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Sam Koch (pronounced COOK) was the 230th selection (6th round) of the 2006 NFL Draft...Koch is the 1st-ever Raven drafted from Nebraska and the 2nd punter taken by Baltimore (Dave Zastudil - 4a, 112th overall in 2002) in franchise history.
Highlights:
Was Nebraska's punter in 2004-05 after solely holding KO duties for 7 games in 2003...Played in 30 career games, 23 of which came as the Huskers' No. 1 punter...He racked up a career punting average of 44.1 yards (with 56 kicks inside the 20 and a long of 84 yards) to finish 3rd in school annals...As a senior, Koch put together the best campaign ever at his position in school history, as he broke the single-season punting average mark with a 46.5-yard average in 2005...Koch's average ranked 2nd nationally and helped Nebraska to a No. 2 national ranking in net punting (39.9 avg.)...As a senior, Koch was a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award and earned a 1stteam All-American nod by NationalChamps.net...Was also a 1st-team All-Big 12 pick (Kansas City Star), 2nd-team All-Big 12 selection (San Antonio Express News) and honorable mention All- Conference honoree by the Associated Press and Big 12 Coaches.
Pro Career:
"He's a guy that (special teams coordinator) Frank Gansz (brought in)," director of college scouting Eric DeCosta said. "We had issued a challenge to Frank to go ahead and find a punter and find a guy that (he likes). Interestingly enough, (Koch) was not invited to the Combine. This was a guy that (Gansz) recommended. The nice thing about Sam is that he also kicks off. He's got a good leg. He'll compete with Leo (Araguz) for the punter position and also compete with Aaron Elling to be the kickoff guy."
College Career:
2005: In his senior year, Koch posted a stellar campaign by breaking Nebraska's single-season punting average with a 46.5-yard mark, placing 29 boots inside the 20 and launching a long of 84 yards...The 2005 average bested the previous record of 45.1 yards per punt by current Bengals P Kyle Larson in 2003...Finished the year ranked 2nd nationally in punting average, he guided the Huskers special teams to a No. 2 collegiate ranking in net punting (39.9 avg.)...A semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, he earned 1st-team All-America honors by NationalChamps.net and 1st-team All- Big 12 accolades (Kansas City Star)...Koch was also a 2nd-team all-conference selection by the San Antonio Express News and an honorable-mention All-League choice by the Associated Press and the Big 12 coaches...In the Huskers' 1st 3 contests, Koch kicked 3 punts of 70 yards or more to become only the 2nd punter in school history with 3 kicks of 70 yards or more...One of his top boots on the year came on a 76-yard blast in a win over Wake Forest (9/10) when he stuck the Demon Deacons at their own 8-yard line...Against Pitt (9/17), Koch placed 5 of his 8 punts inside the Panthers' 20-yard line, and delivered a career-long 84-yarder, the 2nd-longest punt in school history and the longest in Big 12 history...That performance earned him Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week...In his collegiate finale in the 2005 Alamo Bowl (12/28), Koch posted a 51.5-yard average on 8 punts against Michigan, including 5 50-plus yarders.
2004: In his initial season with punting duties for Nebraska, Koch averaged 41.3 yards on 63 punts, with a long of 65 yards while placing 27 inside the 20...Koch had 40 punts that traveled 40 yards or more...The Huskers posted a No. 16 national ranking in net punting at 38.4 yards per attempt...He connected on at least 1 punt of 50 yards or more in 8 of 11 contests and surpassed the 48-yard barrier in every single game...He had a season-high 5 punts downed inside the 20 against Missouri (10/30).
2003: Koch backed up Kyle Larson at punter in 2003, but did not attempt a punt. He was the Huskers' KO specialist for the 2nd half of the season...Booted 18 of his 32 KOs for TBs, and in his final 6 games, opponents had just 10 returns totaling 165 yards.
2002: Koch did not see game action, but served as the backup punter.
2001: Redshirted as a freshman.
Personal:
A versatile athlete in high school, Koch played LB, FB and TE along with taking on all his team's kicking duties...He also played soccer, basketball and baseball... A former walk-on, he received a scholarship at Nebraska before the start of the 2004 season... Earned a degree in business administration in December of 2005...He was named to the 2005 2nd-team Academic All-Big 12 squad and the 2005 Big 12 Commissioner's Spring and Fall Academic Honor Roll...He and his wife, Nikki, were married in May of 2005...The couple has 2 children, Ryan (7) and Braxtyn (2)...Name is pronounced: COOK...Full name: Sam D. Koch. | 