BYU football punter Sam Van Der Haar bringing his own versatility and personality
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- BYU sophomore punter Sam Van Der Haar kicks the ball during practice in Provo on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024.
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- BYU sophomore punter Sam Van Der Haar kicks the ball during practice in Provo on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024.
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- BYU sophomore punter Sam Van Der Haar prepares to place the ball for a placekick during practice in Provo on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024.
Ready for some BYU football trivia to stump your friends?
Ask where the oldest player on the Cougar roster in 2024 served his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
It’s actually a trick question because 27-year-old sophomore punter Sam Van Der Haar didn’t serve a mission.
But the Pitt transfer who is from Melbourne, Australia, said earlier in August that he’s loving being in Provo and being a Cougar.
“I’m loving it,” Van Der Haar said. “All the boys have been great. I’m a lot more familiar now with this game we’re running, and a lot more comfortable with the coaches. I’m just really enjoying it, to be honest.”
Van Der Haar was a semi-pro Australian-rules football player before deciding to get involved in ProKick Australia and look at his American football options. He said he didn’t envision things playing out the way they have and ending up at BYU, but called his journey “quite special.”
“I thought that when I committed to somewhere, where I’d be playing for four years,” Van Der Haar said. “But coming here has been an absolute blessing. It very much feels like home. There is a high-level of maturity here and a little bit of perspective as well with the whole missionary aspect with the guys. It’s been fantastic.”
He said his wife, Hallie, is an avid hiker and so being so close to great trails has been something they’ve enjoyed.
He said there are moments where he misses being around his friends and family, who are now halfway across the world, but there aren’t many of them.
“I think that the lifestyle that my wife and I have here has been exactly kind of what we want,” Van Der Haar said. “And the people here are great. It makes it pretty easy to not miss home living somewhere like here. I just feel really blessed.”
BYU junior kicker Will Ferrin said Van Der Haar has done his part effectively to become part of the Cougar team.
“He has one of the best mindsets I think I’ve ever seen from a punter,” Ferrin said. “He’s a little older. He’s got some age to him and some wisdom. He prepares so well.”
Ferrin said that he saw early on that Van Der Haar wanted to treat practice the same way he did, put in the effort to make the repetitions as game-like as possible.
“We’re in the indoor practice facility in January and we’re standing on the sideline waiting to run on for a kick,” Ferrin said. “He’s going to go and be sitting in the back of the end zone to hit a backed-up punt, putting himself in a game situation. He is so focused and determined on what he’s doing.”
BYU special team coordinator Kelly Poppinga said Van Der Haar brings some unique versatility to the punt game.
“He’s picked up on things,” Poppinga said. “He’s super-smart. Having that one year at Pitt has put him ahead of some of the other Australian guys I’ve had in the past. I’m excited about the variety of kicks he can do.”
Van Der Haar said that punting has nuances that many don’t recognize.
“Punting is not one size fits all in how you can do it,” he said. “You can do a very variable amount of different schemes. It’s been cool that we’ve been able to kind of employ different types of punts and just to try and keep the return team guessing.
“I think that’s kind of been our main goal over the spring and fall camps, to try and be as flexible as possible. I think the more versatility that we can have, the more unpredictable we will be, and the harder will be to play against us. That’s kind of been the goal.”
Van Der Haar has been battling freshman Landon Rehkow — younger brother of former Cougar star punter Ryan Rehkow — for the starting job. While it hasn’t drawn the attention of the QB battle, Poppinga said it’s been an excellent competition.
“Landon is right there pushing as well,” Poppinga said. “I think the competition is going to bring the best out of both guys. I see they are encouraging each other and helping each other if there are mistakes, trying to help everybody progress to get better. It’s a really good group and I like them a lot.”
Van Der Haar said he’s enjoy getting to work with Landon Rehkow and see his ability.
“I have a really good relationship with Landon,” Van Der Haar said. “He’s a great kid. He’s got a great leg as well. It’s been great to just compete. I love competing, so for me personally I really enjoy it.”
He said he is focused on doing the best job he can to take care of business if his number is called.
“My No. 1 goal is location,” Van Der Haar said. “I’m trying to basically be at least 43 yards down on the sideline. That’s pretty much my personal goal, knowing that the further we can put it outside the numbers, the less likelihood you have of return yards.
“I’ve been really hard on myself on putting it in the right spots, no matter whether it’s right foot, left foot, spiral, banana kicks, roll out, whatever it may be. I’ve just been trying to be as flexible as possible, but also executing at a high level.”
Ferrin said that Van Der Haar and Landon Rehkow have also played a big role for the placekicking as they are the holders.
“I think holding is a position that people don’t think a whole lot about,” Ferrin said. “But Sam and Landon, on just about every weekday the whole offseason, we were going out and getting snaps and kicks.”
Ferrin said as a kicker you have to make sure the holder knows exactly what you need to give you the best chance to put the ball through the uprights, which is something the holders have done well.
“It’s the snapper’s job to get the laces up and then the holder sets it,” Ferrin said. “He needs to spin it and get the right tilt. Sam has done that and had a good attitude about that. I think he’s even gone the extra mile a little bit to now we’re getting to the point where Sam understands what the different tilts will do to my ball flight. It’s something we can do because we’ve put so much time into it.”
That time together has also got Ferrin comfortable with some good-natured teasing of his friend and teammate.
“His accent is great,” Ferrin said with a grin. “I always joke with him that he’s starting to lose his accent. He gets all angry and makes it even stronger.”
Van Der Haar said his goal now is to just make the most of every opportunity and be ready when the season arrives.
“I think everybody kind of knows what we’re doing schematically,” Van Der Haar said. “It’s just about executing at a high level and the only way you can do that is through repetitions and practicing with intention. As long as we continue to do that, I think we’re going to be very successful.”
