Oct. 30, 2017
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech punter Pressley Harvin III, the nation’s leader in punting average among true freshmen, has been added to the official watch list for the 2017 Ray Guy Award, the Augusta Sports Council announced on Monday. The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to the top punter in NCAA Division I FBS.
Harvin leads all true freshmen and ranks seventh nationally overall with a 46.0-yard punting average this season. Of his 30 punts, 11 have traveled 50-plus yards (36.7 percent), 11 have been downed inside the 20 yard line (36.7 pct.), nine have been fair-caught (30 pct.) and 20 have not been returned (66.7 pct.).
Harvin’s 46.0-yard average is also currently the highest in Georgia Tech single-season history (record: 45.6 – Rodney Williams, 1997). He is on pace to annihilate the Yellow Jackets’ freshman record of 43.8 yards per punt (Dan Dyke, 1999).
Making Harvin’s freshman campaign even more impressive is that two of his best performances have come in less-than-ideal conditions for punting – he recorded career-bests with a 62-yard punt and four kicks downed inside the 20 yard line at Miami (Fla.) on Oct. 14 and had five punts that traveled 50 yards or more and three downed inside the 20 last Saturday at Clemson. The majority of both games were played during heavy rain storms.
Semifinalists for the 2017 Ray Guy Award will be announced on Nov. 16 and three finalists will be chosen on Nov. 21. The winner will be announced as part of The Home Depot College Football Awards Show in Atlanta on Dec. 7. The winner will also be honored at the All-Area Football Banquet in Augusta, Ga. in January.
Harvin and the Yellow Jackets (4-3, 3-2 ACC) look to keep their Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division title hopes alive when they travel to Virginia (5-3, 2-2 ACC) on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va. The game will be televised on RSN (Fox Sports South in Atlanta).
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