Andy Smith and Max Duffy
After you win the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s best punter, it’s hard to top that the next season. Yet former all-SEC punter Andy Smith thinks that is exactly what UK senior punter Max Duffy is doing this season. He helped Kentucky lead the nation in net punting last year at 45.13 yards per punt and he is UK’s career leader at 46.3 yards per punt. Last season 24 of his 49 punts landed inside the 20 and he had 22 punts of 50 or more yards.
In last week’s game against Georgia he averaged 42.5 yards on four punts with no return yards and landed punts on the 14-, 8- and 9-yard lines. He is averaging 47 yards per punt this season.
“I do think he is better. You rarely see him mishit a ball,” said Smith. “He has such control over different types of balls. He is so good at placing the ball at the corner and having it drop inside the 10-yard line over guys’ heads. He just does that so easily and they go down and cover it.
“He was first-team All-American last year and the Ray Guy winner. He is our most valuable player in my opinion.”
Smith, who works kicking camps with Duffy, knows the UK standout will have a “shot” to play in the NFL. He noted how Auburn punter Arryn Siposs, another former Australian player, was not picked in the 2020 draft after averaging almost 44 yards per punt. He signed with Detroit as a 27-year-old free agent and is on the practice squad now.
“Whether Max gets drafted or not, I don’t know,” Smith said. “Some years two or three punters get drafted. Some years they all go as free agents. What you don’t see a lot in the NFL is the roll out (punter). They just don’t do it.
“Those guys (in the NFL) can have a five-plus second hang time (with the punt in the air) and that is not Max’s strength. His is that he is so accurate. He will have a chance without a doubt to get in a training camp. He’s so consistent. That’s why he has a leg up on anybody else and very rarely does he not put the ball where he wants to.”
Smith said there are only 32 jobs for punters in the NFL and he estimates there are probably another 100 punters as good or almost as good.
“It’s just a whole different level of competitiveness,” Smith said. “Think about it. Only 32 jobs in the whole world for punters. That’s why as good as Max is there are still no guarantees with the NFL.
“I can’t say enough good about Max on and off the field. He’s just a great guy and a great representative for UK on top of being a great punter.”
