NORMAL, Ill. - Of the 40 players selected for the 2005 Ray Guy Award Watch List, Illinois State's Ryan Hoffman stands alone. The Redbird senior is the only punter on the list who doesn't play for a Division I-A program. The award, given to the top collegiate punter of the year, is presented by the Greater Augusta Sports Council.
The Stevens Point, Wis., native is on pace to claim the school record in career punting average with 42.1 yards per kick, which would also rank No. 3 in the Gateway Football Conference. This season, he leads the conference with a 42.1 average through three games.
In his career, Hoffman has 167 punts for 7,037 yards, including 34 kicks of over 50 yards and 46 punts that have been downed inside the 20-yard line.
In 2003, Hoffman keyed the Redbirds to a No. 1 national ranking in net punting with a 39.2 yard average; and last season he finished No. 3 in the nation with an average of 43.9 yards per kick.
The Ray Guy Award Watch List will be narrowed to ten semi-finalists to be announced in early-November. The national voting body will then vote for the top three finalists who will be announced at the end of November. On December 8, 2005 the top three finalists will be in Orlando, Florida for the Home Depot College Football awards show. The winner will be announced live on ESPN.
The Ray Guy Award, named after former standout punter Ray Guy, considered to be the greatest punter to ever play, will be presented to the nation's best collegiate punter as determined by a national selection committee made up of sports writers, college football coaches and sports information directors, former punters and members designated by the Greater Augusta Sports Council.
Among the statistics used to identify the Ray Guy Award winner are total yardage punted, number of times a punt is downed or kicked out of bounds inside the opponents 20-yard line, net average, average returned yardage, and percentage of punts not returned. It is also of importance for the award winner to display team leadership, self-discipline, and to have a positive impact on the team's success.
2005 Ray Guy Award Watch List
Troy Blankenship Iowa State Senior
Kody Bliss Auburn University Junior
Joshua Brazen Kent State Senior
Adam Brooks Wyoming Senior
Dave Brytus Purdue University Sophmore
Brendan Carney Syracuse Senior
Cole Chason Clemson Junior
Ken Debauche Wisconsin Sophmore
Ryan Dougherty East Carolina Junior
Gordon Ely-Kelso University of Georgia Junior
Brandon Fields Michigan State Junior
Nate Fry Bowling Green Senior
Tyler Gaus New Mexico Senior
Adam Graessle Pittsburgh Junior
Chris Hall Florida State Senior
Ryan Hoffman Illinois State Senior
Ryan Hotchkiss UTEP Junior
Luke Johnson Southern Miss Senior
Jeremy Kapinos Penn State Junior
Sam Koch Nebraska Senior
Mike Lingiua Fresno State Junior
Chris Macdonald Arizona State Sophmore
Tom Malone Univ Southern Cal Senior
Ryan Mentzel SMU Senior
Matt Miller Ohio Senior
Kurt Milne Hawaii Junior
Brian Monroe Miami Junior
Parker Mullins UAB Junior
Thomas Olmsted Troy University Senior
Sam Paulescu Oregon State Senior
Ryan Plackemeier Wake Forest Senior
Adam Podlesh Maryland Junior
Tim Reyer Kansas State Sophmore
Alex Reyes Texas Tech Junior
Daniel Sepulveda Baylor Junior
Joel Stelly Louisiana-Monroe Senior
Billy Sullivan University of Akron Senior
John Torp Colorado Senior
Steve Weatherford Illinois Senior
Andrew Wellock Eastern Michigan Junior
Eric Wilbur Florida Junior
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