Week 4 Stats: 6 punts, 295 punting yards (52-yard long), 49.2 yards per punt, 3 inside-20, 2 50+ yard punts, 2 kickoffs, 116 kickoff yards, 58.0 yards per kickoff
O’Neill handled both the punting and kickoff duties for Mercyhurst in the Lakers’ third game against an FBS opponent this season at Western Kentucky on Saturday. In six punts, the Rochester, NY native covered 49.2 yards per boot, while in his two kickoff attempts, he covered 116 yards for 58.0 yards per kickoff. Two of O’Neill’s punts went for 50-plus yards, including a blast of 58 yards that went down as a personal-best effort for the freshman, topping his current season-best of 52 yards at New Mexico State (Sept. 5) and at New Mexico (Sept. 12). O’Neill enters the week ranked third in the NEC in yards per punt (43.5) while his six punts of 50-or-more yards are good for second-most on the circuit. He is the first Laker this season to take home NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Special Teams Player of the Week accolades.