Max Duffy Named Ray Guy Award Semifinalist
Kentucky junior punter Max Duffy has been named one of 10 semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award, presented annually to the nation’s top punter, the Augusta Sports Council announced Monday.
Duffy, of Perth, Australia, continues to be an absolute weapon for the Wildcats, dominating the field position game with his booming and accurate leg. He is UK’s career punt leader with a 46.2-yard average and with his distance and placement, Kentucky leads the nation in net punting with a 48.3-yard net average. Duffy currently ranks first in the SEC and second nationally in punting (48.3).
Duffy has twice been named the Ray Guy Award Player of the Week and earned Southeastern Conference Special Teams Player of the Week on Oct. 28 after a magnificent night of punting vs. Missouri. He has also been on the Ray’s 8 weekly honor roll three times. In addition, Duffy was a First-Team Midseason All-America choice by ESPN and The Sporting News and a Second-Team Midseason All-America selection by the Associated Press.
Against South Carolina, Duffy set two school records, breaking his own single-game school record (min. 8 punts), averaging 51.1 yards on nine kicks and in the process, became UK’s career punting leader.
On a rainy, Saturday night against Missouri, Duffy punted five times for 262 yards (52.4 average), had a career-best 70-yard punt and pinned Mizzou inside its own 20-yard line three times. Duffy’s 70-yard punt was the longest by a UK player in an SEC game since Ryan Tydlacka vs. Ole Miss in 2010 (73 yards). Duffy also scampered 26 yards for a first down on a fake punt. It kept the drive alive that set up Kentucky’s final touchdown.
He also made a huge impact in UK’s wins over Toledo and Eastern Michigan. In the Toledo game, he punted six times for a 54-yard average, the second-highest single-game average in school history (min. 5 punts). Against EMU, he only punted three times but his three punts forced Eastern Michigan to start on its own 8, 11 and 13-yard lines. EMU did not score following any of his punts, helping set up UK touchdowns on both of its subsequent possessions (a third EMU possession ended the half).
Finalists for the Ray Guy award will be released Monday, November 25 with the winner being announced on Tuesday, December 12 at the 2019 Home Depot College Football Awards Show in Atlanta, Ga.
The Augusta Sports Council created the Ray Guy Award in 2000 to honor Thomson, Georgia native and College and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Ray Guy. Among the statistics used to identify the winner is net punting average, number of times punt is downed or kicked out of bounds inside the opponents 20-yard line, total yardage punted, average returned yardage and percentage of punts not returned with particular emphasis placed on net punting average. The winner must display team leadership, self-discipline and have a positive impact on the team’s success.
Kentucky is 5-5 overall, 3-5 in the SEC. The Wildcats’ next matchup is against UT Martin on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Kroger Field. The game will air at 3:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network. For tickets, visit UKfootballtix.com.
