The Jets' punting game took a new twist at this afternoon's special teams workout. No. 5 was on the Cortland Stadium turf loosening up, and that was still Reggie Hodges.
No. 9 was also running and stretching, but the man wearing the number was no longer T.J. Conley. It was Ken Parrish, the free agent punter who was signed by the Jets after passing his morning tryout with special teams coaches Mike Westhoff, Kevin O'Dea and Ben Kotwica.
Parrish, who was signed by the 49ers in 2007 and the Eagles this off-season but never made it to an NFL regular season, will get the chance to beat out Hodges and fill a very important position in head coach Rex Ryan's scheme of things.
Today's practice, in fact, was mostly a punting session, and both footmen took turns with fine boomers and a few so-so kicks.
Hodges' punts were a little shorter but had some good hang times — Leon Washington fielded a 4.9-second hanger and slipped as he tried to take off upfield.
Parrish put up about five 50-plus-yarders in a row before finishing with a 37-yarder (off a high snap) and a 38-yarder.
Both kickers hit one punt each with the line of scrimmage in plus territory and both nailed inside-the-15 balls — Parrish's kick was fair-caught at the 11, Hodges' downed at the 5 by Wallace Wright.
Sorry, folks, we can't give you a leader in the clubhouse, but the good news is that a new competition will continue. As Ryan declared, "We're gonna find a punter."
