Matt Wile

Matt Wile (born June 20, 1992) is an American football placekicker and punter for the University of Michigan. After his senior year at Francis W. Parker School in San Diego, California, Wile played as a punter in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in January 2011. He is currently a starter for the 2012 Michigan Wolverines football team.

Early years
Wile began kicking at age 8. He attended Francis W. Parker School in San Diego, California, where he played high school football as a punter, placekicker, linebacker, and defensive end. As a senior in 2010, he made 10 of his 13 field goal attempts, and 91 of his 101 kickoffs resulted in touchbacks. After his senior year, Wile played as a punter in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Recruiting and commitment
After the team's placekickers converted only 4 of 14 field goal attempts in 2010, signing a placekicker was one of the top priorities for the Michigan Wolverines football team. When Brady Hoke was named the team's new head coach in January 2011, Wile became Hoke's top kicking target. Wile had multiple connections to Hoke and Michigan. His father, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather all attended the University of Michigan Medical School. Additionally, Wile's father, Dr. Peter Wile, was the team doctor for the San Diego State Aztecs football team, the team Hoke coached during the 2010 season. After Wile announced his commitment to Michigan in late January 2011, his high school coach John Morrison joked about Wile's five generation legacy at Michigan: "Talk about a Michigan man. He's as close as possible." Wile had a career-long 63-yard field goal in high school and was Michigan's highest rated kicking prospect since Garrett Rivas in 2003.

2011 season
Recruited principally as a placekicker, Wile was slated to handle kickoffs for the 2011 Michigan Wolverines football team. However, the team's regular punter, Will Hagerup, was given a four-game suspension for violation of team rules before the season started. As a result, Wile was given dual responsibility for kickoffs and punting as a true freshman. On picking up the addition duty, Wile said, "I hadn't really been practicing punting. When I got here, they asked me to start practicing."

When Michigan faced San Diego State in September 2011, Wile's father (who had been San Diego State's team doctor since 1986) told reporters that "blood is thicker than water," and he would therefore be rooting for his son and the Wolverines in the game. Wile averaged 49 yards on four punts against San Diego State.

During the 2011 season, Wile has handled all 79 kickoffs for the Wolverines, totaling 5,054 yards and an average of 64.0 yards per kickoff. He also handled 17 punts for 707 yards with an average of 41.6 yards and a long punt of 58 yards. He also made four solo tackles in 2011. For the season, he earned 2011 Big Ten All-Freshman team recognition from both ESPN.com and BTN.com.

2012 season
Following spring practice in April 2012, head coach Brady Hoke said Wile and Will Hagerup were "neck and neck" for the position as the starting punter. Through the first three games of the 2012 season, Wile had handled 18 of 19 kickoffs for Michigan, averaging 60.4 yards per kickoff and securing a touchback on 9 of 18 kickoffs.