AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn punter Arryn Siposs was one of 26 players named to the preseason watch list for the Ray Guy Award on Wednesday. The award, created in 2000, is given annually to the nation's top punter.
Five of the last six winners have come from Australia, which bodes well for Siposs. The Aussie native arrived at Auburn last July and took over the starting job in the opener against Washington. In 13 games, he averaged 44.21 yards per punt – good for 18th nationally. He also helped the Tigers finish fifth nationally in net punting yards (41.91).
"He's got a chance to be elite," Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said last week at SEC Media Days. "He didn't even know the rules until halfway through the season. He's starting to kick spirals now."
Following media days, Siposs was voted to the All-SEC Second Team by the league's media.
In mid-November, the Ray Guy Award committee will meet to select the 10 semifinalists, who will be announced on Nov. 19th. From there, 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. 25th.
Once the finalists are named, the voting body will cast ballots again to select the nation's top punter. The winner will be announced live during The Home Depot College Football Awards airing on ESPN on Thursday, Dec. 12.
The last punter from Auburn to make the Ray Guy Award watch list was Steven Clark, who was a semifinalist for the award three times (2011, 2012, 2013) and a finalist in 2011.