Ohio State’s Cameron Johnston a Semifinalist for Ray Guy Award – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 13, 2015
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State junior punter Cameron Johnston is one of 10 semifinalists for the 2015 Ray Guy Award, announced today by the Augusta Sports Council. The award honors the top punter in college football.
Johnston, a native of Geelong, Australia, ranks among the Top 10 punters in the nation and leads the Big Ten Conference with his 44.9-yard average. He continues to swing field position toward the undefeated Buckeyes’ favor on a weekly basis, with 17 of his punts downed inside the 20 yard line and 10 of those inside the 10. His efforts have the Buckeyes ranked 10th nationally in net punting, as well.
Johnston was named the Big Ten Conference special team’s player of the week after he averaged 51.5 yards on his four punts vs. Western Michigan, including a season-long 67-yarder. Three of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line — at the 1, the 8 and 13. Johnston had an even better inside-the-10 day vs. Penn State with four of his five punts downed at the 8, 2, 8 and 4 yard lines. Johnston is approaching the school record for most punts downed I20 with 74. The record is 78 by A.J. Trapasso.
The semifinalists were chosen from a field of 79 candidates. The candidates were evaluated on their overall statistics and contribution to the team. Particular emphasis was placed on the punter’s net average, percentage of total punts inside the 20-yard line and percentage of punts not returned. A national voting body of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) coaches, sports information directors, national media and former Ray Guy Award winners will decide the three award finalists, who will be announced on November 24. Voters will then cast a second round of ballots to decide the winner.
2015 Ray Guy Award Semifinalists
Michael Carrizosa (So.), San Jose State
Riley Dixon (Sr.), Syracuse
Tom Hackett (Sr.), Utah
Hayden Hunt (Jr.), Colorado State
Cameron Johnston (Jr.), Ohio State
Drew Kaser (Sr.), Texas A&M
Alex Kinal (Sr.), Wake Forest
Nick Porebski (So.), Oregon State
Austin Seibert (Fr.), Oklahoma
Johnny Townsend (So.), Florida
The presentation of the Ray Guy Award will be featured on The Home Depot College Football Awards live on Thursday, December 10 at 7 pm ET on ESPN. The show will feature a live presentation of nine player awards, along the NCFAA (National College Football Awards Association) Contributions to College Football Award, and the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award.
