AUGUSTA, Ga.  — The Augusta Sports Council’s complete list of candidates for the 2011 Ray Guy Award, which recognizes the nation’s top collegiate punter, will be released Monday.
A preseason list which includes the five returning Ray Guy Award semifinalists from 2010 was released in July. Among the notable punters is 2009 Ray Guy Award winner and 2010 Ray Guy Award finalist Drew Butler of Georgia.
In early November, the Ray Guy Award committee will meet to select the ten semi-finalists, who will be announced on Nov. 11. A national body of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sports information directors, coaches, media representatives, and previous Ray Guy Award winners will then vote for the top three finalists, to be announced on Nov. 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 ESPNU College Football Awards Show airing on ESPN on Dec. 8.
Here is the 2011 Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List:
-Bryan Anger (Sr.), California
-Drew Butler (Sr.), Georgia
-Kyle Martens (Sr.), Rice
-Quinn Sharp (Jr.), Oklahoma State
-Dawson Zimmerman (Sr.), Clemson
The Augusta Sports Council created the Ray Guy Award in 2000 to honor Thomson, Ga., native and College Football Hall of Fame inductee, Ray Guy. The Ray Guy Award winner is determined by a national voting body of sports writers, college coaches, sports information directors, and past Ray Guy Award winners. Among the statistics used to identify the winner is net punting average, number of times a punt is downed or kicked out of bounds inside the opponents 20-yard line, total yardage punted, average returned yardage, and percentage of punts not returned. The winner must display team leadership, self-discipline, and have a positive impact on the team’s success.
Augusta Sports Council
The Augusta Sports Council (ASC), a non-profit organization dedicated to marketing the Augusta area as a destination for amateur sporting events, celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2011. The ASC attracts, creates and supports dozens of sporting events and activities each year, generating a positive economic impact and enhancing the quality of life for residents of the greater Augusta community. To learn more, visit AugustaSportsCouncil.org.

By Cody Smith / The Daily Athenaeum

There are two scenarios in which redshirt junior Corey Smith will enter the game for West Virginia this fall. The team hopes he will make his entrance after a touchdown rather than on fourth down.

The kickoff specialist and punter will be busy this fall, doing double duty for the Mountaineers for the first time in his collegiate career. He sees this as more of an opportunity than a hassle.

"It's something I've done, obviously for a while," Smith said of the dual roles. "I've done it in high school and I've still been doing it here. It's something that a lot of people don't like doing because they feel it's too hard of muscle memory to master."

The Musselman High School product was an all-state honoree as both a kicker and punter, breaking a pair of state records en route to earning a scholarship to Alabama, where he spent his freshman season serving limited time at kicker. In 2009, after a year in Tuscaloosa, Smith decided to return closer to home and enrolled at WVU.

Up until last week, Smith had been battling with fellow kicker, junior Tyler Bitancurt, for the starting job. Bitancurt eventually won the battle but, throughout the contest, Smith showed his eagerness to take on more responsibilities in an effort to gain more playing time.

"It helps you stay in the game more, but it feels, not necessarily like you're more a part of the team, but you feel like you make a bigger impact I guess," he said. "As far as an added responsibility, it's just as important for me to put a kickoff where I need to with the right hang as it would be to put a punt where I need to with the right hang or go out and nail a field goal if we need it, so I can't really say (there's) any more emphasis on one thing."

Trying to juggle all the kicking responsibilities may have been a bit too ambitious in the eyes of head coach Dana Holgorsen, who would rather Smith master one aspect of the kicking game rather than focus on all of them.

"I told Corey to quit acting like a kicker and to start focusing on being a punter. Hopefully that will help him. He hasn't been punting poorly, but if he focuses on that, hopefully we'll get a little better," he said.

Smith agrees with Holgorsen about that focus, especially given his multiple roles. Noting is more important than physically kicking the ball than being mentally prepared to do so.

"A lot of people can get off good punts, a lot of people can get off good kicks (and) good kickoffs; in keeping everything separate, it's more mental and focusing on it really, I think, than anything else," Smith said.

This season will be the first in which Smith serves as punter at the collegiate level. Despite not punting in a college game, Smith will draw on his experiences from high school to prosper in this newfound role.

A more prolific offense may limit his punting opportunities, but that void will be supplemented by an increased number of kickoffs. Smith produced eight touchbacks last year, which is twice the number the team had the previous year. At an average of 62.2 yards per kick, Smith's ability to punt the ball deep into opposing territory makes kickoff coverage easier and gives opposing offensives a longer, tougher road to scoring on the Mountaineer defense.

To have a successful season, Smith believes he must routinely display his goal of providing consistent kicking.

"You want to do the same thing day in and day out, and that's what we get known for; that's what coaches want," he said.

If the Mountaineer offense has its way, Smith will be recognized more for his consistent kickoffs rather than his punting prowess.

The Daily Review

It looks like Athens' Shane Raupers will be punting for the Syracuse Orange this Thursday.

According to a newspaper report, Raupers won the starting job over freshman scholarship athlete Jonathan Fisher to start the season.

It's been a roller-coaster ride for the Junior. He began his career as a scholarship kicker for the Orange, only to leave the team right after camp started.

Then last year he worked his way back on the team as a walk on to try out for the punting position.

After punting for both sides in the Syracuse spring game, Raupers faced competition from Fisher for this season.

He will be replacing Rob Long, who graduated.

The Orange kick off their season Thursday when they host Wake Forest with an 8 p.m. start.

CHADRON – There might be some new faces on Chadron State’s special teams, but that doesn’t mean the tradition the Eagles have built over the years is going anywhere.

In fact, according to graduate assistant coach and special teams coordinator Tanner Tetrault, the players are hungrier than ever to be a part of it.

“The bar with special teams has been set high at Chadron State and it’s our job to continue raising that bar,” said Tetrault, a two-time All-American safety at Black Hills State. “To be a member of the special teams here is having a mentality where you want to win everything, beginning with the play. The guys here take a lot of pride to be included on special teams. It’s an honor.”

To be sure, the Eagles have had special teams’ successes, especially since head coach Bill O’Boyle placed an emphasis on it when he took the job in 2005. Since then, the Eagles have blocked over 25 punts and its kick returners have consistently been among the conference’s best.

However, the Eagles have two big holes to fill at kicker and punter. Michael Ziola, who tied the school record with 18 made field goals in 2010, transferred to the University of Nebraska in the spring, and Kevin Berg, who was a two-time All-American, graduated in May.

The leading candidate to replace Ziola is redshirt freshman Alex Ferdinand of Rapid City. True freshman kicker Josh Borm of Cheyenne will also travel because of his ability to kick and punt.

“Alex does a nice job with his kicks, we just want him to be more consistent,” Tetrault said. “He’s getting there, though, and with more game time, he’ll do a nice job for us.

“Josh has been a surprise and he has even practiced at defensive back, so he reminds me a lot of Kevin (Berg).”

The Eagles’ top punter is junior Ethan Bellairs of Mitchell, a three-year reserve who waited patiently behind Berg.

“Ethan has done all the right things and now it’s his time,” Tetrault said. “Of course, it’s going to be tough to replace Kevin but I’m confident Ethan can step in there and get the job done.”

The kick and punt returners are familiar faces. Glen Clinton (Cody, Wyo.) returned 19 kicks for 474 yards, including scoring the game-winning touchdown against Colorado Mines on an 88-yard romp in the fourth quarter.

Junior Talmaus Ewell (Las Vegas) and sophomore Nate Ross (San Diego, Calif.) also have plenty of experience returning kickoffs.

Sophomore Trelan Taylor (La Mesa, Calif.), who averaged just over eight yards on 23 punt returns in 2010, also returns.

“I think we have a lot of experienced guys returning kicks for us this year,” Tetrault said. “Our biggest thing with returns is securing the ball and striving to have good field position. If we can both those things, we’ll be OK.”

The Eagles also return veterans at long snapper with seniors Tim Hiett (Arvada, Colo.) and Brit Williams (Marianna, Fla.). Sophomore Shea Koch (Custer, S.D.) has also shown promise.

“Long snapping is a tough job and we have a couple guys who do it well,” Tetrault said. “It really helps to have guys who do it well because it’s a phase of the game that can be overlooked.”

Rounding out the special teams unit is Jonn McLain, who will serve as the primary holder on kicks.

The special teams captain is junior Kevin Lindholm (Eads, Colo.). Tetrault said Lindholm plays a part in every phase of special teams.

“Kevin has a giant role in our special teams,” Tetrault said. “He’s a starting linebacker for us and yet he still gives us everything he has on special teams. That’s the type of dedication a lot of guys have here.”

By RYAN MENEZES / The Daily Bruin

As far as valuable assets go, Jeff Locke’s left leg might be up there alongside Kevin Prince’s right knee.

Locke has been one of the best punters in the nation for two years running – making the Bruins a threat to change field position no matter where the offense stalls – and he doubles as the kickoff specialist.

That’s already a pretty full workload, but another serving could get heaped on the redshirt junior’s plate come Saturday: place-kicking duties.

Gone is the sure leg of Kai Forbath, named the best kicker in the country in 2009, and in comes a question mark at the position for the first time in years. Even before Forbath, the Bruins boasted NFL-caliber kicker Justin Medlock.

Redshirt freshman Kip Smith was tabbed as Forbath’s successor the minute he signed with UCLA, but the No. 1 kicking recruit in the country in 2010 has been inconsistent dating back to spring camp. The same goes for redshirt freshman walk-on Joe Roberts, the only other kicker on the roster.

UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel knew the transition out of the Forbath era wouldn’t be easy, but it wasn’t supposed to be this hard, so he threw Locke into the equation.

“Instead of letting Kip and Joe take all the reps, they wanted me to jump in and make it a competition again,” Locke said. “Competition does bring out the best in everybody, and we’ve all been kicking a little better since I came into the mix.”

It’s a competition that Locke says he wants to win, but increasing his workload by 50 percent would increase the strain on his leg by much more than that. Locke handled the kicking trifecta in high school, but too much kicking led to injuries. Plus, he’s coming off an offseason surgery to repair the hip flexor above his left leg.

“We’d have to be smart with (Locke’s) reps, no question,” special teams coach Angus McClure said.

“I definitely learned from (my high school) experience,” Locke said. “Even now, I’m cutting my reps probably in half that I take in practice, and before the game I follow a strict pitch count, you could say, just to make sure I’m not over-kicking my leg.”

The best way for Locke to avoid over-kicking would be if Smith or Roberts could win the place-kicking job outright. Both are taking measures to make sure that’s the case. Smith is starting with a change in mechanics that has led to some improvement in the latter part of fall camp.

“I’ve changed my swing, and I’m more comfortable with it,” Smith said. “(Before) it wasn’t good form, wasn’t the right ball flight I was looking for.”

Regardless of who UCLA turns to, the Bruins could quickly find out exactly how spoiled they were with Forbath. Field-goal range will be redefined without a kicker who can boot it from 40 and even 50 yards out, and offensive playcalls could change as a result.

Locke will be active nonetheless, and McClure isn’t afraid to use him, or Smith, or even Roberts. Someone will have to put their best foot forward.

“We’re trying to put the puzzle together and use their talents in the areas that will help them have success,” McClure said.

“The more things you can do, the better. … I’m not going to hold someone back just because of other players or their future or anything like that.”

BY CHADD CRIPE / Iidaho Statesman.com

Boise State redshirt freshman Dan Goodale and junior-college transfer Michael Frisina have been almost inseparable in the competition to replace Kyle Brotzman as the Broncos’ kicker.

Goodale held a wide margin coming out of spring ball but Frisina, who transferred from Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif., in January, came on strong during fall camp.

“Whatever happens, whether it’s me or him at the end of the day,” Frisina said, “I think Bronco fans are going to be able to feel comfortable when we go out onto the field that we’re going to come away with three points.”

The Broncos haven’t had an opening at kicker since 2007, when Brotzman won the job. He started for four years and became the highest-scoring kicker in Football Bowl Subdivision history.

Special teams coach Jeff Choate has tracked every kick by Goodale, a walk-on from Timberline High, and Frisina throughout fall practice. Frisina held a two-make lead going into Thursday’s practice.

Scholarship true freshman Jake Van Ginkel is expected to redshirt.

Goodale and Frisina will get another chance to prove themselves Saturday when the Broncos go through a situational scrimmage that focuses on special teams.

“They are very, very close — in a good way,” Choate said.

One possible factor in the decision is Frisina’s lack of leg strength. His range stops at about 42 yards. That’s fine for field goals, but the kicker also needs to serve as the backup kickoff specialist for road games.

“We’re pretty much the same kicker,” said Frisina, a walk-on from Brea, Calif. “(Goodale) has just got a little more distance and a little more height on me on his kicks.

“… My strength is accuracy. Forty-two yards and in … they’ve told me that’s where the money’s going to be made. We’ve got to make those kicks.”

Frisina was 20-for-31 on field-goal attempts in two years at Saddleback. He has been kicking since his freshman year of high school.

He started at quarterback as a high school senior but decided at a young age that he would need to kick to have a future in football because of his size. He’s just 5-foot-5.

“I found out I was good at it, so I decided to pursue it as a lifelong dream to play college football,” Frisina said.

HERE’S A LOOK AT BSU’S OTHER SPECIALISTS:

Æ punter: Senior Brad Elkin has merged his natural power with consistency this fall. He was the starter as a true freshman in 2007 but lost the job to Brotzman and never got it back. Elkin redshirted last season so he could start this year.

Æ Kickoff specialist: Sophomore Trevor Harman, who also is the backup punter, has improved his power and consistency since last year. Choate expects his hang time to help the Broncos improve their kickoff coverage.

“He’s got one of the strongest legs in the country,” Frisina said. “We’re just trying to refine his technique to make him more consistent. I believe he could have 20 to 30 touchbacks.”

Æ Long snapper: Junior Chris Roberson, a former walk-on who was given a scholarship last year, enters his third season as the starter. Senior linebacker Byron Hout is the backup.

Æ Holder: Sophomore quarterback Joe Southwick takes over from former wide receiver Austin Pettis. Freshman wide receiver Matt Miller is the backup.

Æ Kickoff returners: Tailbacks Doug Martin (senior), D.J. Harper (senior) and Malcolm Johnson (sophomore) and wide receivers Chris Potter (junior) and Mitch Burroughs (junior) will be involved. Martin is the most experienced, averaging 29.7 yards on six returns in 2009.

Æ Punt returners: Potter, Burroughs and possibly redshirt freshman cornerback Bryan Douglas and true freshman wide receiver Dallas Burroughs will be involved. Petersen, who coaches returners, says he doesn’t have a starter, but Potter ranked 13th in the nation with a 13.3-yard average last year. Burroughs averaged 15.9 yards on eight returns.

The Broncos have returned six kicks for touchdowns in the past three seasons — four punts and two kickoffs — and expect to do some damage this year, too.

“There’s guys that can make magic happen at any time,” Hout said of the returners. “Any time they’re back there and we get an opportunity to field the ball, we think we’re going to be looking to put some points up on the board.”

Æ Special-teams stalwarts: Among the players expected to form the core of the special teams units are senior safety Travis Stanaway, senior nickel Hunter White, sophomore nickel Jonathan Brown, senior safety Cedric Febis, junior safety Hazen Moss, redshirt freshman safety Jeremy Ioane and true freshman linebacker Blake Renaud.

The biggest weakness last year was kickoff coverage. Boise State opponents started on average at their own 32-yard line after kickoffs; the Broncos’ goal is to keep them inside the 25.

The Broncos finished 23rd in the nation in kickoff returns, 16th in punt returns and 60th in net punting.

Choate wants to finish in the top 25 in each of those categories.

“When we’ve done that, we’ve been really, really good at helping our team win,” he said.

By Brett Vito / Denton Record Chronicle

There are plenty of areas where North Texas is going through a major overhaul in the first season of the Dan McCarney era.

Offensive coordinator Mike Canales has to break in a new quarterback and rebuild his corps of wide receivers, while new defensive coordinator Clint Bowen has to find a way to replace four starters in his front seven.

The task Kent Riddle faces as UNT's new special teams coach isn't exactly a walk in the park, but he does have a few luxuries at his disposal.

UNT returns both of its kickers, not to mention an experienced kick returner.

One could argue that all three are All-Sun Belt level players. Having each in his arsenal only helps Riddle, who has liked what he has seen from UNT’s special teams units early in fall practice.

“We are doing a good job,” Riddle said. “The guys are working hard and are giving great effort. They are doing a good job with the techniques and are catching on. It will help to have a couple of proven kickers.”

Zach Olen took over as UNT’s kicker midway through last season and ended up earning second-team All-Sun Belt honors. He was named the Sun Belt’s Special Teams Player of the Week three times, including the week following a win over Middle Tennessee.

Olen hit three field goals in UNT’s game against the Blue Raiders, including two in clutch situations — a 53-yarder at the end of the first half and a 38-yarder with 1:10 left. That last field goal left MTSU needing a touchdown instead of a field goal in what turned out to be a 23-17 UNT win.

Wide receiver Brelan Chancellor set a single-season UNT record with 923 kickoff return yards and took two back for touchdowns in 2010, while punter Will Atterberry is back after missing the last five games of the season with a broken arm.

Atterberry posted 12 punts of at least 50 yards and dropped 11 of his 43 overall attempts inside the opposition’s 20-yard line.

“I have come back stronger,” Attterberry said. “I am in the best punting shape of my life.”

About the only dilemma Riddle faces is determining who will return punts this season, but even that task doesn’t seem as complicated as it could be. Chancellor returned five punts last season, while defensive back Royce Hill fielded five in the last two seasons combined.

By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com

Prokick Australia continues to make waves on the kicking scene in the United States by placing three punters into colleges here.

Alex Kinal received a full scholarship offer from Wake Forest University, Sam Irwin-Hill will be playing for City College of San Francisco and Lenny Holderhead is going to Butte Junior College in Northern California.

All three punters went through the Prokick Australia training with Nathan Chapman and John Smith, who guide potential Australian punters/kickers/footballers to college scholarships or the roster of a NFL team. Prokick Australia is affiliated with Prokicker.com.

Wake Forest offered Kinal after he worked six months with the Prokick Australia coaching team where he was drilled on the techniques of punting. Chapman is confident that Kinal will win the job as starting punter this fall.

Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe discussed Kinal on a teleconference back in April.

“(Assistant coach) Billy Mitchell came down to me one day back during recruiting, and he said, ‘Coach, you've got to come and look at this.’ So we had a film that we obtained on a kid in Australia that was just out on a home video kind of deal, punting the football, and had been playing Australian rules football," Grobe said. "He was just punting the ball, and the ball never came down. He would punt it and we never saw it come down. We were getting it at over five seconds hang time. We were like, wait a minute, what's going on here.

“So we called one of our friends with the recruiting service -- not a recruiting service but a kicking service, he runs the Ray Guy kicking camps, and asked him if he could give us any more information. So he checked, and he called back, and he said, ‘He's not punting the ball with helium in it, he's not punting a Nerf football and all that stuff.’ So one thing led to another and we were in need for a punter, so we brought him in and really, really liked him. He's a smart kid. He could get right into Wake Forest, and so we'll see."

Despite the inexperience with American football, Grobe is willing to take a chance with Kinal.

“He's not punted before. He's never — I don't even know if he knows how to put a football uniform on because he's been an Australian rules kid. But he's a neat kid, a smart kid. He's got good character and all those kind of things. He's obviously got a great leg.

“Now, can we put him in a uniform and get him to take a snap and get the ball off on time, mechanics, all that kind of things. But just from pure ability level, this kid has got a big-time leg.”

Irwin-Hill will be playing for City College of San Francisco for the next two seasons with hopes of moving on to a Division I program in the future. City College of San Francisco is an eight-time Junior College national champion.

It is Chapman’s belief that Irwin-Hill will eventually earn a full scholarship to a Division I program.

The scenario is the same for Holderhead at Butte Junior College where he will be playing the next two seasons.

Butte has a good track record. One of the alum is Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers.

Four placekickers from the Ohio Valley Conference were named to the FCS College Football Performance Awards Preseason Watch List.

The four are Tennessee-Martin's Cody Sandlin, Southeast Missouri State's Drew Geldbach, Eastern Illinois' Cameron Berrra and Austin Peay's Stephen Stansell.

The CFPA list highlights players whose performance merits recognition heading into the 2011 season.

The purpose of the CFPA is to provide the most significantly rigorous conferment in college football. Recipients are selected exclusively based upon objective scientific rankings of the extent to which individual players increase the overall effectiveness of their teams.

The watch lists will include the following categories: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, defensive line, linebacker, defensive back, place kicker, punter, kickoff returner and punt returner.

The preseason punters will be released on next week.