Oklahoma State University Athletics
Fodge Named To Watch List
September 16, 2008 | Cowboy Football
The Greater Augusta Sports Council announced today that Oklahoma State senior punter Matt Fodge has been named to the 2008 watch list for the Ray Guy Award, which identifies the nation's top collegiate punter.
Thanks to Fodge, Oklahoma State currently leads the nation in net punting. The Cowboys have yet to allow one return yard in the punt game while Fodge has pinned the opposition inside its 20-yard-line six times on eight punts this season.
For his career, Fodge has had 53 punts downed inside the 20-yard-line. The Garland, Texas, product is averaging 43.6 yards per punt in 2008. He would be listed among the nation's top 20 punters, but he does not have enough attempts to qualify for the NCAA leader board through three games.
Fodge was a second-team All-America punter in 2006, when he spent much of the season leading the nation in punting average. He has also been a second-team all-Big 12 punter and an academic all-conference selection.
The watch list will be narrowed to ten semi-finalists in early-November. The national voting body will then vote for the top three finalists, and ultimately the winner. The top three finalists will be announced in late–November, and the winner of the Ray Guy Award, which is affiliated with the National College Football Awards Association, will be presented live on ESPN during the ESPNU-Home Depot College Football Awards Show on December 11, 2008.
The Greater Augusta Sports Council created the Ray Guy Award to honor Thomson, Georgia-native and College Football Hall of Fame inductee Ray Guy, arguably the greatest punter to play football. The award was first presented in 2000. The Ray Guy Award is determined by a national selection committee made up of sports writers, college football coaches, sports information directors, and past Ray Guy Award winners. Among the statistics used to identify the Ray Guy Award winner are total yardage punted, number of times a punt is downed or kicked out of bounds inside the opponents 20-yard line, net average, average returned yardage, and percentage of punts not returned. It is also of importance for the award winner to display team leadership, self-discipline, and to have a positive impact on the team's success.
