AUGUSTA, Georgia — For the second consecutive week, the Augusta Sports Council and the Ray Guy Award have named BYU punter Ryan Rehkow one of Ray’s 8 performers, following his play against Southern Utah last Saturday.
Rehkow, a junior from Veradale, Washington, had five punts for 225 yards, for an average of 45.0 yards per kick in the Cougars 41-16 win over the Thunderbirds. His game-high punt of 64 yards tied his second longest of the year. Rehkow also had two kicks inside the 20-yard line, including one that was downed at the 2-yard line.
Others honored on the week-two Ray’s 8 list include James Burnip, Alabama; James Ferguson-Reynolds, Boise State; Jesse Mirco, Ohio State; Riley Reithman, Navy, Ryan Sanborn, Texas; Stephen Kotsanlee, Utah State and Tory Taylor, Iowa.
In week one of the 2023 season, Rehkow was named to Ray’s 8 list on Monday and was later selected as the Ray Guy Award National Punter of the Week on Tuesday.
In early August 2023, Rehkow was named to the Ray Guy Award watch list for the third consecutive year. He was also selected to the 2023 Phil Steele Preseason All-Big 12 Second Team after finishing last year with a punting average at 46.2.
As a sophomore in 2022, Rehkow was named to the Associated Press All-Bowl Team and the College Football Network All-Independent First Team. A finance major, with a 3.74 GPA, Rehkow was also named CSC Academic All-District in 2023 and was selected CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 First Team in 2022. He graduated in April with a degree in finance from the BYU Marriott School of Management.
About the Ray Guy Award
The Augusta Sports Council created the Ray Guy Award in 2000 to honor Thomson, Georgia, native and College and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Ray Guy. Among the statistics used to identify the winner is net punting average, number of times punt is downed or kicked out of bounds inside the opponents 20-yard line, total yardage punted, average returned yardage and percentage of punts not returned with particular emphasis placed on net punting average. The winner must display team leadership, self-discipline and have a positive impact on the team's success.
In mid-November, the Ray Guy Award committee will meet to select the 10 semifinalists who will be announced on Nov. 10. A national body of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sports information directors, media representatives and previous Ray Guy Award winners will then vote for the top three finalists to be announced on Nov. 22. After the finalists are named, the voting body will cast ballots again to select the nation’s top punter.
The 2023 Ray Guy Award winner will be announced live during The Home Depot College Football Awards airing on ESPN in December 2023.