Sept. 12, 2007

Bronx, N.Y. - Most college football players spend the summer working out with teammates in preparation for a new season. But for one Fordham Ram, the summer meant rubbing elbows with current and former NFL players.

Senior punter Ben Dato attended a pair of kicking camps over the summer, highlighted by an appearance at the Ray Guy Kicking Academy where he received one-on-one instruction from the former NFL punter who was the number one draft choice of the Oakland Raiders in 1973 and the first punter inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

"This was the second time I attended the Ray Guy camp," said Dato. "The first time I went as a kicker and punter and didn't get as much out of it. But this time I went as a punter and to get two days of one-on-one instruction with a former NFL punter was unbelievable."

Guy worked with Dato on increasing his hang time, a Guy specialty, as well as tweaking other facets of his punting technique, including his footwork.

Dato went out of his way to get the camp in Pittsburgh, passing up Ray Guy camps that were closer to home, because he knew that Guy himself would be in attendance at the Pittsburgh camp.

The Ray Guy Camp wasn't the only camp Dato attended this summer. He started the summer by going to the prestigious 4th Down College Kicking Camp at Lehigh University in June where he was able to train with current New Orleans Saint punter Steve Weatherford. Dato watched Weatherford's punts, picking up technical details that Dato hopes will help him this fall.

"The Fourth Down Camp was tremendous," noted Dato. "The quality of competition there was great. I was able to kick against players from Penn State and other major Division I schools which allowed me to gauge my ability. I learned more in the three days I spent there than if I had gone anywhere else."

Besides the camps, Dato also spent a lot of time at Wyomissing High School in the summer, working on many of the techniques learned at the camps. He would approach each practice with a certain goal and kick until he attained the goal. Then it was home for a meal and some lifting and then back out to the field at night for more punting. He would record his kicks so that he could gauge his hang time and look for any hidden flaws. But there was one aspect of punting that he couldn't do by himself: Snap the ball. So he got his father, Robert, involved to serve as his son's long snapper in the front yard, helping Dato get his timing down.

"I really owe a lot to my father for helping me," said Dato. "Not a lot of people would want to spend their free time long snapping. My father works long hours but he would still sit out there with me at night snapping ball after ball."

A quick learner, Dato didn't kick a football until his sophomore year at Wyomissing High School and didn't boot his first punt until his senior year.

"I played soccer since I was four and was on my high school team," explains Dato. "I was known for my long goal kicks so one day the football coach asked me if I could kick a football and the next thing I knew I was playing both sports."

He started handling kickoffs for the football team as a sophomore and then took on the added duties of placekicking as a junior.

Playing both sports left him little free time in the fall. "I would get out of school, run home and change for practice," said Dato. "I then went to football practice and practiced with the special teams before running over to the soccer field for soccer practice. I would get home between 6:30 and 7:00, have dinner and do my homework."

That dedication paid off as Dato was named First Team All-Pennsylvania Class AA as a punter his senior year. As a placekicker, he earned First Team All-Intra County honors that year and set a school record with a 53-yard field goal. With the soccer squad, he garnered First Team All-County accolades as a sweeper.

Dato has already been honored for the 2007 season, being named to The Sports Network NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Preseason All-America team. Dato, who returns with the top punting average among qualified returning NCAA FCS punters for the 2007 season, was placed on the Second Team.

Last year, Dato earned Third Team All-America honors from the Associated Press and Honorable Mention All-America accolades from the Football Gazette after finishing the season as the leading punter in the Patriot League. He punted 58 times for 2,587 yards, an average of 44.6 yards/punt, third among all NCAA FCS punters. His 44.6 average was the second best single season average in Fordham history (All-American Barry Cantrell averaged 45.8 yards/punt in 1997), and he ranked third in the NCAA Division I FCS last fall. His long punt covered 66 yards in the Columbia game with four of his kicks traveling more than 60 yards. He did not have a punt blocked in 2006 while placing four inside the 20.

Dato, who earned First Team All-Patriot League honors last fall, was named Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week in week nine after punting eight times for 396 yards, averaging 49.5 yards/punt, against Colgate.

As for his future plans, spending time with professional players has given Dato some ideas.

"I would love to be able to play professionally," said Dato. "But right now I'm just concentrating on having a good senior season and helping the team win. Then I'll see what happens."