Utah State's Caldwell a Candidate for Ray Guy Award

Utah State [University] football player Peter Caldwell was named a candidate for the 2009 Ray Guy Award, which honors the nation’s top collegiate punter, announced today [Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009] by the Augusta Sports Council.

 

Caldwell, a junior from Kaysville, Utah (Davis HS), is the lone punter from the Western Athletic Conference and the only player from a Utah school on the 42-player list. Caldwell also is one of 14 juniors on the list as well as one of 13 from non-Bowl Championship Series (BCS) teams.

 

Caldwell currently leads the WAC and ranks 24th in the NCAA in punting with a 42.9 yards per punt average. He has 13 punts of 50 or more yards, including a season and career-long of 61 yards. Caldwell has had at least two 50+ yard punts in the last five games, highlighted by three at BYU on Oct. 2. He also has 22 punts inside the 20-yard line, with at least four in the last three games, including a season and career-best five in the Nevada game Oct. 17.

 

The 42-player list will be narrowed to 10 semi-finalists who will be named Nov. 13.

 

Following the semi-finalists 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, and ultimately the winner. The winner will be announced live during the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show airing on ESPN Dec. 10.

 

 

The Greater Augusta Sports Council created the Ray Guy Award in 2000 to honor Thomson, Georgia-native and College Football Hall of Fame inductee Ray Guy. The Ray Guy Award winner is determined by a national selection committee of football writers, FBS college coaches, sports information directors and past Ray Guy Award winners. Among the statistics used to identify the winner are total yardage punted, number of times a punt is downed or kicked out of bounds inside the opponents 20-yard line, net average, 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.

 

 

The Greater Augusta Sports Council (GASC) is a 501-c-3 not-for-profit organization established in 1992 to market the Augusta-area as a major amateur sports destination. Annually, the organization attracts, supports and creates numerous competitions and activities at all levels of participation.

 

 

The Ray Guy Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association’s official Web site.

 

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