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DeCamillis raves about punter draft class, discusses Jaguars' decision to go with Cooke over Nortman

Jaguars special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis spoke to Alex Marvez and Gil Brandt during their show, Late Hits, on Sirius XM NFL Radio Monday.

The last few days have brought a whirlwind of change to the Jaguars' special teams unit.

Along with collecting a handful of potential special teams aces during the draft, the Jaguars selected Mississippi State punter Logan Cooke with their final pick.

Just two days later, the team released veteran punter Brad Nortman. The rookie, Cooke, is now the only punter on the depth chart.

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Jaguars special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis spoke to Alex Marvez and Gil Brandt during their show, Late Hits, on Sirius XM NFL Radio Monday. During the interview, DeCamillis told Marvez and Brandt that the decision to move on from Nortman wasn't an easy one for the Jaguars.

“Obviously, it’s not a great situation when you have to release any veteran,” DeCamillis said. “Brad has been in the league for seven years. It’s not something that you tread on lightly, that’s for sure."

While Nortman's proven ability gave the Jaguars stability, the team felt it could improve the position. DeCamillis evaluated the punter prospects heading into the selection process and came away impressed with the group as a whole.

"We feel like with Logan and with some of the other guys that were involved in the draft – I don’t remember a draft that had the quality of punters that there were here in this draft,” DeCamillis said.

The Jaguars feel like Cooke gives them upside at the punter position. The 22-year-old rookie averaged 41.7 yards per punt and produced 60 attempts that were downed inside the 20-yard line during his college career.

DeCamillis has a history of favoring and developing young specialists. During his first stint with the Jaguars, DeCamillis similarly replaced veteran Chris Hanson with then-fourth-round pick Adam Podlesh in 2007.

The longtime NFL coordinator is excited about his new young specialist. Cooke has traits that DeCamillis believes will enhance the Jaguars' punting game this season and beyond.

“It was a situation where we felt like we could upgrade ourselves,” DeCamillis said.

“[Cooke] is a heck of an athlete. He’s got a real good knack for putting the ball inside the 10. When you talk about the 20s, anyone can do that. I think he’s got a heck of a chance to be a good player for us.”

Follow Mike Kaye on Twitter at @Mike_E_Kaye.

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