From UT:
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Texas Longhorns’ junior punter Michael Dickson was named a 2017 semifinalist for the prestigious Ray Guy Award on Thursday morning. The award annually recognizes the best punter in college football. No Longhorn has ever won the award, although Dickson became UT’s first-ever finalist just a season ago.
The 2016 Big 12 Conference Special Teams Player of the Year, Dickson has had an even better year in 2017. He leads the nation with a gross punting average of 48.6 yards and also a net punting average of 44.65 yards. He has twice been named the Ray Guy Award National Punter of the Week this season.
A native of Sydney, Australia, Dickson has punted 57 times this season with 28 over 50 yards and 11 over 60 yards. He has a season-long punt of 76 yards, which was a career long, the fifth-longest punt in the FBS this season and tied for the fifth-longest punt in school history. He has had 21 punts downed inside the 20-yard line, 15 downed inside the 15-yard line and eight punts downed inside the opponents’ 10-yard line.
Against Iowa State, Dickson punted seven times with a net average of 46.2 yards while against Oklahoma he punted five times and averaged a school-record-tying 55.0 yards per punt. He earned the Ray Guy Award National Punter of the Week following each of those two performances.
Against Oklahoma State, Dickson punted a career-high 11 times and averaged 50.9 yards per punt. Of his four punts from OSU territory, he downed two inside the 10 and pinned the Cowboys at an average field position of the 11-yard line. Of his seven punts from UT territory, he averaged 57.9 yards per punt with a 55.9 net average.
In 5-of-10 games so far this season, Dickson has had a gross average of more than 50 yards. He has averaged at least 41.3 yards per punt in each of the Longhorns’ 10 games this season.
The FBS record for punting average in a season is 48.4 yards (min. 50 attempts) and 47.8 yards (min. 75 punts).
The three finalists for the 2016 Ray Guy Award will be announced on Tuesday, Nov. 21. The winner will be announced as part of the College Football Awards Show in Atlanta on Dec. 7.
The Ray Guy Award winner is determined by a national voting body of sports writers, college coaches, sports information directors and past Ray Guy Award winners. Among the statistics used to identify the winner is net punting average, number of times a 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. The winner must display team leadership, self-discipline, and have a positive impact on the team’s success.
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Texas Longhorns’ junior punter Michael Dickson was named a 2017 semifinalist for the prestigious Ray Guy Award on Thursday morning. The award annually recognizes the best punter in college football. No Longhorn has ever won the award, although Dickson became UT’s first-ever finalist just a season ago.
The 2016 Big 12 Conference Special Teams Player of the Year, Dickson has had an even better year in 2017. He leads the nation with a gross punting average of 48.6 yards and also a net punting average of 44.65 yards. He has twice been named the Ray Guy Award National Punter of the Week this season.
A native of Sydney, Australia, Dickson has punted 57 times this season with 28 over 50 yards and 11 over 60 yards. He has a season-long punt of 76 yards, which was a career long, the fifth-longest punt in the FBS this season and tied for the fifth-longest punt in school history. He has had 21 punts downed inside the 20-yard line, 15 downed inside the 15-yard line and eight punts downed inside the opponents’ 10-yard line.
Against Iowa State, Dickson punted seven times with a net average of 46.2 yards while against Oklahoma he punted five times and averaged a school-record-tying 55.0 yards per punt. He earned the Ray Guy Award National Punter of the Week following each of those two performances.
Against Oklahoma State, Dickson punted a career-high 11 times and averaged 50.9 yards per punt. Of his four punts from OSU territory, he downed two inside the 10 and pinned the Cowboys at an average field position of the 11-yard line. Of his seven punts from UT territory, he averaged 57.9 yards per punt with a 55.9 net average.
In 5-of-10 games so far this season, Dickson has had a gross average of more than 50 yards. He has averaged at least 41.3 yards per punt in each of the Longhorns’ 10 games this season.
The FBS record for punting average in a season is 48.4 yards (min. 50 attempts) and 47.8 yards (min. 75 punts).
The three finalists for the 2016 Ray Guy Award will be announced on Tuesday, Nov. 21. The winner will be announced as part of the College Football Awards Show in Atlanta on Dec. 7.
The Ray Guy Award winner is determined by a national voting body of sports writers, college coaches, sports information directors and past Ray Guy Award winners. Among the statistics used to identify the winner is net punting average, number of times a 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. The winner must display team leadership, self-discipline, and have a positive impact on the team’s success.
