Tuesday Transfer Portal Report: Blake Ochsendorf/Prior Lake (2017) Free
PRIOR LAKE– After two years of starting for the Dragons of Minnesota State-Moorhead at punter, Former Prior Lake boomer Blake Ochsendorf is looking for a new home and has entered the transfer portal. Last season as a sophomore, Blake hit 66 punts for an average of 40 yards, improving 5 yards from his freshmen season with the Dragons. 14 of those punts were inside the 20-yard line, and his booming leg hit 13 punts/almost 20% of those punts over 50 yards. Ochsendorf will have 3 years left on his punting resume, so if you are in demand for a 6’6 225-pound punter Blake is quite possibly one of the top punters left in the transfer portal. Here are takes on Ochsendorf on Ochsendorf on why he could be key to your program.
Show Me What I’m Looking For
As for what kind of program Ochsendorf is looking for, he’s looking to play college football somewhere that accepts him as part of their football family the minute Blake walks through their doors.
Elevator Pitch
As for his elevator pitch, we were able, to sum up, what Ochsendorf had told us when he was up-selling his next program:
Blake has a big frame for a punter which is a great advantage of having someone durable punting for you. Blake has played in about two seasons of college games, which is another advantage having gotten of live-action in his first two years at Moorhead. He also has potential, being still relatively new to punting so the potential is there for even more improvement! Blake also wants specialists he can learn from too, in which he has a team-first mindset you can learn from anyone on the specialists’ depth chart.
Blake’s Strengths
As far as strengths, Ochsendorf can play football on the fly. “Bad snaps, recognizing the return and needing to place the ball in a new spot, or sudden weather changes are all things Ochsendorf has dealt with strongly in his first two years at Moorhead and is a player that can avoid havoc from happening on special teams. Ochsendorf also plays with the “next play mentality” which for example while some dwell on it and think about it too much, Ochsendorf as the ability if that happens to be on to the next one.
Blake’s Mentor
Ochsendorf was a late bloomer when it came to punting. While most prospects we write about for PRZ Minnesota started their freshmen or sophomore year with well-known kicking mentor Chris Husby, Ochsendorf didn’t start that process till before the start of his senior year at Prior Lake. Husby, who is co-owner of National Kicking Rankings and owner of the Special Teams Football Academy, “stuck it out” with Ochsendorf and even as a late bloomer gave him a 5-star rating, which means Blake’s skill level as a punter was equivalent for playing high-level divisions (1 and 2) football. It was because of Husby, that Blake landed an offer to play at Minnesota State-Moorhead for two seasons.
Learning About Yourself as a Player at the College Level
“I’ve learned there is little room for error while playing for any level of college football,” Ochsendorf said about the competition level that college football offers. Ochsendorf also told PRZ Minnesota it’s extremely “humbling” to have the opportunity to play college football and build life long relationships with his teammates.
Excitement About His Next Steps
“Stepping into the unknown,” Ochsendorf said is the most exciting part about being in the portal and transitioning to a new football program. The unfortunate impression of the transfer portal is, that players leave because they didn’t like their team or they want to get back at their team. That is not the case at all for Ochsendorf, who wants to chase a dream of playing college football at a higher level program. Blake’s 100% aware that if that doesn’t work out, he’ll be appreciative of every opportunity he’s been given and the life lessons he’ll learn with those opportunities.
A Late Bloomer
At Prior Lake, Ochsendorf was used to playing more physically demanding positions for the Lakers. A few stress fractures in the low vertebrae of his back caused him to leave that role at those positions, but kept him in football landing a spot as Prior Lakes full-time punter which he has carried it well through this day!
You can watch Blake’s sophomore year at Moorhead here and watch how his long leg can hit some bombs #ForTheBrand!