Nov. 1, 2011
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV junior Chase Lansford (Yorba Linda, CA) has been added to the official list of nominees for the Ray Guy Award, the Greater Augusta Sports Council announced Tuesday.
The Ray Guy is awarded to the nation's top punter each season and determined by a national selection committee made up of sportswriters, college football coaches, sports information directors and past Ray Guy winners. The 54 candidates were nominated for the award by their school's sports information department.
Lansford, who also kicks off for the Rebels, has punted 43 times for an average of 42.9 yards per attempt, which ranks 30th in the nation. No less than 10 of his punts have landed inside opponents' 20-yard lines and he has booted 10 of them 50 yards or longer, including a season-best 66-yarder. The son of longtime NFL place-kicker Mike Lansford, Chase Lansford is a graduate of El Dorado High School and transferred to UNLV this fall after playing at Santa Ana College.
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.
The list will be narrowed to 10 semi-finalists to be announced on November 11 and the three finalists will be identified on November 21. The voting body will then cast ballots to select the winner.
The presentation of the Ray Guy Award will be featured on The Home Depot College Football Awards live on Thursday, December 8 at 9:00 pm ET on ESPN. The show, hosted by ESPN's Chris Fowler, Lee Corson, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard will feature live presentation of nine player awards, along with the recipients of Disney's Spirit Award, The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award, the NCFAA (National College Football Awards Association) Contributions to College Football Award, and student-athletes selected to the Walter Camp All-America Team. Fans can visit the show's dedicated web site at www.espncollegefootballawards.com to find the latest college football awards news, including show details, previous winners, fan voting, a photo gallery and video highlights.
