“It was like showing up for your first day of college where you don’t know anyone and you’re there by yourself,” Thomas Morstead says of his first day in New Orleans. “I was excited but really nervous.”

Since that first week, Morstead, the kicker and punter for the New Orleans Saints, has settled into a routine, making the transition from college ball to the NFL a little bit easier.

“I still have my same lifting and training routine,” Morstead, who wears the No. 6, says. “The coaches said most guys that show up don’t have much of a routine, so they were excited that I just do my own thing.”

Selected in the fifth round at the No. 164 pick, Morstead, now 23, is a member of just one of the six 3-0 undefeated teams in the league. Locked into a four-year contract with New Orleans, Morstead, whether it is bowling with Reggie Bush or giving back to the community, seems to be right at home in the “Big Easy.”

Morstead admits to being more nervous during his first pre-season game because he was still competing for a position on the team. It was not until the first regular season against the Detroit Lions that Morstead’s nerves took a back seat.

“The Superdome was completely sold out for the first game. It was unbelievable,” Morstead says. “I wasn’t as nervous as I was excited because I know I had made the team. That was an amazing feeling.”

In his first kick as a Saint, Morstead hit a touchback, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

“I think at our first regular season game I had like 18 people come to the game,” Morstead says. “My family has been to every game so far and knowing them I’m sure that will continue.”

In Morstead’s debut game against the Lions, he kicked two punts in the Saints’ 45-27 win. Morstead’s first punt was returned for a 55 yard gain, the second for only five yards. In game two at Philadelphia, Morstead kicked his longest punt in his NFL career, averaging 52 yards in three kicks.

In an April 2009 article by The Times-Picayune, Saint’s head coach Sean Payton said of Morstead, “He has a strong leg – we think the best leg in the draft.” Upon being selected to the team, Morstead was competing with former punter, Glenn Pakulak. However, the Saints waived Pakulak on Aug. 27 to make room for Morstead.

With nearly one month in the NFL in the books, Morstead has kicked ten punts for an average of 46.5 yards. Morstead’s longest punt traveled 60 yards; two have fallen inside the 20-yard line. After three games, Morstead has yet to have a kick returned for a touchdown and has only kicked one punt out of bounds.

The biggest transition from SMU to the NFL, says Morstead, has been the fan support.

“If you’re in New Orleans, everyone follows the Saints,” Morstead says. “I didn’t think people would know the punter, but people flag me even in the grocery store. There’s a lot of die-hard fans, and I love being around the atmosphere of the Superdome.”

Having yet to technically graduate from SMU, Morstead, while on the Hilltop, was a four-year letterman after excelling in both the kicking and punting positions. In his three seasons at the NFL, including his first year as a walk-on, Morstead was ranked among the nation’s top punters, averaging 43.4 yards on 166 punts. Fifty-nine of those were marked inside the 20-yard line.

Upon leaving SMU, Morstead was fifth in SMU history with 217 points, spurred by a school-record 78 consecutive PATs.

Morstead, an electrical engineering major, will return to school in the spring to finish the two remaining classes he needs to earn a degree.

Today, Pakulak remains a free agent, having been released by the New York Jets on Sept. 2.

In a regular week, Morstead will have “really, really long” practices on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by a “pretty easy and relaxed day” on Friday and a walk-through on Saturday. On Sundays, Morstead usually wakes up around 7 a.m. to prepare for the game.

On Tuesday, the NFL’s official day off, players are often found volunteering in their communities. This week, Morstead and six teammates signed autographs and took pictures with New Orleans residents who donated money and food to a local charity.

Despite the fame that comes with being a professional football player, Morstead stays true to his roots, engaging in weekly phone calls and writing letters to his former mentor’s wife, Barbara Gansz.

“She just sent me a painting of the Saints playing in Superdome. I still talk to her on the phone every couple weeks,” Morstead says.

While he does not think he will be able to attend the Navy game (the Saints host the New York Giants the following Sunday), SMU will be honoring former special team’s coach Frank Gansz. So will Morstead be in attendance at SMU’s game against Navy?

“Never say never,” Morstead says. “I might be able to work something out.”