Senior punter won the Ray Guy Award and led the nation in punting in 2019
LEXINGTON, Ky. – July 22, 2020
University of Kentucky senior punter Max Duffy is one of 19 candidates on the preseason watch list for the 2020 Ray Guy Award, it was announced Wednesday by the Augusta Sports Council. Duffy was the winner of the 2019 Ray Guy Award which honors the nation’s top collegiate punter.
The Perth, Australia native was an absolute weapon for the Wildcats in 2019. Kentucky led the nation in net punting with a 44.55-yard net average and Duffy led the nation in punting at 48.10 yards per punt. Along with winning the Ray Guy Award, he was named a first-team All-American by Walter Camp, the AP, Sporting News, ESPN, FWAA, AFCA Coaches’, The Athletic, USA Today, Phil Steele and Athlon Sports. He is UK’s career punt leader with a 46.3-yard average.
Off the field, Duffy graduated in December of 2019 with a degree in psychology and is currently working on a master’s degree in kinesiology and health promotion. He has been named to the Southeastern Conference’s Academic Honor Roll, the First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll and has been listed on the Dean’s List twice. He also is active in community service, volunteering at the Kentucky Children’s Hospital with “Tuesdays with the Wildcats” and “In the Huddle with KCH.”
This year, Duffy has already been named a First-team All-American by Athlon Sports, Sporting News, Phil Steele’s College Football, and Walter Camp.
The number of eligible candidates for this season will grow when the award opens nominations on July 23. The complete list of candidates will be released on November 10. In mid-November, the Ray Guy Award committee will meet to select the 10 semifinalists, who will be announced on November 24. A national body of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sports information directors, media representatives and previous Ray Guy Award winners will then vote for the top three finalists to be announced on December 2. After the finalists are named, the voting body will cast ballots again to select the nation’s top punter. The winner will be announced live during The Home Depot College Football Awards airing on ESPN on Thursday, December 10, 2020.