Tulane punter William Hudlow makes the Ray Guy Award midseason watch list
The redshirt junior averages 47.0 yards per punt, leads his conference and ranks seventh nationally in his first season as the Green Wave primary punter. He is one of 63 candidates on the midseason list.
NEW ORLEANS: Tulane punter William Hudlow was named on Nov. 5 to the midseason watch list for the 2026 Ray Guy Award, the national honor given each year to the top punter in college football.
Hudlow, a redshirt junior, is one of 63 candidates on the midseason list for the 26th edition of the award, Tulane Athletics announced. The list, published by the Ray Guy Award, includes his name among the candidates still in contention as the season enters November.
His case rests on distance and placement. Through this point in the season he has punted 38 times and averaged 47.0 yards per attempt. Eleven of those kicks, 29 percent, have settled inside the opposing 20-yard line, and 18 of them, 47 percent, have traveled at least 50 yards.
The average leads the American Conference and ranks seventh in the country. The production has come in his first season as the Green Wave primary punter, a role he took over this year.
The watch list is the second national honor of the week for Hudlow. Tulane Athletics had announced on Nov. 3 that he is also a 2026 nominee for the Burlsworth Trophy.
The field narrows quickly from here. The award committee will name 10 semifinalists on Nov. 13. A national voting body made up of Football Bowl Subdivision sports information directors, media representatives and previous winners will then select three finalists, and the winner will be announced on Dec. 11 during The Home Depot College Football Awards.
The Augusta Sports Council created the award in 2000 and named it for Ray Guy, a native of Thomson, Georgia, who is in both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Net punting average carries particular weight in the judging, alongside the share of punts placed inside the 20 and the share that are not returned.
Hudlow and Tulane return to the field on Saturday, Nov. 7, when the Green Wave host Tulsa at Yulman Stadium in the Homecoming game. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m., and Tulsa arrives with a 4-4 record, including 1-3 in conference play.
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