Ryan Erxleben rolled into Lubbock for the first week of practice with the Texas Tech football team, and went through most of the expected emotions any kid goes through when they leave home for college.

But he was also stunned.

“I can’t believe how flat it is here,” he laughed. “Like the highest point in town is this 15-foot tall hill and I got loads of those in my backyard back home.”

But it’s fitting that a hill is the first thing he noticed because since the first day on campus, he’s felt like he’s been alone on a hill in a lot of ways.

Erxleben is a Red Raider because he was one of the best punters in the state last football season, and now he’ll do his best to be one of the top punters in the nation at Texas Tech. What bothers him is that he was also the starting defensive end for the best team in the state, but that doesn’t really matter to new teammates that have branded him as just a punter.

“It was a downer at first. I didn’t know anybody, but I’ve settled in since then,” he said. “Just the whole fact that I’m initially looked down upon because I’m a punter. That’s something that will take some getting used to.”

He did his best build a reputation as a football player first, when he entered the program’s famous “Bull Ring,” and took on a few players who probably thought the freshman punter would be a light snack. The Bull Ring, for those who don’t know, is a ring formed by the players and coaches which surrounds a one-on-one challenge. It’s two players taking on each other in a battle of strength and wills. It’s one of head coach Mike Leach’s favorite parts of practice.

Erxleben had the right idea going in.

“One thing I’ve learned in life,” he said. “Is that respect is earned and never given.”

Erxleben entered the ring, dispatched a backup safety and then starting linebacker Bront Bird challenged him. Erxleben made short work of Bird, too. Bird was none too pleased, quickly dropping a cheap shot on Erxleben before teammates pulled him away. It was a nice way to earn a little more respect than punters are usually given, and thanks to his performance in practice and reputation thus far, he’s been named the first team punter.

“Coming from high school, I felt like I was respected by the whole team. Now, no one knows my background, it’s still a big adjustment,” he said. “There’s a lot of standing around for the kickers and punters, and way more downtime than I’m used to. All the players are out there grinding, and we’re just chilling on the sideline. It’s weird.”

And while that may not sound so bad, Erxleben isn’t crazy about it.

“You would think it would be pretty nice, but it actually kind of sucks,” he laughed. “I’m just sitting out there thinking, ‘I want to get in and hit somebody.’”

And it just makes him miss practicing at Lake Travis, where he got to have a few collisions each day.

“The dead honest truth is that I really miss practicing at Lake Travis just because you’re with all your buddies for one thing,” he said. “You can grind it out on the field together, and you’re there for each other because you always have been ever since you were little. Now you’re just out on the field with a bunch of random guys you don’t even know yet, and you don’t even get to grind it out.”

But there are definitely perks to being in college.

“I think living on your own is pretty cool,” he laughed. “No one is really telling you what to do anymore, and you have to learn to manage your own time.”

The rest of the time, he’s studying and refining his punting skills.

“Some instruction helps, but I usually know what I’ve done wrong the minute it happens. We have a coach, and we pretty much dictate when we’re done,” he said. “It’s really weird going out every day and just kicking. It used to be that I’d kick a few and then go into defensive drills.”

Now he works on 20-25 kicks a day, takes in the rest of practice and enjoys some down time, which gives him plenty of opportunities to keep tabs on the 2009 Cavaliers.

“They better win state,” he said. “They better carry it on or I’m going to be mad.”

After what he did to Bird, it would probably be wise to heed such advice.