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  • Max Duffy Named Ray Guy Award Winner

    The Kentucky junior honored for being nation’s top punter after outstanding season

    LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky junior punter Max Duffy has been named the winner of the 2019 Ray Guy Award given to the nation’s top punter, the Augusta Sports Council announced Thursday night during the Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN in Atlanta.

    Duffy, of Perth, Australia, has been an absolute weapon for the Wildcats this season, dominating the field position game with his booming and accurate leg. He leads the nation in punting at 48.6 yards per punt and has helped the Cats lead the nation in net punting as well. He has been consistently excellent this season and was twice named the Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week. Duffy also is UK’s all-time leading career punter at 46.47 yards on 107 kicks.

    Duffy recently earned first-team All-SEC honors by the AP, first-team All-America by the FWAA and was a second-team choice by the league coaches.

    He was twice been named the Ray Guy Award Player of the Week during the regular season and earned Southeastern Conference Special Teams Player of the Week on Oct. 28 after a magnificent night of punting vs. Missouri. He was on the Ray’s 8 weekly honor roll three times. He also was a First-Team Midseason All-America choice by ESPN and The Sporting News and a Second-Team Midseason All-America selection by the Associated Press.

    Against South Carolina, Duffy set two school records, breaking his own single-game school record (min. 8 punts), averaging 51.1 yards on nine kicks and in the process, became UK’s career punting leader.

    On a rainy, Saturday night against Missouri, Duffy punted five times for 262 yards (52.4 average), had a career-best 70-yard punt and pinned Mizzou inside its own 20-yard line three times. Duffy’s 70-yard punt was the longest by a UK player in an SEC game since Ryan Tydlacka vs. Ole Miss in 2010 (73 yards). Duffy also scampered 26 yards for a first down on a fake punt. It kept the drive alive that set up Kentucky’s final touchdown.

    He also made a huge impact in UK’s wins over Toledo and Eastern Michigan. In the Toledo game, he punted six times for a 54-yard average, the second-highest single-game average in school history (min. 5 punts). Against EMU, he only punted three times but his three punts forced Eastern Michigan to start on its own 8, 11 and 13-yard lines. EMU did not score following any of his punts, helping set up UK touchdowns on both of its subsequent possessions (a third EMU possession ended the half).

    Photo: UK Athletics
    Comments 14 Comments
    1. KSRBEvans's Avatar
      KSRBEvans -
      As a FB friend of mine wrote, can the SEC revote to avoid the joke of Duffy being best in the nation but #2 in the SEC?
    1. Terry Blue's Avatar
      Terry Blue -
      UK's G.O.A.T.
    1. CGWildcat's Avatar
      CGWildcat -
      Happy for the young man. What's the expectation for his senior year? Make the jump or hang around in Blue?
    1. UKFlounder's Avatar
      UKFlounder -
      Terrific news!
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      Quote Originally Posted by CGWildcat View Post
      Happy for the young man. What's the expectation for his senior year? Make the jump or hang around in Blue?
      I don't see him going anywhere.

      I hope this doesn't sound critical, but he's a better college punter than a NFL leg. There are plenty of stronger punters in college, but he has a knack of knowing where and how to kick to take advantage of his rugby style. While I'm not going to foreclose him being effective in the NFL, I don't think his attractiveness to the next level is that great.

      JMO.
    1. Terry Blue's Avatar
      Terry Blue -
      Already says, coming back. Will get Masters
    1. Catfan73's Avatar
      Catfan73 -
      He is amazing!
    1. Catonahottinroof's Avatar
      Catonahottinroof -
      Ray Guy winner, but isn’t first team SEC.....let that sink in.
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      Quote Originally Posted by Catonahottinroof View Post
      Ray Guy winner, but isn’t first team SEC.....let that sink in.
      Max was first team All-SEC AP.

      Coaches named him second team behind Texas A&M's Braden Mann, who happened to be the returning Ray Guy Award winner.

      Mann is phenomenal. He set several NCAA records last year, had a 51.0 yard average for the season with a bunch inside the 20, etc.

      This year he fell all the way back to a 47.7 yard average, second to... Max Duffy's 48.6. Mann had 23 punts of his 53 inside the 20, with only 4 touchbacks.

      Max was even better than that. Everything Mann did, Max did better (or the same). My point isn't to suggest the coaches got it right. Just that it wasn't this awful choice people thought. Mann had the best season in the country last year, and second best in the country this year.

      He has a powerful leg, with incredible touch and accuracy. He's more traditional of a punter. I get why coaches would vote him first team. Objectively, he had the 2nd best season of anyone in college football. Subjectively, he's a more attractive pick for a coach.
    1. suncat05's Avatar
      suncat05 -
      Congratulations to our punter "from down Under"!
    1. CatQuick's Avatar
      CatQuick -
      Quote Originally Posted by Darrell KSR View Post
      I don't see him going anywhere.

      I hope this doesn't sound critical, but he's a better college punter than a NFL leg. There are plenty of stronger punters in college, but he has a knack of knowing where and how to kick to take advantage of his rugby style. While I'm not going to foreclose him being effective in the NFL, I don't think his attractiveness to the next level is that great.

      JMO.
      Darrell, I hear what you're saying and can't disagree with the logic, but couldn't help thinking that similar things were said about Lamar Jackson as he sat in the room with his head down on the table waiting to be taken on draft night. The NFL is beginning to change in style in many ways.
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      Quote Originally Posted by CatQuick View Post
      Darrell, I hear what you're saying and can't disagree with the logic, but couldn't help thinking that similar things were said about Lamar Jackson as he sat in the room with his head down on the table waiting to be taken on draft night. The NFL is beginning to change in style in many ways.
      Well, Lamar Jackson was still a 1st Round NFL draft pick. I'm sure many GM's are kicking themselves for not taking him with their first pick since he was late in the round, but it wasn't like he was a 5th or 7th round draft pick.

      My concern is that Max may not even be given a chance. Will the NFL's speed and coaching acumen prepare for his running style? Put a stopwatch on how long it takes before he kicks, and it's a long time. It works fine in college--but with the athletes in the NFL, I am concerned about his marketability.

      In my mind, the best analogy I can think of for Max is to cross over in sports and go with Chuck Hayes. I had concerns about a 6'6 power forward who wasn't exceptionally fast, did not have great ball-handling skills, and had not demonstrated an outside shot. Chuck wasn't drafted--I don't think Max would be drafted either, although that wouldn't be unusual for punters--yet he managed a productive 11-year NBA career.

      I hope he's in the Pro Bowl in a couple of years. I love missing on things like this.
    1. kingcat's Avatar
      kingcat -
      I think it's his ability to both eye the defense and alter his punts accordingly that will make him even more unique, not only in college ball, but in the pros. He's the only kicker I have ever watched read multiple defenders and put the ball on the money consistently.

      He just looks and acts like a pro to me. Like a guy who's been kicking a ball since he was a toddler and could do so blindfolded. And has a mean streak about him.
      I do agree that the NFL may not be sold on that translating which could hamper his draft-ability. But my guess is he will prove to be a generational player as a kicker. Perhaps already the best I've seen here at UK and that is saying quite a lot. And I expect he takes it to even another level next season.

      I think we will see him emerge even more as a threat to run the ball.
    1. catsroar's Avatar
      catsroar -
      I’m fairly positive the downfield rules on punts in the NFL are different. Only the gunners can release pre punt whereas in college everyone can at the snap. This makes the rugby style tough to pull off in the NFL.