By JIM WALKER

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

AKRON — For fans wondering what ever happened to Avery Book, wonder no more. He’s alive and still kicking.

And if fans want to know what he’s up to, well, again, he’s alive and kicking.

The 5-foot-10, 195-pound fifth-year senior was an outstanding punter for the Akron Zips this past season as he put up impressive numbers, especially in an area of Ohio where there is a lot of wind to go with the cold weather.

But the story doesn’t end there for the former Ironton Fighting Tigers All-Ohio punter. Book will write another chapter in his career with hopes of adding even more stories.

Book has been invited to the Cleveland Browns rookie camp Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the team’s training center in Berea.

“It’ll be different. I really don’t know what to expect as of right now, so. I’ll just go up and play,” said Book.

“It’s gone back and forth. I talked to them on my pro day. I talked to them at Bowling Green’s pro day. I was contacted during the season a little bit. But most of it was through my agent.”

Book had 64 punts and averaged 43.6 yards per kick. His longest was 61 yards against South Carolina and he put 21 kicks inside the 20-yard line. He had 20 punts of 50 or more yards.

“I was one of the top (punters in the nation) landing punts inside or at the 5-yard line,” said Book.

He led the Mid-American Conference with his 43.6 average, number of punts 50 or more yards and was second with pinning opponents with punts inside the 20-yard line and total punting yards (2,093).

His punting average was 33rd in the NCAA.

Those numbers would reflect similar conditions kicking in Cleveland,

“For sure,” said Book.

Despite his numbers, Book wasn’t selected the top MAC punter. That distinction went to Alec Bevelhimer of Miami, OH who averaged 41.6 yards per punt and had 25 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. He had eight punts that went 50 or more yards.

Ironically, Book has never followed the NFL on a regular basis.

“It’s kind of crazy when you take a step back,” said Book. “There’s going to be a lot to learn the next year. I never really watched the NFL until this past season. I was like ‘Oh! I need to know some of the players.’”

From Ironton  to Glenville State to Augustana University and finally Akron, Book has done nothing but improve as a kicker and that improvement was no more evident than his selection as an AFCA second team All-American in 2023 at Augustana.

Book was unsure if he actually had a chance to earn the lofty honor. It didn’t become a reality until Vikings’ head coach Jerry Olszewski broke the news to him.

“About half way through the season, a few of my teammates mentioned I could be in the running for all-American status. I didn’t think much about it because I try to avoid paying attention to stats,” said Book.

Although Book has seen increased fan attendance as he goes up higher and higher in competition, he has no concerns about kicking in large stadiums in front of the large NFL crowds. Akron played at Ohio State, Rutgers and South Carolina among its first four games. The other game was at Colgate.

“I feel like I play better at the bigger stage. The bigger the crowd the better I am,” said Book. “The first three or four games of the season were the biggest stadiums I’ve played there and we had minimal (Akron) people.”

“(Making the NFL) would definitely be a dream come true. If it’s not this year, it’s next year. That’s even more realistic.”

In the classroom, Book was just as successful as he was named to the 2024 Academic All-America football team as selected by College Sports Communicators.

Book became the first member of the Akron football team to be named CSC Academic All-American since 2016. The Zips had two players earn honors that season, Zach Guiser and James Turner.

Book was one of nine named to a Division 1 Academic All-America team who achieved a perfect 4.0 grade-point average whether it was undergraduate or graduate work.

Book reset the Augustana single-season punting records in 2023 with an average of 44.8 yards per punt which ranked him third in the nation.

On the season, Book had 19 punts exceeding 50 yards while pinning 14 kicks inside the 20-yard line. He also had seven touchbacks on 48 punts.

He earned an NSIC Player of the Week honor on Oct. 23 after punting six times for an average of 45.2 yards per kick. He also recorded a season-best 69 yarder at Southwest Minnesota State on Oct. 7.

Book began his college career at Glenville State where he started as a punter and placekicker before becoming strictly a punter.

“When you specialize at it, you get better,” said Book.

As a freshman, he punted 23 times for an average of 39 yards a kick. In 2021, Book was a first team All-Mountain East selection as he averaged 41.1 yards a kick including a 70-yarder.

In 2022, Book was first team All-Mountain East again as he had nine punts go more than 50 yards including a 61-yarder while still putting 12 punts inside the 20-yard line.

Book did look at some D1 and D2 programs including Ohio State, but he said OSU “is hung up on the Australians.”

Augustana won the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championship that season and made the NCAA Division 2 playoffs. The Vikings won their first game 51-24 over Minnesota State but were upset in the next round by Colorado School of Mines, 56-10.