NASHVILLE – Ryan Stonehouse wasn't sure what to expect heading into the NFL Draft back in April.
The strong-legged punter, who became the NCAA career record holder for gross punting average (47.8) while at Colorado State, had no idea where he'd eventually end up.
But he was encouraged by the consistent contact from the Titans throughout the draft process, mainly from special teams coaches Craig Aukerman and Chase Blackburn.
When Stonehouse went undrafted, he knew where he wanted to sign.
"It wasn't necessarily that I had anywhere I was really looking at," Stonehouse said. "Obviously with the draft, it is so unpredictable. But I picked here for a couple of reasons: One, I loved the coaching staff here, and Chase and Craig were with me the whole time … in terms of communication and stuff. So, I really valued that in the whole process."
Stonehouse also felt like he had a chance to compete – and win the starting job – in Tennessee.
Ultimately, he ended up doing just that.
In Sunday's regular season opener against the Giants, Stonehouse will be the team's punter after an impressive offseason and preseason.
The Titans chose Stonehouse over long-time punter Brett Kern, who was released last week.
Kern joined the Titans back in 2009, and he was the team's punter the past 13 seasons. Kern is the organization's all-time leading punter, with 923 career punts, and he's the team's all-time career leader in gross punting average (45.9 yards), net punting average (40.8) and punts placed inside the 20 (373). Kern owns the top nine net punting seasons in franchise history and six of the team's top eight gross punting seasons.
"It was exciting," Stonehouse said of the competition. "I felt like it was a great opportunity that I worked hard for, and I felt like I earned it."
Stonehouse put in a lot of work since joining the team back in May.
While he continued to work on his punting, he also spent countless hours working on handling snaps for field goals, which had been a part of Kern's job. Before every practice, Stonehouse was out on the practice field early, taking snaps from the JUGS machine, one after another.
In games, he was impressive. Stonehouse averaged 50.2 yards, with a 41.3-yard net, on his 13 punts during the preseason while placing six of them inside the 20. He hit a pair of 64-yard bombs.
Along the way, he also watched Kern.
"I learned a lot (from him) honestly," Stonehouse said. "Most of the stuff I learned from Brett was just how he handled himself. I have a lot of respect for Brett and what he did and just seeing how he handled his practice routine and how he practiced holding and just some of the little details, and just how he carried himself, those are the things I took mental notes of and picked up and hope to have in my game."
Stonehouse, who punted for 11,656 yards in his college career (that's 6.62 miles), hit 106 punts of 50-plus yards at Colorado State, including an 81-yard punt in a game against Vanderbilt. He also tallied 90 punts inside the 20-yard line.
Now, he's set to begin his NFL career on Sunday.
Stonehouse is thankful for the opportunity.
He's also thankful for what he learned from Kern, and his recent words of encouragement.
"He wished me luck," Stonehouse said of Kern. "He told me: Congrats. We talked the other day, too. I told him going forward: I hope this is a great relationship that we have. I learned a lot from Brett, and I have the utmost respect for him."
