The Oregon Ducks have added another transfer player for the 2023 season, this time in the form of a punter. Hailing from Newcastle, Australia, Matthew Rigney announced Tuesday morning that in 2023, he will be an Oregon Duck.
For the last two seasons, Rigney played for Austin Peay State, and before that, he played a season at Middle Tennessee. In 2022, Rigney averaged 40.89 yards per punt on 44 kicks. His longest punt of the season was 57 yards and 8 of those 44 kicks were downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.
Currently, the Ducks starting punter is Luke Dunne, who like Rigney is Australian. Dunne committed to Oregon back in December of 2022. Dunne is also a product of ProKick Australia, a special teams program that has produced NFL talent. Before Rigney’s commitment, Dunne was the projected starter for 2023, though now it is unclear who will shoulder the punting burden.
In 2022, Oregon struggled to punt the football. Throughout the season, four different punters were used and together, they combined for an average of 39.41 yards per punt. Whether it is Rigney, Dunne, or someone else taking the majority of the punts in 2023, hopefully, they will add some consistency to the Ducks’ special teams unit.
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