BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- WKU punter Jake Collins was awarded for his fine play this season as he was named a nominee for the 2015 Ray Guy Award on Friday, which identifies the nation's top collegiate punter.
The list will be narrowed to ten semifinalists to be announced on Nov. 13, with the top three finalists to be identified on Nov. 23. The presentation of the Ray Guy Award will be featured live on ESPN during The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 10.
Collins, who has served as the primary punter in the last five games, ranks in the Top 5 in Conference USA in average yards per punt (43.9) and has pinned seven punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line. For the year, Collins has tallied 853 yards on 19 punts, with a career-long punt of 59 yards in the win at North Texas.
In the previous game at LSU, Collins was excellent as he had five punts for an average of 46.8 yards per punt and pinned the Tigers inside the 20 on two occasions, including a punt that was perfectly placed to roll out of bounds at the LSU four-yard line. One of his top games of the season came at Rice, where he dropped three of his six punts inside the 20 and booted a long of 53.
The Hilltoppers return to C-USA play this Saturday as WKU travels to Norfolk, Virginia, to play Old Dominion, with the game being televised nationally on Fox Sports Network at 11 a.m. CT.
