Ryan Plackemeier Named Ray Guy Award Semifinalist
11/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 2, 2005
Augusta, Ga. - Wake Forest senior punter Ryan Plackemeier, who leads the nation in net punting and ranks second in average per punt, was selected as one of ten Ray Guy Award semifinalists, the Greater Augusta Sports Council announced on Wednesday.
Among those with 200 career attempts, Plackemeier is the NCAA's all-time leading punter with a career average of 44.98 yards per punt. He is a two-time first team All-ACC selection.
Plackemeier has punted 57 times this season with an average of 46.6 yards per punt. He has also dropped 18 punts inside the 20 this season and nearly half of his punts have not been returned. Wake Forest's cover team has been instrumental in helping Plackemeier lead the nation in net punting. Deacon opponents are averaging just 6.1 yards per punt return.
A native of Bonsall, Calif., Plackemeier arguably has the strongest leg in the country with nine punts of at least 60 yards this season. Three of those have gone at least 70 yards, including an 82-yard blast against NC State on October 22. That punt was the fourth-longest punt in ACC history. His punts of 71, 74 and 82 yards are the three longest punts in the ACC this season.
Plackemeier is on pace to break his own Wake Forest single season record for average yards per punt.
The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to the nation's best collegiate punter as determined by a national selection committee made up of sportswriters, college football coaches, sports information directors, former punters and members designated by the Greater Augusta Sports Council.
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 Ray Guy Award national voting body will vote for the top three finalists who will be announced at the end of November. On December 8, 2005, the top three finalists will be in Orlando, Fla., for the Home Depot College Football Awards Show. The winner will be announced live on ESPN.
2005 Ray Guy Award SemifinalistsDanny Baugher Arizona SeniorDave Brytus Purdue SophomoreGordon Ely-Kelso Georgia JuniorChris Hall Florida State SeniorSam Koch Nebraska SeniorRyan Plackemeier Wake Forest SeniorNic Schmitt Virginia Tech JuniorJohn Torp Colorado SeniorKyle Tucker Kansas SophomoreEric Wilbur Florida Junior
Plackemeier's Career Punting Statistics (through 10/29) G-GS No Yds Avg Lg In20 50+ 60+ 70+ 80+2002 10-8 32 1,383 43.2 62 2 10 1 0 02003 12-12 57 2,600 45.6 67 11 20 3 0 02004 11-11 64 2,809 43.9 69 17 17 4 0 02005 9-9 57 2,654 46.6 82 18 16 9 3 1 42-39 210 9,446 45.0 82 48 63 17 3 1