Alex Kinney named on final candidate list for Ray Guy Award

Alex Kinney has been recognized as a finalist for the Ray Guy award, per an announcement on Oct. 31. The award established in 2000 honors the best punter in the nation and is selected by a voting pool of school SID’s, media representatives and previous winners.

The list of the nation’s top 78 collegiate punters includes last year’s winner Utah’s Mitch Wishnowsky along with Florida’s Johnny Townsend, who currently leads FBS with a 49.5 yards per attempt average.

Through nine games, Kinney has 43 punts for a total of 1,811 yards, which are both first in the Pac-12 for an a 42.1 average per kick. He also has the longest punt among conference punters this season with a 70-yard attempt at UCLA. Kinney, a native of Fort Collins, will try to become just the second Colorado punter to win the award since Mark Mariscal in 2002. Kinney has 19 punts inside the 20-yard line this season and three touchbacks.

The list of candidates will be pared down to ten semifinalists on Thursday, November 16 and then down to three before the award is announced live on ESPN during The Home Depot College Football Awards on Thursday, Dec. 7.