Oklahoma punter Luke Elzinga makes the Ray Guy award watch list ahead of the 2023 season.
Replacing Michael Turk will be an underrated storyline heading into the season. It probably won’t be much of an issue for the first couple of games, but as Oklahoma heads into conference play and the competition levels increase, having a punter capable of flipping field position when needed, like Turk, would be a significant benefit.
Enter Luke Elzinga, a transfer punter from Central Michigan University. Elzinga came over to Oklahoma after three years at CMU, where he was the primary punter for the last three seasons and a three-time All-Mid-American Conference performer.
In his first three seasons at the collegiate level, Elzinga averaged 42.4 yards on his 145 career punts. He’s registered 24 punts of at least 50 yards, 47 fair catches, 61 downed inside the 20-yard line, and only ten touchbacks. To add to his impressive resume, he’s also a three-time All-MAC Academic Team selection.
His performance last year made it possible for him to land on the preseason watchlist for the Ray Guy Award, handed out annually to the nation’s top punter. This marks the second consecutive season that Elzinga has been named to the watchlist for the Ray Guy Award but his first as a Sooner.
Former punter Michael Turk made the preseason watchlist last year before becoming a semifinalist in 2022. He averaged 46.79 yards per punt attempt during the 2022 campaign while earning first-team All-Big 12 honors. Turk was a weapon on special teams for Oklahoma.
Special Teams coordinator Jay Nunez and Oklahoma hope Elzinga can bring a similar level of consistency to the punter position.
With Elzinga’s selection to the preseason watchlist, he joins teammates [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] and [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] as Sooners named to preseason awards watchlist.
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