Football: Trapasso On Ray Guy Award Watch List – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Augusta, GA (June 12, 2008) – The Greater Augusta Sports Council announced today its pre-season watch list for the 2008 Ray Guy Award, which identifies the nation’s top collegiate punter. The pre-season list is comprised of the top non-graduating finalists from the previous year. The 2008 pre-season list is headed up by Cincinnati Bearcat punter Kevin Huber, who was a Ray Guy Award top-3 finalist last year.
Former Georgia Tech punter Durant Brooks won the award in 2007. Brooks was the only punter selected in the 2008 NFL draft, where he was taken in the sixth round by the Washington Redskins. He looks to follow the success of 2006 and 2004 winner Daniel Sepulveda (Baylor), who is making a name for himself with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and 2005 winner Ryan Plackemeier (Wake Forest) of the Seattle Seahawks.
The Ray Guy Award watch-list will be expanded after the start of the season. The list will be narrowed to ten semi-finalists in early-November. The national voting body will then vote for the top three finalists, who will be announced in late-November. The winner will be announced live during the ESPNU-Home Depot College Football awards show on December 11, 2008.
2008 Ray Guy Award Pre-Season Watch List
Keenyn Crier (Arizona) had a phenomenal freshman season. He was named 1st-team All-PAC-10, 1st-team freshman All-America (FWAA), and Sporting News 2nd-team. He had 2,577 total yards punting, His net punting average was 39.8 yards, and he dropped 22 of his 59 punts inside the 20. 66% of his punts were not returned.
Kevin Huber (Cincinnati) looks to be the man to beat in 2008. In addition to being a 2007 Ray Guy Award top-3 finalist, his other honors included Consensus All-America, Walter Camp All-America, Big East Special Teams Player of the Year, and 1st-team All-Big East. 20 of his 57 punts downed inside the 20, his net punting average was 44.23 yards per kick, and nearly 72% of his punts were not returned. Kevin’s had 2,672 total punting yards.
Chris Miller (Ball State) was an American Football Coaches Association All-America 1st-team selection in 2007. He had a net punting average of 40.02%, and 23 punts were downed inside the 20. 54.1% of his punts were not returned. He punted for 2,772 total yards.
Louie Sakoda (Utah) had a stellar 2007 season. He was named a 1st-team All-America punter by the FWAA and CBSSports.com, 2nd-team All-America punter by SI.com, and 2nd-team All-America punter and kicker by College Football News. He was the only starting dual punter/placekicker to rank in the top five of both disciplines. Louie had 3,231 total punting yards. He had a net punting average of 40.19 yards, had 28 of 73 punts downed inside the 20, and 65.75% of his punts could not be returned.
A.J. Trapasso (Ohio State) was recognized in 2007 as the Big Ten special-teams player of the week after the Buckeyes played Michigan State. 19 of his 50 punts were downed inside the 20, his net punting average was 38.46 yards, and 66% of his punts could not be returned. He finished the season with 2,049 punting yards.
The inaugural Ray Guy Award was presented in December 2000. The award is affiliated with the National College Football Awards Association. Its national voting body is made up of sports writers, college football coaches, sports information directors, and former Ray Guy Award winners. 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 important for the award winner to display team leadership, self-discipline, and to have a positive impact on the team’s success.
About the Greater Augusta Sports Council
The Greater Augusta Sports Council (GASC) is a 501-c-3 not-for-profit organization established in 1992 to market the Augusta-area as a major amateur sports destination. Annually, the organization attracts, supports, and creates numerous competitions and activities, at all levels of participation. The Sports Council created the Ray Guy Award to honor of Thomson, Georgia-native and College Football Hall of Fame inductee Ray Guy, arguably the greatest punter to play football.
