ORLANDO – The Ray Guy Award – named for football's premier punter – honors the nation's best collegiate punter. On Friday, UCF's Andrew Osteen was added to the Ray Guy Award preseason watch list for the 2021 campaign.
The Augusta Sports Council (ASC) created the award in 2000. Along with other awards such as the Heisman Trophy and the Doak Walker Award, the Ray Guy Award honors an important member of any football team. The ASC presents the award live on The Home Depot College Football Awards broadcast on ESPN from Atlanta, Georgia.
The Ray Guy Award winner is selected by a voting body of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sports information directors, national media and former Ray Guy Award winners. Punters are evaluated on their overall statistics and contribution to the team. Particular emphasis is placed on the following statistics; net average, percentage of total punts inside the 20-yard line and percentage of punts not returned.
Osteen enters his third season as the Knights' primary punter in 2021, already finding himself among UCF's best with 97 career punts (9th), 4,164 career yards punting (7th), and a 42.9 career yards per punt average (2nd).
Last season, the Enterprise, Alabama native punted 40 times for 1,756 yards, an average of 43.9 yards per punt. He had nine punts inside the 20-yard line and eight of 50 yards or more on the season. Osteen ranked third in the AAC and 24th in the nation with his yards per punt average.
Knights on Preseason Watch Lists
- July 19: Dillon Gabriel, Maxwell Award
- July 20: Dillon Gabriel, Davey O'Brien Award
- July 22: Jaylon Robinson, Biletnikoff Award
- July 27: Cole Schneider, Outland Trophy
- July 30: Dillon Gabriel, Walter Camp Award
- July 30: Andrew Osteen, Ray Guy Award
Osteen and the Knights will open preseason camp on Wednesday, Aug. 4 and will begin the 2021 season on Thursday, Sept. 2 against Boise State at the Bounce House.