Tag: Ray Guy Award

Iowa Hawkeyes punter Tory Taylor named to 2022 Ray Guy Award watch list

After bombing punts last season to the tune of 46.1 yards per punt, Tory Taylor has been named to the Ray Guy Award preseason watch list.

Iowa punter Tory Taylor has been named to the Ray Guy Award watch list. The 6-foot-4, 231 pound punter from Melbourne, Australia, averaged 46.1 yards per punt on 80 punts.

The Ray Guy Award is handed out annually to the nation’s top punter. Taylor has twice been a semifinalist for the award in the 2020 and 2021 seasons. In addition to his preseason watch list nod here, Taylor earned preseason second-team All-Big Ten honors from Athlon Sports and preseason fourth-team All-Big Ten recognition from Phil Steele.

Taylor appeared on the weekly Ray’s 8 list three times throughout the 2021 season and was named Big Ten Co-Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against Iowa State. He was also named honorable mention All-Big Ten by the league coaches and media a season ago.

Of course, Taylor set the Iowa single-season record for punting yards with 3,688 yards in 2021. During the 2020 season, Taylor ranked third in the Big Ten and 20th nationally with a punting average of 44.1 yards. Eighteen of his 40 punts were downed inside the 20-yard line and nine were downed inside the 10-yard line that season.

Iowa’s Ryan Donahue was also a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award in 2009 and a finalist in the 2010 season.

In addition to Taylor’s brilliance in the punting department, he also made use of his star status with the Hawkeyes to help raise money for Count The Kicks, an organization that’s working to save babies’ lives and decrease stillbirths.

All of the proceeds from Taylor’s “Punting Is Winning” t-shirts go directly to support the Count The Kicks organization.

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Oklahoma punter Michael Turk named to Ray Guy Award watch list for 2022

Looking to build off of a tremendous 2021 season, Oklahoma punter Michael Turk was named to the Ray Guy Award watch list.

The Oklahoma Sooners lone selection to the Big 12’s preseason first-team, Michael Turk, has a chance to add more accolades to his already stunning resume. Turk was named to the Ray Guy Award watch list for 2022.

Michael Turk transferred to Oklahoma last offseason and became a weapon for a Sooners team that struggled at times with offensive consistency.

After transferring from Arizona State, Turk led the nation with 51.2 yards per punt in 2021 for the Oklahoma Sooners. Turk was fifth in the nation in net yards per punt at 45.6 and had the second longest punt during the 2021 season and was eighth in hang-time at 4.20 seconds among punters with at least 16 attempts.

Though no offense wants to punt the ball away, having a leg like the Sooners have in Michael Turk can help Oklahoma in the field position battles they’ll face this season.

Turk’s ability to flip field position can be a game changer and provide the defense with momentum before stepping on the field.

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Reid Bauer known for more than miracle touchdown vs Alabama

Reid Bauer is a master of pinning Arkansas opponents deep in their own territory.

To most of the nation and the casual football-watching public, Reid Bauer is that guy who threw the touchdown pass on Arkansas’ fake field goal last year against Alabama.

And while that’s true, Bauer is getting some recognition for his so-called day job, too.

Arkansas’ senior punter was one of 48 players named to the Ray Guy Award watch list as the nation’s best college punter. Bauer punted 58 times last year for an average of 43.28 yards per kick. The rank was fourth in the SEC, but the key was pinning. Sixteen of Bauer’s punts were fielded or downed inside the opponent’s 20.

Yes, Bauer is most famous for the 33-yard scoring toss to Blake Kern last year, though. The touchdown pulled Arkansas within six points of the Crimson Tide in the fourth quarter before Jameson Williams’ touchdown with 5:38 left provided Alabama’s insurance.

The Ray Guy Award will be given out December 8 as part of the College Football Awards presentation.

Jordan Stout named finalist for Ray Guy Award

Will Jordan Stout be the first Ray Guy award winner in Penn State program history?

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Anyone who has been watching Penn State football this season knows that Jordan Stout is arguably one of the best kicking specialists in the game. And the folks who award the Ray Guy Award confirmed that on Tuesday.

Stout was named a finalist for this year’s Ray Guy Award, which is awarded annually to the nation’s top punter by the Augusta Sports Council. Stout is one of three finalists for this year’s award. He is joined by Matt Araiza of San Diego State and Adam Korsak of Rutgers.

Stout and Korsak put on a Ray Guy Award exhibition last weekend by exchanging impressive punts on consecutive drives to start the game. Stout eventually had the punting pressure taken off of him in the second half as the Penn State offense started to create some scoring drives, while Korsak continued to be called don to punt. Both punters proved why they are finalists for the nation’s top punter award.

Stout has earned Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week four times this season, including last weekend against Rutgers. He is just the second specialist in Big Ten history to be named a special teams player of the week four times in a single season, joining 2001 Ray Guy Award winner Travis Dorsch of Purdue in that rare company.

Penn State has never had a player win the Ray Guy Award, so Stout will be looking to make some program history. Just three Big Ten players have taken home the Ray Guy Award since it was first awarded in 2000, and they did so in three of the first four years of the award’s existence. Wisconsin’s Kevin Stemke won the inaugural Ray Guy Award in 2000, and Purdue’s Dorsch won the award the following season in 2001. Ohio State’s B.J. Sander won the award in 2003. Georgia Tech’s Pressley Harvin III was the Ray Guy award winner in 2020.

The winner of the Ray Guy Award will be announced during the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on December 9 on ESPN.

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Adam Korsak a finalist for the Ray Guy Award

Rutgers football punter Adam Korsak a finalist for the prestigious Ray Guy Award.

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Adam Korsak is one of three finalists for the Ray Guy Award, the Rutgers punter arguably the most impactful player on the Scarlet Knights roster.

So far this season, Korsak is averaging 46 yards per punt on 66 attempts. He has a staggering 35 punts inside the 20-yard line and, equally as impressive is the fact that Korsak hasn’t had a touchback this season.

The Ray Guy Award is given annually to the nation’s top punter. Korsak is joined as a finalist along with Matt Araiza (San Diego State) and Jordan Stout (Penn State). The punters from Rutgers and Penn State are a rarity for the award; the last punter from the Big Ten to win the Ray Guy Award was B.J. Sander of Ohio State in 2003.

Sander is one of two Big Ten punters to win the Ray Guy Award, the other being Wisconsin’s Kevin Stemke in the first year of the award (2000).

On Tuesday, it came out that Korsak would be returning in 2022 for a final season of college football.

What top punters are up for the Ray Guy Award?

Five punters from the Big Ten are among 10 semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award.

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The Ray Guy Award announced 10 semifinalists on Wednesday, the annual award for the nation’s top college football punter being whittled down from 83 players on the preseason watch list.

The Big Ten conference has five punters on the list, leading the way for all conferences. Which begs the question: should Big Ten teams just punt every play?

And another question: how is the top punter in college football chosen? The good people at the Ray Guy Award have that answer:

A national voting body of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sports information directors, national media and previous Ray Guy Award winners will decide the three award finalists who will be announced on Tuesday, November 23rd. Voters will then vote again to determine the winner who will be announced live on Thursday, December 9th at The Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN.

An additional vote is given to fans, who can vote via the award’s website.

Michigan State football P Bryce Baringer added to Ray Guy watch list

Bryce Baringer has his eyes set on the Ray Guy Award

The Ray Guy Award is awarded to the most outstanding punter across college football, as voted on by the Augusta Sports Council.

The award committee has started to give out more nominations for their watch list, and Michigan State’s Bryce Baringer was officially nominated.

Baringer is currently third in the NCAA in average yards per punt with an average of 49.19. Baringer has been a huge asset for the Spartans so far this season, with the ability to flip the field at any time.

Baringer would be the first Spartan punter to win the award.

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Penn State punter Jordan Stout receives national weekly honor

Penn State punter Jordan Stout makes another claim to being the best punter in the nation with weekly Ray Guy Award honor.

Penn State punter Jordan Stout is continuing to establish himself as one of the top punters in the country. Following his dynamic performance against Indiana, Stout was honored as the nation’s top punter.

The Ray Guy Award and the Augusta Sports Council announced on Tuesday Stout was selected as this week’s Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week. Stout was also named the Big Ten’s co-special teams player of the week for his big punting display in Penn State’s 24-0 victory over Indiana in Week 5.

Stout is among the nation’s leading punters with an average punting distance of 48.46 yards. Other punters may have higher averages, but this doesn’t take into account Stout’s ability to drop a punt deep in an opponent’s side of the field. Indiana started three possessions inside their own 20-yard line last week, and Stout has shown a great ability to help flip the field (see the Wisconsin game).

We often don’t heap enough praise on kickers and punters when they are doing their job exceptionally well. Stout continues to handle multiple special teams responsibilities, with his punting game his strongest asset.

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Aussie Rules: Rutgers football Adam Korsak gets national weekly honor

The awards keep rolling in for Rutgers football as Adam Korsak gets weekly honors from the Ray Guy Award.

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Adam Korsak followed up a big afternoon of punting with a pretty nice national nod. The Australian punter was named the Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week.

The national weekly honor comes after the senior punter averaged 49.7 yards per punt including one punt of 67 yards. Three of his punts against the Owls were inside the 20-yard line. Korsak played an important role in keying Rutgers to a 61-14 win over Temple in the Scarlet Knights’ season opener on Saturday.

The national attention is nothing new for Korsak, who was named to the Ray Guy Award Watch List in preseason. The award is given to the nation’s top punter.

 

Last season, Korsak was named 2020 Second Team All-Big Ten by the media and 2020 Third Team All-Big Ten by the conference’s coaches. Last season, he averaged 43 yards per punt with 21 of 48 punts inside the 20-yard line. He is one of Rutgers’ six team captains.

Also on Wednesday, Rutgers linebacker Olakunle Fatukasi was named the Bednarik Award Player of the Week for his nine tackles and three sacks in the blowout win.

Drue Chrisman named to the Ray Guy Award preseason watch list

Ohio State punter Drue Chrisman has been named to the Ray Guy 2020 preseason watch list as announced on Wednesday.

The parade of preseason college football award watch lists continue with the announcement of the Ray Guy preseason watch list. And, as in a lot of cases with others that have been released, Ohio State has a player listed.

The Ray Guy Award goes to the best punter in college football annually, and that can only mean one thing; bottle flipping extraordinaire, Drue Chrisman, is one of the names appearing among. He can propose, he can bottle flip like almost no other human on the planet, but most importantly, he can be a serious weapon on special teams by flipping field position.

The Ray Guy award has been around since the year 2000 and is awarded by Greater Augusta Sports Council. B.J. Sander is the only Buckeye to take home the award back in 2003.

 

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