Duffy Named Candidate for 2020-21 Senior CLASS Award
University of Kentucky football senior punter Max Duffy has been named one of 30 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision candidates for the 2020-21 Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
Duffy, a native of Perth, Australia, has been very active in the community since his arrival at Kentucky in 2018. Prior to COVID-19, Duffy was volunteering at the Kentucky Children’s Hospital weekly as part of the “Tuesdays with the Wildcats’ program, a community service event created by former Wildcat C.J. Conrad. When the pandemic hit in March 2020 and he could no longer do in-person visits with the kids, Duffy and fellow Wildcat Luke Fortner teamed up with the KCH to set up a program called “In the Huddle with KCH,” where they taped a video of themselves from their homes answering questions from kids who submitted through the KCH Facebook Page. The video was posted to Facebook every Tuesday morning to replace what would have been their in-person visit. In addition to “In the Huddle with KCH,” Duffy and Fortner took it one step farther by volunteering each week to make Zoom calls with patients at KCH to offer words of encouragement. The duo continues to volunteer each week on Zoom and Christina Briggs, the senior market development manager at KCH said, “Each patient gets individual time to speak with Duffy and his teammates during these highly anticipated calls which brings such joy to the patients (and parents, too). Like the in-person visits, these interactions help to break up the monotony of days spent in the hospital – especially during a worldwide pandemic with restrictions prohibiting a rotation of visitors. We are so lucky to have players like this involved with our children.”
In the classroom, Duffy graduated in December of 2019 with a degree in psychology and is currently working on a master’s degree in kinesiology and health promotion with aspirations of becoming a sports psychologist. He is on track to receive his master’s degree in May of 2021. Duffy was named to the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll and the Dean’s List in 2019. Prior to the 2020 season, Duffy was also voted a team caption by his peers.
Duffy was the 2019 Ray Guy Award winner for the nation’s top punter. He also was a first-team All-American as he led the nation in punting, averaging 48.1 yards per punt. He currently ranks third in the SEC and 10th nationally in punting, averaging 46.3 yards per punt this season. Duffy has already been named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week and earned a Ray’s 4 honor twice this season, and once again he is a candidate for the Ray Guy Award.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
To determine the overall Senior CLASS Award winner, the 30 candidates are narrowed to ten finalists at the end of the regular season, and those names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system available to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs: community, classroom, character and competition. Along with the winner, the ten finalists will be awarded Senior CLASS Award first- or second-team honors.
The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the football bowl season in December. For more information on the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
2020-21 Football Candidates
Chase Allen, Iowa State
Carlos Basham Jr., Wake Forest
Tavante Beckett, Marshall
Ian Book, Notre Dame
Shane Buechele, SMU
Harry Crider, Indiana
Max Duffy, Kentucky
Keith Duncan, Iowa
Greg Eisworth, Iowa State
Miller Forristall, Alabama
Robert Hainsey, Notre Dame
Bryce Harris, Toledo
Tyriq Harris, Charlotte
Tarron Jackson, Coastal Carolina
Kingsley Jonathan, Syracuse
Kekaula Kaniho, Boise State
Cameron Kinley, Naval Academy
Andre Mintze, Vanderbilt
Jimmy Morrissey, Pittsburgh
Riley Patterson, Memphis
Kwity Paye, Michigan
Hamilcar Rashed Jr., Oregon State
Kody Russey, Louisiana Tech
Trey Smith, Tennessee
Darius Stills, West Virginia
Chazz Surratt, North Carolina
Kyle Trask, Florida
Shai Werts, Georgia Southern
Amadeo West, Military Academy
Brady White, Memphis
