Bowling Green State University Athletics
Joseph Davidson Named Semifinalist For Ray Guy Award
November 11, 2016 | Football
Bowling Green, Ohio – Bowling Green State University redshirt junior Joseph Davidson has been named one of the top 10 punters in the country, receiving recognition as a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award. The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to the nation's best punter and is voted on by a body of sports writers, college coaches, sports information director and past Ray Guy Award winners.
Davidson ranks sixth nationally with a 45.7 yards per punt average, but a deeper look into the numbers shows Davidson's true impact. He is third in the country in net punting average (43.2 yards per punt) and leads all college punters with nine 60+-yard punts. No other punter in FBS football has more than five.
Davidson also has two of the three longest punts in college football this year, an 82-yarder, which ranks first, and a 79-yarder. He has 18 punts of 50 yards or more and 21 have been downed inside the 20 yard line. In the team's win over Akron Tuesday, Davidson punted nine times, pinning Akron inside its own 10 yard line four times and then giving the Zips field position inside its own 20 two other times.
Along with his talent on the field, Davidson also excels in the classroom. He carries a 3.94 grade point average with a double major in mathematics and finance. He was recently named CoSIDA Academic All-District and is on the Academic All-America ballot. A year ago, he was second team Academic All-America.
Finalists for the Ray Guy Award will be named Nov. 22 and the winner will be announced Dec. 8 during The Home Depot College Football Awards. Bowling Green's last finalist for a major national award came in 2009 when Freddie Barnes broke the NCAA's single-season receptions record and earned recognition as one of the top three wide receivers for the Biletnikoff Award.
Davidson ranks sixth nationally with a 45.7 yards per punt average, but a deeper look into the numbers shows Davidson's true impact. He is third in the country in net punting average (43.2 yards per punt) and leads all college punters with nine 60+-yard punts. No other punter in FBS football has more than five.
Davidson also has two of the three longest punts in college football this year, an 82-yarder, which ranks first, and a 79-yarder. He has 18 punts of 50 yards or more and 21 have been downed inside the 20 yard line. In the team's win over Akron Tuesday, Davidson punted nine times, pinning Akron inside its own 10 yard line four times and then giving the Zips field position inside its own 20 two other times.
Along with his talent on the field, Davidson also excels in the classroom. He carries a 3.94 grade point average with a double major in mathematics and finance. He was recently named CoSIDA Academic All-District and is on the Academic All-America ballot. A year ago, he was second team Academic All-America.
Finalists for the Ray Guy Award will be named Nov. 22 and the winner will be announced Dec. 8 during The Home Depot College Football Awards. Bowling Green's last finalist for a major national award came in 2009 when Freddie Barnes broke the NCAA's single-season receptions record and earned recognition as one of the top three wide receivers for the Biletnikoff Award.
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