Thanks for some personal observations.
My process for the Draft is to buy the Lindy's Draft guide every year and try to get an idea from their profiles, which are often proved prescient. It's published in late February, so is not
up-to-the-minute, but it's a decent source of information to start to get familiar with the candidates. This year, the profiles had the ring of authority and made observations that were
both understated and NFL savvy. A prospects strengths and weaknesses are detailed and an comparison to professional players is given and sometimes they are not particularly optimistic.
What I'm trying to say is that watching the Draft is like watching a bunch of cheerleaders who say everybody is awesome and I have found these guys tend to be grounded in reality.
This is what they wrote about Baringer-- who was the 3rd of only 3 punters they found worthy of profiling:
Initially committed to Illinois and transferred to walk-on for the Spartans. Was cut prior to the 2019
season, but worked his way back and took off from there. Holds several Michigan State records and is
one of the top punters in the draft.
Strengths: Rocket of a leg with consistent punts travelling over 70 yards. Even when rushed or given
a bad snap delivered quality punts. Leg strength was especially notable at premiere events like the
Senior Bowl, where scouts took notice of his incredible distance.
Weaknesses: Leg strength is next to none, but there is certainly plenty of inconsistency. Technically
speaking, he changes with each attempt. As far as pinning the football, lacks the ability to do so on
a regular basis.
Pro Comp: Logan Cooke, Jaguars -- Cooke was selected in the 7th round and has stuck around for 5
seasons so far. Cooke offers a similar level of leg talent to send punts deep downfield, but can also be
a bit sporadic with his deliveries. Baringer has that same type of talent and inconsistency, but he does have
some issues to iron out.
So, I take that and stuff like you said and start to build a little database on him. Then, when we get to see
him I'll look for issues with placement (from them) and height (from you) and try to determine where he
is at and whether he has moved forward and improved, etc., etc.
Thank you. I sincerely hope that I never have to watch Michael Palardy ever kick for my team again and hope this
kid can help make 2022 just a distant memory.