UNC Football: Play of the game… from the punter!

Punter Ben Kiernan made a play that was a turning point for the UNC football program, but it wasn’t a typical play for a punter by any means!

Early in the UNC football program’s contest against Syracuse, the Tar Heels were faced with a sticky situation.

Leading 3-0, Mack Brown was forced to send the punting unit onto the field on the second offensive drive of the game. Punter Ben Kiernan took the snap and punted the football, only for it to be blocked by a Syracuse defender.

Kiernan made a heads-up play as he recovered the blocked punt. Some punters may have tried to get another kick off, others may have just fallen down and taken the loss of yards.

In Kiernan’s case, he was looking to make a play to help his team succeed.

The Tar Heels punter hustled in the open field, making it close to the first down marker. He took a big hit in the process (we’ll get to that in a minute), as he was ruled to have enough yards to earn a first down.

What a turn of events!

Of course, the call was a questionable one, as Syracuse faithful were rightfully upset that the replay didn’t go in their favor. Based on the replays, it did appear that Kiernan was short of the marker, but we’ll show you the highlight so you can decide for yourself.

The big hit that Kiernan took was tough to watch, as he was slow to get up afterward. North Carolina didn’t need him to punt after that, but it probably wasn’t likely that he would’ve returned anyway after that hit.

Want proof of how big the hit was? Take a look at his facemask in the aftermath of the hit.

Kiernan’s gutsy play was a huge turning point for the UNC football program, as they went on to score in that drive and then continued to pour it on. If it wasn’t for that heads-up play by Kiernan, the outcome of the early part of the game could have gone a lot differently.

Follow us @KeepingItHeel on X (formerly Twitter) and like our fan page on Facebook for continued coverage of UNC football news, updates, and recruiting.