Matthew Hayball: P · Vanderbilt · #45.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Vanderbilt’s specialists
Matthew Hayball
Flips the field and drops it inside the 20 — no weakness to punt around. The five seasons span two programs and three head coaches: Lane Kiffin, Willie Taggart and Clark Lea. The first career honor came in 2023: All-SEC.
Play style
Flips the field and drops it inside the 20 — no weakness to punt around.
Punter archetype · season enumeration
Leg vs placement
47.6 gross, but 25 of 58 inside the 20 (43.1%) — a pinner. pinner
Net average is unavailable — no per-punt return-yardage linkage exists in the source data.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
On3 Oct 25
PennLive Oct 17Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | PUNT | YDS | AVG | LONG | IN20 | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 35-28vs Hawai'i | 3 | 161 | 53.7 | 71 | 0 | |
| Wk 1 | W 47-13vs Alabama A&M | 2 | 106 | 53.0 | 54 | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | L 20-36@ Wake Forest | 2 | 111 | 55.5 | 63 | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | L 37-40@ UNLV | 3 | 153 | 51.0 | 58 | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | L 28-45vs Kentucky | 7 | 352 | 50.3 | 62 | 6 | |
| Wk 5 | L 21-38vs No. 23 Missouri | 6 | 288 | 48.0 | 64 | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | L 14-38@ Florida | 5 | 232 | 46.4 | 60 | 2 | |
| Wk 7 | L 20-37vs No. 1 Georgia | 4 | 167 | 41.8 | 46 | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 7-33@ No. 12 Ole Miss | 4 | 206 | 51.5 | 64 | 2 | |
| Wk 10 | L 15-31vs Auburn | 8 | 359 | 44.9 | 59 | 2 | |
| Wk 11 | L 6-47@ South Carolina | 7 | 321 | 45.9 | 54 | 5 | |
| Wk 13 | L 24-48@ No. 25 Tennessee | 7 | 303 | 43.3 | 57 | 4 | |
| Total | 58 | 2759 | 47.6 | 71 | 25 |
Season context: team record and system
Punter profile · Distance and placement
Where his punts land, not just how far
Inside the 20
43%25 of 58Touchback rate
7%4 of 58Yards / punt
47.658 puntsLong
71yards47.6 yards/punt on 58 punts · 43% placed inside the 20 · 4 touchbacks.
Player standing · 2023
First team in his league at the position.
Vanderbilt carries two punters; Hayball has taken all 58 punts.
How it ended
Five seasons, at Florida Atlantic and Vanderbilt, a first-team All-Conference season (2023) — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 58 games over five seasons.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-SEC · 1ST TEAM
All-SEC 1st team (2023)
Coaching lineage · 2019–2023
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Lane Kiffin, Willie Taggart and Clark Lea.
From Adelaide, SA — one of 84 Australians punting in FBS this season.
