John Ostertag returns for his fifth season as an assistant coach in charge of kickers and punters at Macalester. He brings over 10 years of experience as a kicker and punter at the collegiate and semi-professional level to Macalester’s football program.
During Ostertag's time at Macalester, the Scots' kickers and punters have shown steady improvement. In 2017, Matt Glasenapp led the Midwest Conference with a 40.8 yards-per-punt average en route to earning All-MWC honors.
A former standout at Gustavus Adolphus College, Ostertag earned All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors as a junior after making 10 field goals in 11 attempts that year. He has continued his playing career with several semi-professional teams, receiving team MVP honors for the Minnesota Spartans in 2011 and winning the USA Bowl with the St. Paul Pioneers in 2014. Ostertag had tryouts with the Seattle Seahawks in 2013 and with the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Allouettes in 2014.
Throughout his career, Ostertag also has taught kicking and punting skills to youth, high school and college players. One of his students recently received a scholarship to punt for the University of North Dakota.
A native of Walker, Minn., Ostertag graduated from Gustavus Adolphus in 2009 with degrees in criminal justice, anthropology and sociology. He also works in construction.
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