AUGUSTA, Ga. – In his first season as a Boilermaker, Dylan Drennan has consistently flipped the field when Purdue Football needs it. The Purdue punter has been recognized as one of the best at his position, earning a spot on the Ray Guy Award Midseason Watch List.
Named for football's premier punter, the Ray Guy Award honors the nation’s top collegiate punter. Nominees were evaluated on their overall statistics with an emphasis on net punting average, percentage of punts inside the 20, and percentage of punts not returned.
Drennan has punted only 25 times this year but averages 45.2 yards per attempt. Seven of his punts have traveled more than 50 yards, 10 have landed inside the 20-yard line and nine have been fair caught. Thanks to Drennan's leg and solid coverage, the Boilermakers rank fifth in the Big Ten and 18th nationally in net punting (42.5 yards). The Dallas, Texas, native also has 47 passing yards to his credit thanks to a fake punt at UCLA.
Drennan posted one of the best punting performances in program history versus Notre Dame with six punts for a 52.2-yard average, the second-best punt average in school history behind Cody Webster's 56-yard clip in the 2010 Old Oaken Bucket Game. Early in the fourth quarter, the righty launched a 78-yard punt, with 60 yards through the air, that rolled into the end zone. It was the fifth-longest punt by a Boilermaker in school history and just the third of 78 yards or more over the last 50 years at Purdue. The punt was the longest in college football that week, and Drennan was named to the Ray Guy Award Ray's 8 for Week 4.
The Ray Guy Award Committee will determine the ten semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award, which will be revealed on November 13. Three finalists will be selected by a national voting body of Football Bowl Subdivision sports information directors, media representatives, and previous Ray Guy Award winners. After the finalists are announced, the voting body will cast ballots again to select the nation’s top punter. The winner of the Ray Guy Award will be announced live during The Home Depot College Football Awards on December 11.
Drennan and the Boilermakers host Maryland on Saturday (Nov. 7) for the team’s annual Homecoming game. Kickoff from Ross-Ade Stadium is set for 12:30 p.m. ET on BTN.
