Whitehead Named to Ray Guy Award Watch List for Third-Straight Season
8/30/2019 2:00:00 PM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana fifth-year senior punter Haydon Whitehead earned a spot on the Ray Guy Award Watch List for the third-straight season, the Augusta Sports Council announced on Friday. The award honors the nation's top collegiate punter.
Whitehead has averaged 40.4 yards per punt in his two seasons in Bloomington with 50 downed inside the 20-yard line and 21 inside the 10-yard line.
The Melbourne, Australia, native punted 51 times in 2018 and averaged 40.0 yards. Whitehead placed 33.3 percent of his kicks inside the 20 and blasted a long of 58 yards. He forced opponents into 21 fair catches and limited them to 57 yards on just 15 returns (3.8 average).
A former Australian Rules Football player, Whitehead punts left-footed and can also kick with his right. He trained under Nathan Chapman and John Smith at Prokick Australia.
The complete list of candidates will be released on Nov. 5. In mid-November, the Ray Guy Award committee will meet to select the ten semifinalists, who will be announced on Nov. 19. A national body of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sports information directors, media representatives and previous Ray Guy Award winners will then vote for the top three finalists to be announced on Nov. 25. After the finalists are named, the voting body will cast ballots again to select the nation's top punter. The winner will be announced live during The Home Depot College Football Awards airing on ESPN on Thursday, Dec. 12.
About the Ray Guy Award
The Augusta Sports Council created the Ray Guy Award in 2000 to honor Thomson, Georgia native and College and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Ray Guy. Among the statistics used to identify the winner is net punting average, number of times punt is downed or kicked out of bounds inside the opponents 20-yard line, total yardage punted, average returned yardage and percentage of punts not returned with particular emphasis placed on net punting average. The winner must display team leadership, self-discipline and have a positive impact on the team's success.
About the Augusta Sports Council
The Augusta Sports Council (ASC) enriches the quality of life and economic well-being for the Augusta metropolitan area by supporting and attracting sporting activities. To learn more, visit www.augustasportscouncil.org.
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