The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
2012 Football Roster
Roster
William Russ
- Position:
- P/PK
- Height:
- 6-4
- Weight:
- 185
- Class:
- Redshirt Sophomore
- Hometown:
- Shreveport, La.
- High School:
- Evangel Christian
A five-year punter/place-kicker ... served as a punter and reserve kickoff specialist ... played in 15 career games ... two-time member of Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll ... 2014 Ray Guy Award nominee ... ended his career No. 4 on the school’s all-time punting average (42.35) chart (minimum 60 attempts) ... an all-state, all-city and all-district performer coming out of high school … ranked as one of the nation’s top 15 kickers by ESPNU as a prepster.
SENIOR (2014)
Played in all 13 games ... served as the starting punter in the first 10 games ... the No. 1 holder in each game ... averaged 42.35 yards per attempt, which ranked fourth in the Big 12 and 44th in the FBS ... Ray Guy Award nominee ... had at least one 50-yard punt in every game except West Virginia, and posted two of the top eight single-game performances in school history (minimum five attempts) ... averaged 50.5 yards on six punts against UCLA, including his longest career attempt (a 62-yarder) ... that performance ranks tied for seventh on the school’s all-time single-game list ... averaged 42.5 yards on six attempts against Kansas ... also had a special teams tackle in the game ... punted seven times against Baylor and averaged 43.9 yards per kick with a long of 55 ... four of the seven kicks ended up inside the 20-yard line ... booted a 61-yard punt and pinned Oklahoma inside the 20-yard line twice on eight attempts ... averaged a career-best 50.7 yards per punt against Iowa State and tied his career-long with a 62-yard boot ... that performance ranks tied for sixth on the school’s all-time single-game list ... named CFPA National Punter of the Week for his performance and shared the team’s special teams player of the week with Nick Rose ... punted seven times against Kansas State and averaged 37.1 yards per kick ... three punts pinned the Wildcats inside of their own 20-yard line ... served as a game captain against Kansas State ... averaged 44.3 yards on six punts against Texas Tech, including one that pinned Texas Tech inside its own 20-yard line ... recorded one 23-yard punt against West Virginia ... punted six times for 229 yards (38.2 yards per punt), including one 50-yard boot, against TCU.
Served as the No. 2 punter ... did not seen game action.
SOPHOMORE (2012)
Played in the New Mexico game ... posted two kickoffs for an average of 64.0 yards per attempt.
REDSHIRT FRESHMAN (2011)
Made his collegiate debut against Kansas with two kickoffs for an average of 59.0 yards per kick.
FRESHMAN (2010)
Redshirted.
HIGH SCHOOL
Coached by John Bachman, Sr. at Evangel Christian H.S. … an all-state, all-city and all-district performer at place-kicker and punter … ranked as the 11th-best and most versatile kicker by Rivals and the 13th-best kicker by ESPNU … four-year starter at kicker and two-year starter at punter who scored 357 points, went 34 of 50 on FGs and averaged 41 yards per punt over his career … recorded 122 touchbacks in 160 kickoffs … named first-team all-state from the Louisiana Sportswriters Association as a senior … also an all-city and all-district selection … connected on 10 of 16 field goals … contributed to Evangel Christian’s 14-1 record and 2A state championship … tabbed all-state as a punter while earning first-team all-district and all-city honors as a junior … made 7 of 11 field goals, with a long of 50, scored 99 points and averaged 42 yards per punt, with a long of 68 … also tallied 60 touchbacks on kickoffs … honorable mention all-state as a sophomore … also earned all-district and all-city honors … connected on 14 of 16 field goals, including seven of 40 yards or more, and made 54 PATs to score 96 points … made field goals of 44, 40, 27 and 23 yards in a 24-21 victory over Texas High … made three field goals and went 61 of 63 on PATs to score 70 points as a freshman … a four-year starting third baseman in baseball … was an all-state, two-time all-district and two-time all-city selection … helped lead Evangel Christian to a state championship as a junior and a state runner-up finish as a sophomore.
PERSONAL
Born in Monroe, La … moved to Shreveport at age 9 ... majoring in physical culture and sports ... two-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll (fall 2011; spring 2012) ... graduated in December, 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in physical culture and sports (with a sociology minor).
RUSS' CAREER STATISTICS
2014
| Opponent | Punts | Yards | Avg. | Long | Blk | TB | FC | I20 |
| North Texas | 5 | 191 | 38.2 | 51 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| BYU | 8 | 341 | 42.6 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| UCLA | 6 | 303 | 50.5 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Kansas | 6 | 255 | 42.5 | 55 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Baylor | 7 | 307 | 43.9 | 55 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Oklahoma | 8 | 316 | 39.5 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Iowa State | 6 | 304 | 50.7 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Kansas State | 7 | 260 | 37.1 | 56 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Texas Tech | 6 | 266 | 44.3 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| West Virginia | 1 | 23 | 23.0 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma State | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | -- | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TCU | 6 | 229 | 38.2 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Arkansas | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | -- | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Year | G | Punt | Yards | Avg. | Lg | Blk | 50+ | I20 |
| 2014 | 13 | 66 | 2,795 | 42.3 | 62/2x | 0 | 17 | 22 |
| Career | 13 | 66 | 2,795 | 42.3 | 62/2x | 0 | 17 | 22 |
KICKOFFS
| Year | G | KO | Yards | Avg. | TB |
| 2011 | 1 | 2 | 118 | 59.0 | 0 |
| 2012 | 1 | 2 | 128 | 64.0 | 0 |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Total | 15 | 4 | 246 | 61.5 | 0 |
CAREER HIGHS
Punting Average: 50.7 (on eight attempts), vs. Iowa State (Sr.)
Most punts: 8, twice, vs. BYU (Sr.) and vs. Oklahoma (Sr.)
Longest Punt: 62 yards, vs. UCLA (Sr.)
