Punter Watch List - 2018

Punters to Watch in 2018

By Marc Rhorer and Evan Jaffe, August 24, 2018

The new football season will begin in a few days, and there is a lot of anticipation in the air! The FAU Punter and Kicker Index staff adds to the aura of excitement in the kicking game for the upcoming season by introducing punters we believe will provide the biggest boosts for their teams in 2018. The 2018 Punter Top 20 Watch List unveils the cream of the crop of college punters.  Punters, though often overlooked, play a critical role in one the gridiron game’s most important components, field position. In our evaluation, we believe past performance is a good indicator of future performance, but not the only one. Though mostly based on 2017 data, other factors (e.g. post-season play, trends, etc.) were considered in the mix in developing the list.

Players are listed in alphabetical order (not ranked), additional interesting details about players' accolades are also provided. Rest assured, if a player is included in this listing we believe they have significant potential to elevate the status of their team in the 2018 season.

Jake Bailey (SR) – Stanford – Hometown: Salona Beach, California
Ranked #14 (FJPI 2017)
Jake was named to the All-Pac 12 second team and earned Pac-12 All-Academic honors (2017). He was on the Ray Guy watch list for three consecutive years.  He is pursuing a pilot's license.

Oscar Bradburn (SO) – Virginia Tech – Hometown: Sydney, Australia
Ranked #22 (FJPI 2017)
Oscar trained at ProKick Australia, a Melbourne training facility. Oscar played Aussie Rules Football. He only allowed 47 return yards all of last season. 

Joseph Charlton (R JR) - South Carolina – Hometown: Columbia, South Carolina
Ranked #39 (FJPI 2017)
Joseph graduated with a degree in Retailing. Our analysis showed consistant improvement throughout the 2017 season.

Drue Chrisman (R SO) – Ohio State – Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
Ranked #13 (FJPI 2017)
Drue was a Ray Guy Award semi-finalist in 2017, while still a red-shirt freshman. Drue is famous on social media as a bottle flipper! He was named as an OSU Scholar-Athlete in 2017.

Corey Fatony (SR) – Missouri – Hometown: Franklin, Tennessee
Ranked #8 (FJPI 2017)
Corey was a Ray Guy Award Semifinalist in 2017. As a freshman he was named All-American by both Sporting News and USA Today. Corey is majoring in nutritional sciences.

Drew Galitz (SR) – Baylor – Hometown: Rowlett, Texas
(not included in our 2017 index due to limited play/injury)
Drew is a two-time All-Big 12 punter. Drew missed a significant part of last season due to an injury but returns healthy in 2018.  Before his season-ending injury in the 5th game of 2017, Galitz was on pace to finish in the top 5 kickers nationally.

Blake Gillikin (JR) – Penn State – Hometown: Smyrna, Georgia
Ranked #5 (FJPI 2017)
Blake achieved second team All-Big Ten honors from both coaches and media panels in 2017. He was also named Academic All-Big Ten (2017).  Blake’s college major is Kinesiology.

Cody Grace (R JR) – Arkansas State – Hometown: Perth Australia
Ranked #6 (FJPI 2017)
Cody was a Ray Guy Award Semifinalist in 2017. Cody did not allow a touchback all season in 2017. He played Australian rules football in high school.

Pressley Harvin III (SO) – Georgia Tech – Hometown: Alcolu, South Carolina
Ranked #19 (FJPI 2017)
Pressley was named a true freshman All-American by ESPN in 2017. He is an accomplished musician who plays multiple instruments, holding first chair in regional band. Pressley is a member of the ACC academic honor role.

Blake Hayes (SO) - Illinois – Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
Ranked #37 (FJPI 2017)
Blake was named All-Big Ten honorable mention (2017), and our analysis shows he was one of the most steady performers from week-to-week in 2017.  He is the third tallest (6'6") punter in the FBS.  Blake was his high school valedictorian.

Sterling Hofrichter (JR) – Syracuse – Hometown: Valrico, Florida
Ranked #25 (FJPI 2017)
Sterling was captain of special teams as a sophomore (2017). He will be doing double-duty this year, as the placekicker and punter.  It'll be interesting to see if this extra assignment affects his top 20 punting ability.

Mason King (R JR) - Louisville - Hometown: Louiville, Kentucky
Ranked #34 (FJPI 2017)
Mason was a former walk-on at Louisville.  He stated Louisville was his dream school.

Alex Kinney (SR) – Colorado – Hometown: Fort Collins, Colorado
Ranked #17 (FJPI 2017)
In high school, Alex made a 57-yard field goal that tied for the 8th longest in state history. Alex is majoring in both environmental studies and business management.

Mac Loudermilk (R SR) – UCF – Hometown: Valdosta, Georgia
Ranked #27 (FJPI 2017)
Like UCF (13-0), Mac had a memorable season last year earning second team All-American Athletic Conference honors in 2017 based on only 39 regular season punts. UCF is likely to repeat as American Conference Champs, so we might not see him a lot this year. Mac is working toward a Masters in Education.

Yannis Roustas (SR) - UTSA – Hometown: Houston, Texas
Ranked #30 (FJPI 2017)
Yannis was a 2017 Ray Guy Award semifinalist.  Our analysis shows he was one of the more steady performers throughout 2017.  Yannis is a mechanical engineering major.

Dane Roy (JR) - Houston – Hometown: Bunyip, Australia
Ranked #41 (FJPI 2017)
Dane is a ProKick Australia product; he won an Australian longest kick competition with a 79 yard effort.  He was 2016-17 Academic All-American and a former ice cream salesman.

Ryan Stonehouse (SO) – Colorado State – Hometown: Santa Ana, California
Ranked #7 (FJPI 2017)
Ryan earned honorable mention All-Mountain West honors as a freshman in 2017.  He is from a family of college football players; his father played at Stanford and uncles played at USC and Washington State. Ryan majors in business administration.

Corliss Waitman (SR) – South Alabama – Hometown: Milton, Florida
Ranked #16 (FJPI 2017)
Corliss earned the honor of being the most improved special teams player after spring practice. He likes to produce music in his free time. Corliss was born in Ghent, Belgium.

Joel Whitford (JR) – Washington – Hometown: Neerim South, Australia
Ranked #28 (FJPI 2017)
Joel played at Santa Barbara City College before coming to Washington. He is a self-professed “terrible” golfer. Joel grew up playing Aussie Rules Football.

Mitch Wishnowsky (SR) – Utah – Hometown: Perth, Australia
Ranked #11 (FJPI 2017)
Mitch is a former Ray Guy Award winner (2016) and was a finalist in 2017... enough said.