AUGUSTA, GA (WJBF) – The Augusta Sports Council released a preseason watch list of 50 candidates for the for the 2023 Ray Guy Award.
The 50 candidates on the list represent many different types of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) punters and include some of the 2022 Ray Guy Award Semifinalists, the top ten NCAA Punters from 2022, the 2022 All-Conference teams, the 2022 All-American Teams, the 2023 pre-season All-Conference Teams and eligible punters on the 2022 watchlist.
The number of eligible candidates for this season will grow when the award opens nominations on August 3, and the complete list of candidates will be released on November 6th. The full list is outlined below, and it includes notable names such as South Carolina’s returning All-American punter Kai Kroeger, Georgia’s resident Australian Brett Thorson, and many others.
The winner will be announced live during The Home Depot College Football Awards airing on ESPN in December 2023.
2023 Preseason Watchlist
Aaron Rodriguez, New Mexico
Alex Mastromanno, Florida State
Austin McNamara, Texas Tech
Ben Kiernan, University of North Carolina
Brett Thorson, Georgia
Brian Buschini, Nebraska
Clayton Stewart, Wyoming
Colton Spangler, Maryland
Daniel Sparks, Virginia
Daton Montiel, FIU
Dom Dzioban, Miami (OH)
Eddie Czaplicki, USC
Ethan Duane, Old Dominion
Ivan Mora, Wake Forest
Jack Ansell, Purdue
Jack Browning, San Diego State
James Evans, Indiana
Jay Bramblett, LSU
Jeremy Crawshaw, Florida
Jesse Mirco, Ohio State
Jordy Sandy, TCU
Joshua Sloan, UTEP
Kai Kroeger, South Carolina
Kyle Ostendorp , Arizona
Lachlan Wilson, Cal
Laine Wilkins, Houston
Lucas Borrow, Ball State
Lucas Dean, UTSA
Luke Elzinga, Oklahoma
Mark Vassett, Colorado
Mason Fletcher, Cincinnati
Matthew Hayball, Vanderbilt
Max Von Marburg, Syracuse
Mitchell Tomasek, Eastern Michigan
Nick Haberer, Washington State
Nik Constantinou, Texas A&M
Oliver Straw, West Virginia
Oscar Chapman, Auburn
Peter Moore, Virginia Tech
Porter Wilson, Duke
Riley Riethman, Navy
Ryan Bujcevski, SMU
Ryan Hanson, James Madison
Ryan Rehkow, BYU
Ryan Sanborn, Texas
Seamus O’Kelly, Texas State
Stephen Kotsanlee, Utah State
Tory Taylor, Iowa
Tyler Perkins, Iowa State
HISTORY OF THE RAY GUY AWARD:
The Augusta Sports Council created the Ray Guy Award in 2000 to honor Thomson, Ga., native and College and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Ray Guy. Among the statistics used to identity the winner is net punting average, number of times punt is downed or kicked out of bounds inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, total yardage punted, average returned yardage and percentage of punt not returned with particular emphasis placed on net punting average. The winner must display team leadership, self-discipline and have a positive impact on the team’s success.
