July 10, 2013
LEXINGTON, Ky. – On the heels of the best freshman season a Wildcat punter has ever had, University of Kentucky sophomore punter Landon Foster has been named as one of 25 players nationally to the 2013 Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List, which annual honors the nation’s top collegiate punter, the Augusta Sports Council announced Wednesday.
The 25 candidates on the list incorporate a broad spectrum of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) punters. Returning Ray Guy Award semifinalists from 2012 include Kyle Christy (Florida), Steven Clark (Auburn) Tyler Williams (Marshall) and Kirby Van Der Kamp (Iowa State). Foster is one of five sophomore punters to make the list this season and one of three Southeastern Conference punters on the 2013 watch list. A full list of preseason nominees is below.
Foster’s naming to the prestigious list marks the third time in the last four seasons that Kentucky has had a punter listed on the preseason watch list. Former UK punter Ryan Tydlacka made the preseason watch list for the award in 2010 and 2011.
The number of eligible candidates for this season will grow when the award opens for nominations in September. The complete list of candidates will be released on Oct. 25. In early November, the Ray Guy Award committee will meet to select the 10 semifinalists who will be announced on Nov. 8. A national body of FBS sports information directors, coaches, media representatives, and previous Ray Guy Award winners will then vote for the top three finalists, to be announced on Nov. 25. 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, Dec. 12.
Foster had an immediate impact for the Wildcats last season as a true freshman handling all of the punting responsibilities and posting a 42.9 yards-per-punt average – the best mark ever by a UK freshman punter. The strong season led Foster to Freshman All-America honors by Scout.com and CollegeFootballNews.com, while SEC coaches tabbed Foster a Freshman All-SEC performer. The native of Franklin, Tenn., averaged a season-high 50.7 yards in UK’s win over Kent State, while his longest punt was a 58-yard blast against Arkansas. In all, Foster trapped UK’s opponents inside their own 20-yardline an impressive 13 times last season.
Season tickets for the 2013 Kentucky football season are on sale now. For more information, fans can visit ukfootballtix.com or call 1-800-928-2287.
For more information on Kentucky football, follow “@UKFootball” or “@UKCoachStoops” on Twitter.
2013 Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List
Steven Clark (Sr.), Auburn
Pat O’Donnell (Gr.), Miami (Fl.)
Darragh O’Neill (Jr.), Colorado
Will Monday (So.), Duke
Trent Tignor (Sr.), East Carolina
Kyle Christy (Jr.), Florida
Richie Leone (Sr.), Houston
Justin Duvernois (Jr.), Illinois
Kirby Van Der Kamp (Jr.), Iowa State
Anthony Melchiori (So.), Kent State
Landon Foster (So.), Kentucky
Tyler Williams (So.), Marshall
Colter Johnson (Sr.), Massachusetts
Tom Hornsey (Sr.), Memphis
Mike Sadler (Jr.), Michigan State
Ben Skaer (Sr.), New Mexico
Cayle Chapman-Brown (Sr.), New Mexico State
Thomas Hibbard (Jr.), North Carolina
Keith Kostol (Jr.), Oregon State
Cody Webster (Sr.), Purdue
Harrison Waid (Sr.), San Jose State
Mike Loftus (Jr.), SMU
Ethan Perry (So.), TCU
Hunter Mullins (Jr.), UAB
Michael Bowlin (Sr.), Washington State
