Ryan Matthew Stonehouse (born May 11, 1999) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

punter for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Colorado State Rams The Colorado State Rams are the athletic teams that represent Colorado State University (CSU). Colorado State's athletic teams compete along with 8 other institutions in the Mountain West Conference, which is an NCAA Division I conference and s ...

and signed with the Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2022. Stonehouse currently holds the NCAA FBS and

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

records for highest career average yards per punt, as well as the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

single-season record for average yards per punt.

Early life

Stonehouse was born on May 11, 1999, in

San Dimas, California San Dimas (Spanish language, Spanish for "Penitent thief, Saint Dismas") is a city in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 34,924. It historic ...

to parents Natalie Banks and Paul Stonehouse. His father, Paul, was a punter for

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

from 1989 to 1992. Two of his uncles were also Division I punters: John Stonehouse (

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

, 1992–95) and Jeff Banks (

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

, 1996–97). Stonehouse attended Mater Dei High School in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana (Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census. As ...

. In 2016, he helped his Mater Dei team to a 13–1 record and a deep

CIF CIF, c.i.f. or Cif may refer to: Finance * Climate Investment Funds, in international climate change agreements * Community Infrastructure Fund (CIF), a method of UK government funding for transport infrastructure * Cost, Insurance and Freight, ...

playoff run, losing in the semi-finals to St. John Bosco. Stonehouse was named a Blue & Grey All-American and was named to the 2016

L.A. Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

All-Star football team, among other awards. He also participated in the Kohl's Kicking 2016 Western Winter Showcase and was rated as a five-star punter. Stonehouse was officially rated as a three-star recruit and the third best punter prospect in the class of 2017 by

247Sports.com 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on athletic recruitment in college football and basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount. The website hosts a large network of team-specific subsites, with each subsite bei ...

College career

left, 200px, Stonehouse with Colorado State in 2019 Stonehouse received 11 total offers from

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

schools. On February 14, 2017, he accepted a scholarship offer from

Colorado State Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. It was founded in 1870 as Colorado Agr ...

over offers from

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Cal Cal or CAL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty * "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov * ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...

Cornell Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the H ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

, Utah State, UTSA, and

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

. As a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

in 2017, Stonehouse was named to the

Ray Guy Award The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding punter as adjudged by the Augusta Sports Council. The award is named after punter Ray Guy, an All-American for Southern Mississippi and an All-Pro in the National Fo ...

watch list, as well as receiving an All-

Mountain West The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Janu ...

honorable mention. Stonehouse was one of five

true freshman The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

to play in every game; he punted 46 times in 13 games and ranked fifth in the country with a 45.9-yard punt average. As a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

in 2018, Stonehouse played in all 12 games and finished second in the FBS with a 48.3-yard punt average. He punted 65 times for a total 3,140 yards, placing 18 punts within the 20-yard line. Stonehouse was selected to the 2018 All-

first team, as well as being named to the 2018

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

second team. As a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

in 2019, Stonehouse was named to the All-

first team for the second consecutive year after punting 49 times for 2,274 yards with a 46.4-yard punt average. As a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

in 2020, Stonehouse played in all four games, as the season was heavily condensed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In just four games, he punted 26 times for 1,178 yards and was named to the All-

first team for the third consecutive year. As a

graduate student Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have ...

in 2021, his final year at

CSU CSU may refer to: Universities and university systems United States * Columbia Southern University, in Orange Beach, Alabama * California State University system * Colorado State University, in Fort Collins, Colorado * Connecticut State Univers ...

, Stonehouse was ranked the best punter and the 34th best overall player in the

entering the season. Stonehouse finished the season having punted 58 times for 2,953 yards, recording a career-best single-season punt average of 50.9 yards. Despite this, Stonehouse was named to the 2021 All-

second team, as

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

punter Matt Araiza, who led the FBS and

with a 51.5-yard punt average, was named to the first team. Over the span of his collegiate career, Stonehouse punted 244 times for a total of 11,656 yards. He broke the NCAA FBS record for the highest career average yards per punt with his 47.8-yard average, which was previously held by

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

punter Johnny Townsend with a 46.2 average. Stonehouse also holds the

's highest career average yards per punt record, previously held by BYU punter Matt Payne (45.4; 2001–04).

Professional career

Tennessee Titans

2022 season

Stonehouse signed with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

as an undrafted free agent on May 13, 2022. He performed well throughout the preseason and won the punting job when the Titans released longtime punter Brett Kern on August 29, 2022. During a narrow Week 3 24–22 victory over the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

, Stonehouse punted thrice for 181 yards with a long of 70 yards. Two weeks later against the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

, he punted eight times for 416 yards in the 21–17 road victory. Stonehouse was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for October after recording 20 punts for 1,033 yards and a 51.7 average. During a Week 10 17–10 victory over the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

, Stonehouse punted eight times for 432 yards, including three inside the 10-yard line with a long of 74 yards, earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. Two weeks later against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

, he had five punts for 269 yards with a long of 71 yards as the Titans lost by a score of 20–16. In the next game against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, Stonehouse punted seven times for 401 yards as the Titans lost on the road by a score of 35–10. Stonehouse recorded an average of 53.1 yards per punt throughout his rookie season, which set a new single-season

record. The record, previously set in 1940 by

Sammy Baugh Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professional football quarterback who played 16 seasons with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the TCU Horne ...

with a 51.4 average, lasted 82 seasons before being broken by Stonehouse. He was also the punting yards leader in 2022, punting 90 times for 4,779 yards. He was named to the

PFWA All-Rookie Team Following each National Football League (NFL) season, the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) compiles an honorary All-Rookie Team to recognize that season's most outstanding rookies at each position as adjudged by sportswriters of the PFWA. T ...

and second-team AP

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

2023 season

During a Week 3 27–3 road loss to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

, Stonehouse had seven punts for 374 yards with a long of 74 yards. During a Week 8 28–23 victory over the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, he had a season-high eight punts for 420 yards. During a Week 12 17–10 victory over the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

, Stonehouse punted seven times for 376 yards with a long of 71 yards, earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. However, in the next game the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

, he suffered a serious leg injury after a second blocked punt and was later announced to be out for the rest of the season. The injury was later revealed to be a torn ACL, MCL, and a broken bone, all in his non–kicking leg. Stonehouse finished his second professional season with 53 punts for 2,812 yards and a 53.1 average, leading the league in yards per punt for the second consecutive year and nearly tying the record he set last year. He led the league in punts inside the 20-yard line (52.8%)

2024 season

Stonehouse made a healthy return in time for the 2024 season, but the team's punt protection problems continued into the next year, resulting in a blocked punt in each of the first two games of the regular season. Stonehouse still went on to punt all 17 games of the season, making 73 punts for 3,691 yards and a 50.6 average, including a career long 75-yard punt in Week 6 against the

. He was third in yards per punts that year and was named as an alternate to the

2025 Pro Bowl The 2025 Pro Bowl Games was the National Football League (NFL)'s all-star game for the 2024 NFL season. This was the third year that the event consisted of skills competitions and a non-contact flag football game. The first block of skills compe ...

. On March 11, 2025, the Titans chose not to assign Stonehouse his RFA tender, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Miami Dolphins

On March 16, 2025, Stonehouse signed with the

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Personal life

Stonehouse enjoys DIY projects. In his spare time, Stonehouse has built various projects, including a covered outdoor kitchen in his backyard. Stonehouse also enjoys fostering and working with

shelter A shelter is an architectural structure or natural formation (or a combination of the two) providing protection from the local environment. A shelter can serve as a home or be provided by a residential institution. It can be understood as both ...

dogs.

References

External links

Miami Dolphins bioColorado State Rams bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stonehouse, Ryan 1999 births Living people American football punters Colorado State Rams football players Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, California) alumni Players of American football from Los Angeles County, California Sportspeople from La Verne, California Tennessee Titans players Miami Dolphins players