Jeremy Boone
Encyclopedia
Jeremy Allen Boone is a collegiate American football
punter for Penn State. He is currently the starting punter for the Penn State Nittany Lions
.
, playing football
, baseball
, and basketball
. In addition to punting, he also played wide receiver
and safety for the football team. In his senior season, he was named all-state as a punter, and was named to the all-conference teams in all three sports.
as a walk-on, Boone redshirted
his freshman
season in 2005
, and spent the 2006 season
backing-up up Ray Guy Award
-finalist and future NFL
punter, Jeremy Kapinos
.
Boone became the starter in 2007
, punting 59 times for an average of 43 yards-per-punt for the season—the third-best season for a punter in Penn State history. He led the conference in punting that season and named first-team All-Big Ten
. He was also earned Academic All-Big Ten and Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars honors.
He began the 2008 season
on the Athlon Sports and College Football News
pre-season All-Big Ten
lists. He would again average 43 yards-per-punt and lead the conference in punting, earning honorable mention All-Big Ten honors and was named an ESPN The Magazine
CoSIDA Academic All-District and Academic All-Big Ten. Boone had 15 punts inside the 20 yard line in 2008, but only had 39 total kicks that season, which was too few to qualify for him national ranking. He was an inaugural recipient of a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award for the 2008-09 academic year.
Boone continued with strong performances in 2009
. After 5 games, he led the Big Ten with a 48.8-yard average on 15 punts, with seven landing inside the 20 yard line. He led all conference punters by more than three yards per punt. These statistics would rank him #2 in the nation, but he did not meet the NCAA's 3.6 punts per game minimum to be considered. He was named Big Ten
Special Teams Player of the Week following his performance in week 5 versus Illinois
members. He has participated in the Penn State Dance Marathon
and in events for the Make-a-Wish Foundation
, the Pennsylvania Special Olympics
, and Habitat for Humanity International
, among others. Boone is a member of Penn State's Student-Athlete Advisory Board and was selected to attend the 2009 NCAA
National Student-Athlete Development Conference in Orlando, Florida
. He earned a Bachelor of Arts
in elementary education from Penn State in May 2009.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
punter for Penn State. He is currently the starting punter for the Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State Nittany Lions football
The Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...
.
Early years
Boone was a three-sport athlete at Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School in Mechanicsburg, PennsylvaniaMechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Mechanicsburg is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, USA, eight miles west of Harrisburg. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Mechanicsburg was settled in 1806 and incorporated as a borough on April 12, 1828...
, playing football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. In addition to punting, he also played wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
and safety for the football team. In his senior season, he was named all-state as a punter, and was named to the all-conference teams in all three sports.
College career
Arriving at Penn StatePenn State Nittany Lions football
The Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...
as a walk-on, Boone redshirted
Redshirt (college sports)
Redshirt is a term used in American college athletics that refers to a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility...
his freshman
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
season in 2005
2005 Penn State Nittany Lions football team
The 2005 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2005–2006 college football season. The team's head coach was Joe Paterno...
, and spent the 2006 season
2006 Penn State Nittany Lions football team
The 2006 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2006–2007 college football season. The team's head coach was Joe Paterno. It played its home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania....
backing-up up Ray Guy Award
Ray Guy Award
The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to college football's top punter by the Greater Augusta Sports Council. The award is named after punter Ray Guy, a former All-American at Southern Mississippi and an all-pro player for the Oakland Raiders.-Criteria:...
-finalist and future NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
punter, Jeremy Kapinos
Jeremy Kapinos
Jeremy D. Kapinos is an American football punter for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was first signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2007...
.
Boone became the starter in 2007
2007 Penn State Nittany Lions football team
The 2007 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2007 college football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania....
, punting 59 times for an average of 43 yards-per-punt for the season—the third-best season for a punter in Penn State history. He led the conference in punting that season and named first-team All-Big Ten
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
. He was also earned Academic All-Big Ten and Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars honors.
He began the 2008 season
2008 Penn State Nittany Lions football team
The 2008 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the 2008 college football season. The team is coached by Joe Paterno and plays its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.-Previous season:...
on the Athlon Sports and College Football News
College Football News
College Football News is a magazine and website published by College Football News, Inc., headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. News coverage includes scores, statistics, rankings, and reports on college football games. Analysis includes comparisons between teams, predictions of game outcomes and...
pre-season All-Big Ten
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
lists. He would again average 43 yards-per-punt and lead the conference in punting, earning honorable mention All-Big Ten honors and was named an ESPN The Magazine
ESPN The Magazine
ESPN The Magazine is a bi-weekly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut in the United States. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998....
CoSIDA Academic All-District and Academic All-Big Ten. Boone had 15 punts inside the 20 yard line in 2008, but only had 39 total kicks that season, which was too few to qualify for him national ranking. He was an inaugural recipient of a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award for the 2008-09 academic year.
Boone continued with strong performances in 2009
2009 Penn State Nittany Lions football team
The 2009 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the 2009 college football season. The team is coached by Joe Paterno and plays its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. Penn State had the highest graduation rate among all of...
. After 5 games, he led the Big Ten with a 48.8-yard average on 15 punts, with seven landing inside the 20 yard line. He led all conference punters by more than three yards per punt. These statistics would rank him #2 in the nation, but he did not meet the NCAA's 3.6 punts per game minimum to be considered. He was named Big Ten
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
Special Teams Player of the Week following his performance in week 5 versus Illinois
2009 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
The 2009 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois during the 2009–2010 college football season. The team's head football coach was Ron Zook. The Illini played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. This was Ron Zook's fifth season as the...
Personal
Boone is one the Nittany Lions' most philanthropicPhilanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
members. He has participated in the Penn State Dance Marathon
Penn State Dance Marathon
The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, commonly referred to as THON, is a two day Dance Marathon that takes place every February at the Pennsylvania State University with the purpose of raising money to combat pediatric cancer...
and in events for the Make-a-Wish Foundation
Make-A-Wish Foundation
The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501 non-profit organization founded in the United States that grants wishes to children who have life-threatening medical conditions. The charity now operates in forty-seven countries around the world through thirty-six affiliate offices.The president & CEO of this...
, the Pennsylvania Special Olympics
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....
, and Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat For Humanity International , generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or simply Habitat, is an international, non-governmental, non-profit organization devoted to building "simple, decent, and affordable" housing, a self-described "Christian housing ministry." The international...
, among others. Boone is a member of Penn State's Student-Athlete Advisory Board and was selected to attend the 2009 NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
National Student-Athlete Development Conference in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. He earned a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in elementary education from Penn State in May 2009.