Hustle Hall of Fame Inductee: Brad Maynard

If you’ve been keeping up with the Hustle Hall of Fame over the last few weeks, you are aware of what’s happening. Fan voting has decided the first of two entrants for each MAC member to craft an inaugural Class of 2017 for the Hustle Hall of Fame. Next up to be inducted for the Ball State Cardinals is punter Brad Maynard.

Bonzi Wells was the other Ball State inductee to the Class of 2017.

I know what you’re thinking: this guy is a punter. Why is he being included on here?

As there’s been conversation about potentially removing kickoffs and extra points from the game, appreciation for the art of the kick and the punt has been mostly lost to the other, more highlight-catching parts of the game.

Brad Maynard, over the span of his Ball State career, was one of the greatest to put his actual foot to the ball in Mid-American Conference history.

From 1993 to 1996, Maynard turned the field around at a dangerous efficiency, averaging 44.2 yards per game over his career. Maynard was a power punter and an accurate one to boot, accumulating 10,702 yards on 242 punts. In his final two years, he was a consensus All-American and won MAC Defensive Player of the Year in 1996.

His professional career was about as close as one can get to being prolific in the National Football League. Maynard was drafted by the New York Giants in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft and had a 15-year career with three teams, spending 10 with the Chicago Bears. Maynard collected 1,339 punts for 56,021 yards (fourth all-time) over 239 games, averaging 41.2 yards per punt and participated in Super Bowl XLI in 2006 before retiring in 2007 as a Cleveland Brown.

Over the course of his career, Maynard only had five blocked punts and played in all but two games. For nearly 20 years, Maynard put on a clinic with his right foot and showed just how valuable the field position game is.

That hard work won't go unnoticed. Hes got a spot in our inaugural Hustle Hall of Fame.