| No. 94 – Houston Roughnecks | |||||||||
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| Position: | Punter | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | November 26, 1994 Peninsula, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 243 lb (110 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Woodridge (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) | ||||||||
| College: | Northwestern | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2018 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||
James Hunter Niswander (born November 26, 1994) is an American football punter for the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Northwestern University.
Niswander attended Woodridge High School. As a freshman, he made a 35-yard field goal that sealed a state playoff appearance for the first time in school history.[1]
As a senior, he set the state record for most consecutive extra points made (111) and the school longest field goal made (53 yards). He received All-PTC and All-Ohio Division III honors.[1]
He also practiced soccer and basketball.[1]
Niswander accepted a football scholarship from the Northwestern University. As a redshirt freshman, he was a backup behind Chris Gradone and punted only five times during the season. As a sophomore, he was named the starter at punter. He averaged 42.8 yards per punt and appeared in every game.[1]
As a junior, he ranked fourth in the Big Ten Conference with a 41.3 punt average. He had a 51-yard average in the season opener against Western Michigan University. He made a 62-yard punt against Illinois State University and Michigan State University.[1]
As a senior, he averaged 43 yards per punt. He had a career-high 51.5-yard average against Bowling Green State University. He tied for the fourth longest punt (80 yards) in school history against the University of Iowa. He received All-Academic Big Ten honors.[1]
Niswander was out of football after being invited for a tryout at the Pittsburgh Steelers rookie minicamp in 2018. He was selected in the fifth phase of the 2020 XFL Draft by the DC Defenders.[2] He appeared in all 5 games, while punting 21 times for an average of 44.6 yards.[3]
In March, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the league announced that it would be cancelling the rest of the season.[4] On April 10, he had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations.[5]
On October 26, 2020, Niswander was signed to the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad.[6] He was promoted to the active roster on November 7, 2020, after punter Chris Jones was placed on injured reserve with a core muscle injury.[7] He averaged 47.2 yards on 26 punts in the final eight games, tying for ninth-best in the NFL. He landed 10 of his punts inside the 20-yard-line. He kicked a 56 yard punt in Week 16 against the Philadelphia Eagles. His production convinced the Cowboys to release Jones on March 17, 2021.[8]
On April 7, 2021, punter Bryan Anger was signed to compete with Niswander for the starting position. Anger pulled ahead of him during training camp, so Niswander also focused on placekicking duties, to provide depth while Greg Zuerlein recovered from offseason back surgery. In two preseason games, he was 4 out of 6 attempts, including making all 3 field goal attempts against the Arizona Cardinals. On August 16, Niswander suffered a back injury of his own during a training camp practice. On August 19, he was waived/injured and placed on injured reserve the next day.[9] On December 28, 2021, he was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. On January 10, 2022, he was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list. On April 14, 2022, the Cowboys waived Niswander.[10]
Niswander signed with the Houston Gamblers of the USFL on May 3, 2023.[11]
Niswander and all other Houston Gamblers players and coaches were all transferred to the Houston Roughnecks after it was announced that the Gamblers took on the identity of their XFL counterpart, the Roughnecks.[12]