Hedley One to Watch for Ray Guy Award

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Redshirt junior Lou Hedley was selected a nominee for the 2020 Ray Guy Award honoring the nation’s top punter, the August Sports Council announced Tuesday.

Hedley, in his second season at Miami, played an important role in reversing the Hurricanes’ fortunes on special teams a season ago, and he continued his strong work from his debut season with an impressive outing in Miami’s opener against UAB.

Hedley averaged 47.5 yards per punt with a long punt of 55 yards and downed two of his six punts inside the UAB 20-yard line in Miami’s 31-14 victory over the Blazers.

Hedley was No. 26 last year in FBS in average yards per punt (43.9) in 2019, helping Miami rank in the top-30 in net punting. Hedley had a career-long punt of 67 yards in first season at The U and landed 21 of his 64 attempts inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.

Hedley, a native of Mandurah, Australia, totaled 16 punts of 50-or-more yards in his first season as a collegiate punter.

The Augusta Sports Council created the Ray Guy Award in 2000 to honor Thomson, Georgia native and College and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Ray Guy. Among the statistics used to identify the winner is net punting average, number of times 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 with particular emphasis placed on net punting average. The winner must display team leadership, self-discipline and have a positive impact on the team’s success.