Bowling Green's Davidson & Kent State's Adams Named To 2017 Ray Guy Award Watch List
BOWLING GREEN'S DAVIDSON AND KENT STATE'S ADAMS NAMED TO 2017 RAY GUY AWARD WATCH LIST
Augusta, GA (July 12, 2017) - The Augusta Sports Council has announced the pre-season watch list for the 2017 Ray Guy Award, which honors the nation’s top collegiate punter. From the 29 candidates for this year's award, representing the MAC are Bowling Green senior Joseph Davidson and Kent State sophomore Derek Adams.
Davidson, who was a semifinalist last year for the Ray Guy Award, was named All-MAC First Team with his 61 punts and 45.8 yard average, which ranked first in the MAC and fifth overall in the country. At 6-7 and 234 lbs., Davidson's net punting average of 43.1 yards ranked second in the nation. A native of Findlay, Ohio, Davidson had a season-long punt of 82 yards, which tied for longest in the country last season. He also was named a First Team Academic All-American and Academic All-District after carrying a 3.94 grade point average with a double major in finance and mathematics into the season. Davidson was named an Academic All-MAC selection and MAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete.
Adams, 6-0 and 177 lbs., totaled 76 punts for 3,063 yards and an average of 40.3 yards. A native of Manheim, Pa., Adams had a long punt of 67 yards and placed 29 punts inside the 20-yard line as a freshman during the 2016 season. Last season he also had eight punts over 50 yards or more.
The number of eligible candidates for this season will grow when the award opens nominations in September. The complete list of candidates will be released on October 31. In early November, the Ray Guy Award committee will meet to select the ten semifinalists, who will be announced on November 16. A national body of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sports information directors, media representatives, and previous Ray Guy Award winners will then vote for the top three finalists to be announced on November 21. After the finalists are named, the voting body will cast ballots again to select the nation’s top punter. The winner will be announced live during The Home Depot College Football Awards airing on ESPN on Thursday, December 7, 2017.
