18   Ryan Neir
	Class: RS Senior Hometown: Roscoe, IL High School: Hononegah Height / Weight: 6-3 / 208 Position: P Experience: 1L

2012: Averaged 38.1 yards on 51 punts this season. Placed 24 punts inside the 20-yard line and 25 were resulted in fair catches. Only two of his 51 punts on the year resulted in touchbacks. Put two or more punts inside the 20 in seven games this year. Hit a season-long 55-yard punt against Kent State (11-30) in the MAC Championship game, pinning the Golden Flashes at their own 17-yard line. Also launched 50-plus yard punts against Buffalo (10-13) and Eastern Michigan (11-23). Placed all three of his punts inside the 20-yard line against UT Martin (9-8). Put five of his six punts inside the 20-yard line against Kansas (9-22), with four of those downed inside the Jayhawk 15. Picked up 17 yards on fourth-and-seven to convert a successful fake punt versus Central Michigan (9-29). Averaged more than 42 yards per punt in five games. Listed as a candidate for the Ray Guy Award. Earned Academic All-MAC honors.

2011: The Huskies' starting punter and holder for all placekicks. Punted 62 times for a 35.7 average, placing 19 inside the opponent's 20-yard line. Forced opponents to call a fair catch on 36 of his 62 punts. Only two punts were returned for positive yardage during the season. Did not have any punts blocked. Launched four 50-plus-yard punts on the year. Averaged 35 yards or more in eight games. Won the team Scholar-Athlete Award with the top undergraduate GPA on the squad. Had a career day with nine punts for a 34.9-yard average against Wisconsin (9-17), placing three inside the 20 and garnering NIU Special Teams Player of the Week honors. Averaged a career-best 41.2-yards on eight punts at Buffalo (10-22) to get Special Teams Player of the Week recognition. Kicked seven times for 252 yards against Eastern Michigan (11-25) to average 36 yards, earning his third Special Teams Player of the Week honor. Placed a career-long 54-yard punt at the Eagles' one-yard line, which resulted in a safety on the next play, and had a 51-yarder later in the game. Punted five times for a 39.2-yard average in the MAC Championship game versus Ohio (12-2) and placed two kicks inside the 20. Holder for the last-second, game-winning field goal to win the MAC. Completed a four-yard shovel pass on a fake field goal against Arkansas State (1-8) to give NIU a key first down. Punted in every game except the Western Michigan (10-15) contest.

2010: Did not see any game action as a back-up to starter Josh Wilber.

2009: Redshirted

2008: Did not see any action as reserve punter.

High School: Punted 47 times for 1,603 yards in his two-year varsity career. Won the George Kelsey Award as the most outstanding senior athlete at Hononegah. Named the special teams MVP his senior year. As a wide receiver, caught seven passes for 81 yards. Three-year varsity letterman in tennis where he was first team all conference and team MVP as a junior. Also a two-year varsity letterman in basketball. Helped the tennis team set school record for most wins in a season at 28-3 his senior year.

Personal: Son of Dan and Peg Neir. Born Oct. 29, 1989 in Waterloo, Iowa. Earned his bachelor's degree in finance and is pursuing his master's in business. Victory Scholar holds a 3.93 GPA, highest on the team.