Football
Max Duffy - Football - University of Kentucky Athletics 93

MaxDuffy

  • position Punter
  • height 6-1
  • Weight 190
  • class Senior
  • Hometown Perth, Australia
  • High school Curtin/Kent Street

Career

  • Played in 34 career games in his three-year career
  • Finished his career as Kentucky’s all-time leading punter with a 46.0-yard career average
  • Boomed a 75-yarder at Auburn in 2020, a career long and tied for the third-longest punt in school history 
  • 2020 Second-Team All-SEC, Punter (AP, PFF)
  • 2020 Third-Team All-SEC (Phil Steele)
  • 2020 All-Bowl Team (AP, ESPN, USA Today)
  • In 2019, led the nation in punting, averaging 48.1 yards per punt
  • 2019 Ray Guy Award Winner for nation’s top punter
  • 2019 First-Team All-America (AP, Sporting News, ESPN, FWAA, Walter Camp, AFCA Coaches’, The Athletic, USA Today, Phil Steele and Athlon Sports)
  • 2019 Second-Team All-America, Punter (Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports)
  • 2019 First-Team All-SEC, Punter (AP)
  • 2019 Second-Team All-SEC, Punter (Coaches)
  • In his debut season in 2018, totaled 60 punts for 2,687 yards for an average of 44.8 yards per punt
  • His average of 44.8 yards per punt set a new school record, besting the 1984 team record of 44.6
  • Graduated in December of 2019 with a degree in psychology … On track to graduate in May of 2021 with a master’s degree in kinesiology and health promotion


2020 – Senior (Team Captain)

  • Second-Team All-SEC, Punter (AP, PFF)
  • Third-Team All-SEC (Phil Steele)
  • All-Bowl Team (AP, ESPN, USA Today)
  • Senior CLASS Award candidate
  • Ray Guy Award Watch List
  • Saw action in nine games
  • Ranked fourth in the SEC and 12th nationally in punting, averaging 45.1 yards per punt
  • Kentucky ranked 22nd nationally and fifth in the SEC in net punting (41.1)
  • Earned two Ray’s 4 honors and an SEC Special Teams Player of the Week
  • Earned a Ray’s 4 honor after punting mostly from the middle of the field vs. Georgia … Averaged 42.5 yards, with no return yardage, and landed punts on the 14-, 8-, and 9-yard lines
  • Named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week (10/12) after punting eight times for an average of 44.9 yards with a 57-yard long vs. Mississippi State
  • Downed three inside the Miss. State 20-yard line, including two inside the 5-yard line
  • Came up with a critical play on a free kick after the Bulldogs recorded a safety, booming a 75-yard kick with only an 11-yard return – in essence, a net kickoff of 64 yards
  • Earned a Ray’s 4 honor for week five games, punting three times for a 50.0 average vs. Ole Miss
  • Against Auburn and backed up on his own 1-yard line, his 75-yarder in the third quarter is a career long and ties for the third-longest punt in school history 
  • Elected as one of 10 team captains
  • Ray Guy Award Watch List
  • Preseason First-Team All-America (AP, Athlon Sports, ESPN, Sporting News, Walter Camp, Phil Steele, CBS Sports)
  • Preseason First-Team All-SEC (Athlon Sports, Coaches, Phil Steele)


2019 – Junior

  • Ray Guy Award Winner for nation’s top punter
  • First-Team All-America (AP, Sporting News, ESPN, FWAA, Walter Camp, AFCA Coaches’, The Athletic, USA Today, Phil Steele and Athlon Sports)
  • Second-Team All-America, Punter (Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports)
  • First-Team All-SEC, Punter (AP)
  • Second-Team All-SEC, Punter (Coaches)
  • Midseason All-American by the AP, Sporting News, ESPN and CBS Sports
  • Named to SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll
  • Dean’s List (Fall 2019)
  • Led the nation in punting, averaging 48.1 yards per punt
  • With Duffy’s distance and placement, Kentucky led the nation in net punting with a 45.13-yard net average
  • UK’s career punting leader with a 46.3-yard career average
  • Only 11 of 49 punts were returned (22%)
  • 24 of 49 punts landed inside the 20-yard line (49%)
  • Had 22 punts of 50-plus yards
  • Ran 26 yards on a fake punt for a first down against Missouri
  • Doesn’t shy away from contact as he has three career tackles
  • Averaged a career-best 57.7 yards per punt on three punts for 173 yards vs. UT Martin
  • Two-time Ray Guy Award Player of the Week
  • Three-time Ray’s 8 honor roll
  • SEC Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 28)
  • Had a magnificent night of punting and also ran a fake punt that set up a touchdown in Kentucky’s 29-7 win over Missouri … Missouri’s average field position after Duffy’s punts was its own 14-yard line … Punted five times for a 52.4-yard average, with no return yards and three punts inside the 20-yard line … Named Ray Guy Award Player of the Week and SEC Special Teams Player of the Week
  • Early in the fourth quarter, on 4th-and-6, he spied an opening and ran 26 yards for a first down; the impromptu dash helped set up a Wildcat touchdown … Had a crucial punt in the third quarter; with UK backed up on its own 9-yard line, he flipped the field with a career-long 70-yard boot
  • Also named Ray Guy Punter of the Week (Week 5) for his performance vs. the Gamecocks … Broke two school records … Broke his own single-game school record (min. 8 punts), averaging 51.1 yards on nine kicks … In the process, became UK’s career punting leader
  • For the game, had four punts inside the 20 with no touchbacks and his net average was 51.3 yards per punt … Created a turnover as he had one punt that hit a South Carolina player and was recovered by the Wildcats … All five punts that originated from at least the UK 27-yard line ended up inside the Gamecock 20
  • On Ray’s 8 nominee list for week two games after averaging 54 yards per punt vs. Toledo in the season opener … second best average yards per punt by a UK player in a single game (min. 5 punts) and it was the best mark since Bill Hawk vs. Tennessee on Nov. 23, 1991 (56.5 yards per punt)

2018 – Sophomore

  • Totaled 60 punts for 2,687 yards for an average of 44.8 yards per punt
  • His average ranks third-highest in UK history for a single season, trailing only Glenn Pakulak’s 2002 campaign when he averaged 45.58 yards per kick and Tim Masthay’s 45.23 average in 2008
  • Ranked sixth in the SEC and 13th nationally in punting yards per game (44.8)
  • Ray Guy Award Watch List
  • Ray’s 8 Player of the Week nominee (Week 5 and Week 11)
  • Had his season long with a 67-yarder in the first quarter, pinning Penn State on the five-yard line … Helped set up Bowden’s punt return TD, as the UK defense posted a three-and-out, and Bowden made the scoring runback
  • Also had his second-longest punt of the season, a 65-yarder at the end of the quarter … Finished with a 44.8-yard average
  • Did not punt in the Louisville game, tying the Governor’s Cup record for fewest punts set by Louisville in 2017
  • Punted a season-high 10 times for 487 yards (48.7 average) at Texas A&M … The 48.7 average set the school records for best average per punt in a game (min. 8 and min. 10) … Three punts were inside the opponent 20-yard line … Had a long punt of 63 yards
  • Punted four times against South Carolina for a 47.5-yard average, with all four punts inside the opponent 20-yard line
  • South Carolina’s average starting field position after his punts was its own 14-yard line
  • South Carolina did not score on any of its possessions after Duffy’s pinning punts
  • Outstanding in his first game as a Wildcat against Central Michigan, punting four times for a 50-yard average … Landed two inside the 20-yard-line and the team’s net punting average was 49.8 yards per punt


Australia

  • Australian punter who is rated as the No. 1 punting prospect in the class of 2018 by Ray Guy’s ProKicker.com
  • Averaged 48 yards per punt with an average hang time of 4.42 seconds, according to ProKicker
  • Grew up playing basketball and soccer, he switched to Australian football at age 15
  • Played for Fremantle in the Australian Football League
  • Worked with Prokick Australia under the guidance of coaches Nathan Chapman and John Smith
  • Second Aussie punter on the Wildcat roster, following in the footsteps of former punter Matt Panton


Personal

  • Born in Perth, Australia
  • Son of John and Jiulie Duffy
  • Siblings are Jack, Katie, and Rosie

Max Says

  • Wears his jersey number because he was born in 1993
  • If he could create a national holiday he would call it “National Drake Jackson Day” and everyone would eat whatever they wanted
  • The biggest difference he’s seen between America and Australia is the language barrier and how most people can’t understand him
  • The best advice he’s ever received is “it’s never as good or as bad as you think”
  • Three words to describe him are authentic, honest, and driven
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