The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Dickson named 2017 Ray Guy Award finalist
11.20.2017 | Football
The nation’s leading punter is a finalist for the second straight season.
VOTE! For Michael Dickson in the Ray Guy Award fan vote
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Junior punter Michael Dickson has been named a finalist for the 2017 Ray Guy Award, the Augusta Sports Council announced on Monday afternoon. The award annually recognizes the best punter in college football. Dickson, who was also a finalist a season ago, looks to become the first Longhorn to ever win the award.
A native of Sydney, Australia, Dickson is leading the nation averaging 48.03 yards per punt through 11 games. His net punting average of 44.22 yards per punt is also the best in the country. Last season, Dickson set the school record with a punting average of 47.4 yards, which he is currently on pace to beat.
A junior, Dickson has not only shown off his strength, but also his precision this season. Of his 64 punts, 29 of them have gone for more than 50 yards and 11 have been more than 60 yards. His season long, and also a career long, was 76 yards at TCU. It was the fifth-longest punt in the FBS this season and tied for the fifth-longest in Texas Football history. Dickson has downed 25 punts inside the 20-yard line, 21 inside the 15-yard line and 11 inside the 10-yard line.
Just 13-of-64 (20.3 percent) have been less than 40 yards. Of those 13 punts, five have been fair caught or downed inside the 10-yard line and another one was fair caught at the 12. Of his 16 returns allowed this season, nine of them (56.3 percent) have been three yards or less and five of them have gone for negative return yardage.
Twice this season Dickson was honored as the Ray Guy Award's National Punter of the Week. He was recognized after punting seven times with a net average of 46.2 yards per punt against Iowa State, and also after punting five times and tying his own school record with a 55.0 yards per punt average against Oklahoma.
The winner of the 2016 Ray Guy Award 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.
