For a second consecutive year, Tennessee punter Trevor Daniel is being selected as one of the top punters in the country in the summer.
The redshirt senior was named to the Ray Guy Award watch list on Wednesday for the second straight season. The Ray Guy Award is given annually to the nation’s top punter in college football. Sophomore Mitch Wishnowsky of Utah won last year’s award. A Utah punter has won the award three years in a row.
Daniel was listed to the preseason watch list last year and was also named a candidate for the award in late October of last year. Daniel didn’t make it as a finalist, however. Only two Vols have ever made it as far as a semifinalist. Dustin Colquitt was a semifinalist in 2004 and a finalist in 2002 and 2003. David Leaverton was a semifinalist for Tennessee in 2000 as well.
As a redshirt junior, Daniel’s stats were slightly down from his redshirt sophomore campaign in 2015. But nonetheless, they were still impressive. Daniel averaged 44.6 yards per punt on 70 punts. Of those 70 attempts, 28 were inside the 20-yard line and only nine were touchbacks. Daniel had 21 punts of 50 yards or more.
In his career, Daniel had averaged 45.1 yards per punt on 130 punts. He’s had 53 punts downed inside the 20-yard line and 43 punts of 50 or more yards. If Daniel keeps that pace in his final year as a Vol, he will hold Tennessee’s all-time mark for yards per punt in a career. Jimmy Colquitt currently holds the record with 43.9 yards per punt.
