UF Football’s Kyle Christy Named Candidate for Ray Guy Award
Friday, October 31, 2014 | Football
University of Florida senior Kyle Christy has been named as a candidate for the 2014 Ray Guy Award, which identifies the nation's top collegiate punter. On Friday, the Augusta Sports Council announced the list of 80 candidates, who were nominated for the award by their school's sports information department.
The list will be narrowed to 10 semifinalists to be announced on Friday, Nov. 14. Following the semifinalists announcement, a national body of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sports information directors, coaches, media representatives and previous Ray Guy Award winners will vote for the top three finalists, who will be identified on Monday, Nov. 24. The voting body will then cast ballots to select the winner.
The presentation of the Ray Guy Award will be featured on The Home Depot College Football Awards live on Thursday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The show, hosted by ESPN's Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard, will feature live presentation of nine player awards, along with the recipients of Disney's Spirit Award, The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award, the NCFAA (National College Football Awards Association) Contributions to College Football Award and student-athletes selected to the Walter Camp All-America Team.
The Augusta Sports Council presents the Ray Guy Award, given to the collegiate punter of the year at The Home Depot College Football Awards Show. The Augusta Sports Council created the Ray Guy Award in 2000 to honor Thomson, Ga., native and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Ray Guy. The Ray Guy Award winner is determined by a national voting body of sportswriters, 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. Learn more about the Ray Guy Award at www.RayGuyAward.com.
Christy was a finalist for the Ray Guy Award in 2012, when he was named to the Walter Camp All-America Second Team and averaged 45.8 yards per punt to set a single-season school record. Through six games this fall, he is third in the Southeastern Conference by averaging 44.5 yards per punt. In addition, Christy has had 13 punts of 50 yards or longer, 13 kicks inside of the opponents' 20-yard line and delivered nine punts that have been fair caught.
The Gators take on Georgia in Jacksonville at 3:30 p.m. on CBS on Nov. 1. For all of the latest information on Florida football, log on to GatorZone or follow the team's Twitter account @GatorZoneFB.
