt inside the 20.

2011 (SOPHOMORE):Played a big role in 2011, punting the ball 73 times for 2,896 yards and an average of 39.7 yards per punt…landed 19 inside the 20 and had 10 efforts of more than 50 yards…hit a season-best 56 yards twice, including one in the season finale at No. 8 Boise State…best effort came in week five against New Mexico State when he averaged 43.3 yards on six attempts but landed four inside the Aggies’ 20 and hit three of 50 yards or more…best day statistically came in week four against Sam Houston State, averaging 44.3 yards on six punts.

2010 (FRESHMAN): Emerged as a key weapon for New Mexico in 2010…had 85 punts for 3,442 yards and a 40.5-yard average…had a career-long punt of 59 yards against Colorado State…finished the year with 12 punts of 50+ yards and 18 kicks inside the 20…eight kicks for a 43.6-yard average against Utah, seven for 43.4 at Colorado State, five for 43.2 against Texas Tech and 10 for 42.5 against Texas Tech.

HIGH SCHOOL: Two-time first team all-conference punter and kicker from this Illinois high school located southeast of St. Louis, Mo…at the Kicking.com Combine Series in Houston in January of 2010, Skaer charted 1st with a 4.2-second hang time and 42-yard average on 10 punts…all-state kicker as a junior and honorable mention all-state punter and kicker after his senior season…had a 41-yard average on 41 punts and converted 32 PATs and 5-of-6 FGs with a long of 48 yards as a senior…team captain who also saw time at wide receiver and safety…Illinois Football Coaches Association all-state team as a junior…three-year starter for head coach Dan Rose, but his kicking coach was 10-year NFL veteran Louie Aguilar (1991-2000 with Jets, Chiefs, Packers, Bears)…career punting average was 39.6 yards, plus 10 field goals and 76 extra points…had a 3.63 cumulative GPA.

PERSONAL: Born March 9, 1991, in Belleville, Ill…full name is Benjamin Garrett Skaer…son of Daryl and Lisa…an avid outdoorsman…interested in Business or Mechanical Engineering at UNM.

SKAER CAREER STATS