Field-position-changing plays like that will now be a more permanent sight in Buffalo as Araiza was officially named the team’s starting punter on Monday, beating out Matt Haack for the job. Araiza will also be the primary holder on field goals and PAT attempts for Tyler Bass. The news was obviously exciting to the rookie punter but he also said it means he has to continue to prove why he was the right choice.
“I wouldn’t call it a relief, because you have to go out and earn your job every week. It’s a step in the right direction, and I’m grateful for it, for sure,” Araiza said.
Araiza competed for the job throughout training camp and into the first two weeks of preseason with Haack, who was Buffalo’s starting punter last season. The rookie shared that Haack was a great teammate throughout the whole process and helped him learn some of the intricacies of both punting and holding techniques.
“He was awesome, just how nice he was to me and how I could use him as a resource throughout the whole thing. It was great to have him act the way he did when it was just the two of us and I’ll always be grateful for the time that he was here,” Araiza said.
Ultimately, it was Araiza who earned the spot more than Haack losing it.
“What we’ve seen to this point with Matt Araiza, he’s off to a good start,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott shared. “He’s got to continue to work and I think that’s the right mindset here.”
Prior to viral clips of his punts running rampant on social media during the college football season, Araiza was far from a household name in the special teams world. Growing up in San Diego, Araiza was a multi-sport athlete — in his senior year of high school, he played football in the fall, soccer in the winter and track & field in the spring. It was actually on his travel soccer team where he realized his kicking power was different from other kids.