DeKALB – Northern Illinois punter Ryan Neir isn’t near the top of the national rankings for average punting distance. In fact, he’s 116th out of 199 qualified punters with his 37.8 yards a punt.

But coach Dave Doeren and special teams coordinator Mike Uremovich don’t seem to care one bit. That’s because the Huskies are fifth in the nation in opponents’ return yards a punt, with an average of only 2 yards.

“There’s some punters that are going to punt it 60 yards, and there’s huge potential for a return on that. I’m going to be like 35 to 50 and it’s going to be a very small return,” Neir said. “We’ve faced some really good punt returners, and keeping it away from them and limiting their returns is kind of my style.”