ORCHARD PARK - For Tommy Doman, the rookie seventh-round pick who is vying to become the new punter for the Buffalo Bills, consistency is the key to everything he does.
Doing something over and over and over and making sure you’re learning something from each rep, whether it’s booming a punt during practice at One Bills Drive, hitting a driver off the tee on the golf course, or spreading mulch evenly at his family home which he admits was his least favorite chore growing up.
“Repeatability,” he said the other day when he was asked what he considers his primary strength as a punter. “I think with any punt that I hit, I just rep it out so many different times to where I have such a good feel that I can go on runs where I make five, six, seven good punts in a row.
“I think that's what has led me to be here. I mean, obviously there are some days where I feel like my leg is strong, some days I feel like it's fast, but every day is a new day and just find the consistency for that day.”
Unfortunately for him, there was no consistency to find in the 29-14 preseason opening victory over the Carolina Panthers because the Bills never punted in the game. All Doman did was hold for all of Tyler Bass’ placekicks, though that was significant because it indicates he’s the clear frontrunner in his battle against veteran Mitch Wishnowsky.
Consistency, discipline and hard work were traits that were instilled in Doman growing up in a military household. His father, Thomas, served nearly three decades in the Marines and retired as a colonel, and his mother Jamie is a retired CPA who served in the Air Force.
"The fact that I have the opportunity to play football for a living, after all the sacrifices (his parents) have made for me, you're never going to have a bad day if you're just trying to figure out how to punt a football,” Doman said.
How Tommy Doman became one of college football's top punters
Soccer was his original choice of sport, but when he became interested in punting in elementary school, he threw everything he had into learning the intricacies of the job. He went to kicking camps and he spent hours by himself on open fields punting balls to perfect the craft, and he would film those sessions and then go back and analyze every aspect of his form.
That’s how he ended up as one of the top punting recruits in the country and eventually played for two big-time college football programs, Michigan and Florida.
Doman began his college career at Michigan and he was actually the backup to Brad Robbins who was supposed to be Buffalo’s punter last season before things went awry for him and he was cut.
After sitting out two years, Doman became the Wolverines punter in 2023 on the team that won the national championship. He averaged 44.3 yards per punt with 18 downed inside the 20, and he also served as the kickoff man (68 touchbacks on 99 attempts) and placekick holder.
After another fine performance in 2024 when he earned third-team All-Big Ten recognition, Doman transferred to Florida in 2025 and averaged 44.1 yards with 20 downed inside the 20.
Tommy Doman faces key Bills roster battle
Last season, the Bills had a punting problem for the first month and it wasn’t until Wishnowsky was signed that the situation settled down. The Australian was terrific at limiting returns as his solid 4.44-second average hang time resulted in just 11 opponents punt returns for a 6.3-yard per attempt, both the lowest in the league.
The Bills felt that warranted a one-year free agent contract which Wishnowsky accepted, but Brandon Beane said no matter what the position, he’s always trying to add competition and “at that point in the draft, it made sense (to pick Doman who was on their draft board). We wanted to go to camp with two punters.”
Doman has obvious leg strength, but he knows punting in the NFL is going to be about much more than sending howitzers down the field.
“Consistently hitting punts that are going to where our gunners are going so we can cover them,” he said when asked what special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers has been preaching most. “I think that's the biggest thing. It's not out-punting your coverage, it's not putting the ball in the middle of the field.
“This is what the situation is, this is where we need the ball, this is the ball flight that we need. Now just go execute, and then how many times you do that in a row. Hopefully the punt unit never goes out there, but when we do, we’ve got to be effective and help out our defense.”
Wishnowsky and Doman are battling for the job, but investing a draft pick was a clear indication that the Bills want to find a long-term solution at the position so it would seem to give Doman a leg up, no pun intended. If he continues on the same path, it seems highly likely that he’ll be the last man standing when final roster cuts are made.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 37 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: This Bills rookie built his NFL dream on repetition