One part of Nebraska’s special teams is not a question. Sophomore punter Archie Wilson was named to the Ray Guy Award Midseason Watch List on Thursday by the Augusta Sports Council, Nebraska Athletics announced.
Nominees were judged on overall statistics, with an emphasis on net punting average, the share of punts downed inside the 20 and the share of punts not returned. Wilson checks all three boxes.
The Washington game
Wilson was already the Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week earlier this week. Against Washington he averaged 49.8 net yards on five punts and put four of them inside the Huskies’ 20. All five went at least 40 yards, including boots of 59 and 60, and none were returned.
The season
- 45.1 yards per punt, 21st nationally and third in the Big Ten.
- 14 of 31 punts inside the opponent’s 20.
- Only four of his 31 punts returned.
- Nebraska ranks 12th nationally in net punting at 43.4 yards per kick and 17th in punt return defense.
In a season when Nebraska just changed kickers, with John Hohl taking over place-kicking this week, Wilson has been the steady leg. Field position could matter plenty in a game between two 5-3 teams that have both lived in close finishes.
Nebraska plays at Illinois Friday at 7 p.m. CT on FOX and the Husker Sports Network.
Featured image: Photo: I am One of Many. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Opening_kickoff_in_the_Nebraska_vs._Miami_game_(9-20-2014).jpg.
