Indiana football junior punter James Evans was named to the Ray Guy Award Watch List Wednesday morning, per a release from IU Athletics. The award, named after former legendary NFL punter Ray Guy, honors the nation’s most outstanding collegiate punter.
The award considers various statistics such as net punting average, number of times a punt is downed or kicked out of bounds inside the 20-yard line, total yardage punted and average returned yardage. Evans, from Auckland, New Zealand, owns the Hoosiers’ all-time punting average at 43.1 yards.
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Evans has started all 12 games in each of his first two seasons in Bloomington after never playing a snap of football before college. As a sophomore in 2022, Evans finished No. 2 in the program’s single-season punt average — 44.3 yards — and No. 3 in total punts with 75.
Evans, who has 17 career punts inside the 10-yard line, was likewise named to the 2022 Watch List prior to the start of last season. Ten semifinalists will be determined on November 10. FBS sports information directors, media representatives and previous Ray Guy Award winners will vote for the top three finalists on November 22.
The winner is set to be announced during the Home Depot College Football Awards in December.
