Max Duffy averaged 45.8 yards per punt with 10 kicks of 50 or more yards. (SEC Photo)
I’m one of the voters for the Ray Guy Award given to the nation’s top punter and it was an easy choice last year for me to vote for Kentucky junior Max Duffy after the year he had. I am on the selection group again this year and was stunned Tuesday when I received the list of 10 semifinalists for this year’s award and Duffy’s name was not on it.
If there are 10 better punters in the country than Max Duffy, then donkeys must be flying down Main Street in Lexington.
This year Duffy has punted 37 times in eight games and averaged 45.8 yards per punt — 10 punts were 50 or more yards including one of 75 yards — with just one touchback. Sixteen of his punts resulted in fair catches and 13 were inside the 20-year line. His net punting average was 42.4 yards — down from last year’s 44.6 mark — because of a 50-yard touchdown return against Florida.
In his All-American season in 2019, Duffy had 24 of his 49 punts downed inside the 20 and 22 punts of 50 or more yards in 13 games compared to the eight he played in this season — he missed two due to COVID-19 protocols. He had 22 punts of 50 or more yards.
In his career Duffy has averaged 46.2 yards per punt on 146 kicks with a long of 75 yards and 49 punts of 50 or more yards in 33 games. Forty of his 146 punts have had fair catches and 67 have been downed inside the 20 yard-line with just seven career touchbacks. He has never had a punt blocked.
Just look at some of the others on the semifinalist list that did not include Duffy:
— Nik Constantinou of Texas A&M had a net average of 40.1 — lower than Duffy — with a long punt of 54 — 21 yards shorter than Duffy’s best. He had 11 punts inside the 20.
— Zach Von Rosenberg of LSU had a net of 43.4 with a long of 61. He did put 19 punts inside the 20.
— Haydon Whitehead of Indiana had a net punting average of 40.4, long punt of 55 yards and five punts inside the 20 — all below the numbers Duffy had.
I could go through the other seven but no need to nitpick. Duffy should have been in the top 10 and for my money was the nation’s best again.
The good thing is knowing Duffy as I do, this won’t upset him. He’s just not that way. He’ll be fine whoever the winner is Jan. 7 and just move on. But for the 2019 Ray Guy Award winner to have the season he did and not be at least a semifinalist this year just seems wrong to be based on the numbers Duffy had.
