Georgia State punter Brandon Wright has been named one of 10 semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award as the top collegiate punter in the nation, the Augusta Sports Council announced Thursday.
With the Panthers playing their ninth season of football and sixth at the FBS level, Wright makes history as the first Georgia State player to be a semifinalist for any of the major college football awards.
Wright, the junior from Atlanta, ranks third in the nation in both gross and net punting, averaging 48.6 yards per punt with a net of 43.12. He is on pace to break the Sun Belt Conference record for season punting average.
Twenty-one of his 41 punts have travelled 50-plus yards, including a long of 68 yards last week vs. Louisiana, and he has 18 punts inside the 20-yard line with only three touchbacks.
Wright’s career average of 43.57 yards on 129 punts is a school record and ranks eighth among all active FBS punters.
A former walk-on who earned a scholarship prior to the 2018 season, Wright is one of just four FBS kickers to handle all three phases: punting, placekicking and kickoffs.
Named for College and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Ray Guy from Thomson, Ga., the award is presented annually by the Augusta Sports Council.
A national voting body of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sports information directors, national media and previous Ray Guy Award winners will decide the three award finalists who will be announced on Tuesday, November 20th at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU. Voters will then vote again to determine the winner who will be announced live on Thursday, Dec. 6 at The Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN, airing live from The Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
The Ray Guy Award will provide one additional vote as determined by football fans. The Fan Vote will be located on the Ray Guy Award website (rayguyaward.com) and is equivalent to one national selection committee member’s vote.
