Augusta, Ga. — BYU punter Sam Vander Haar was selected as a Ray’s 8 honoree by the Augusta Sports Council and the Ray Guy Award for his performance against Stanford on Sept. 6. He was also added to the Ray Guy Award Watch List for the second year in a row and is eligible to be named Punter of the Week.
Vander Haar, a senior from Melbourne, Australia, played an important role in flipping the field in BYU’s 27-3 win over Stanford on Saturday. His three punts for a combined 131 yards (43.7 average), each pinning Stanford deep in its own territory.
His first punt in the second quarter carried 42-yards and was downed at the Stanford 3-yard line. Two plays later it led to a BYU safety and a 14-0 lead. Vander Haar’s next punt traveled 48-yards before being fair caught by Stanford at the 13-yard line and his final punt for 41-yards was downed at the 5-yard line. Van Der Haar was also BYU’s holder on 4-of-4 field goals, the most FGs in a single game this year in the Big 12.
Vander Haar is currently fourth in the conference in punting average at 44.8 yards per kick and has given up zero return yards over two games.
Ray’s 8 week two honorees include, Vander Haar (BYU), Brett Thorson (Georgia), Jack Stonehouse (Syracuse), Keegan Andrews (UMass), Mitchell Tomasek (Eastern Michigan), Ryan Eckley (Michigan State), Trent Carrizosa (San Jose State) and Tyler Perkins (Iowa State).
The Augusta Sports Council created the Ray Guy Award in 2000 to honor 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 on net punting average. The winner must also display team leadership, self-discipline and have a positive impact on the team’s success.