Punter Watch List - 2019

Punters to Watch in 2019

By Evan Jaffe, August 15, 2019

The new football season will begin next week, 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 boost for their teams in 2019. The 2019 Punter Top 26 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. Therefore, in creating our "Best of the Best" list, we decided to follow the math formulas unbiased view of who were statistically the best punters from 2018.

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 2019 season.

Devin Anctil (SR) – Kansas State – Hometown: Lenexa, Kansas
2018 FAU Boom Rating:  .539
2018 FAU Ranking: #26 and 2nd team All-Big 12
Devin earned a degree in Management in Spring 2019.  In football, he earned Honorable Mention honors by the Big 12 conference in 2018.  He punted for half the season with very good results.  We are interested to see how Devin does over the course of a full season.

Joseph Charlton (SR-R) - South Carolina – Hometown: Columbia, South Carolina
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .559
2017 FAU Ranking: #39.  2018 FAU Ranking: #17
Joseph earned 2nd team All-SEC by the Conf.  Two-time member of the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll.  Improved on his 2017 ranking (#39) to a stellar 2018 ranking (#17 out of 134 ranked punters in FBS).  Joseph graduated with a degree in Retailing.

Drue Chrisman (JR-R) – Ohio State – Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .645
2017 FAU Ranking: #13.  2018 FAU Ranking: #2 and 1st team All-Big Ten
Drue was a Ray Guy Award semi-finalist in 2017 & 2018, although we had him as 2nd best in the nation in 2018. Controversially, he was not awarded 1st team All-Big Ten by the conference in 2018; he was our pick for #1 in the conference.  Drue is famous on social media as a water bottle flipper and is newly engaged.

Steven Coutts (SR-R) – California – Hometown: Brisbane, Australia
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .553
2018 FAU Ranking: #18 and 2nd team All-PAC 12
Steven earned Honorable Mention All-PAC 12 honors from the Conference.  He starting his Master’s Program in Education and Public Health. Steven's athleticism is confirmed as he lettered in Track and Field, Cross Country, Cricket, Volleyball, and Squash at Citipointe Christian College in Brisbane.  Steven had the longest net yardage punt of all FBS punters in Week 5 of 2018....73 yards.

Blake Cusick (SR) – Fresno State – Hometown: Monrovia, California
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .561
2018 FAU Ranking: #16 and 1st team All-Mountain West
Blake was a Ray Guy Award Semifinalist in 2018 and was picked 2nd team All-Mountain West by the conference and Mwwire.com. His major at Fresno State is Criminology-Law Enforcement.

Oscar Draguicevich III (JR-R) – Washington State – Hometown: Hutto, Texas
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .539
2018 FAU Ranking: #25 and 3rd team All-PAC 12
"Oscar," as we like to call him, has the longest last name on the list when you include the generational suffix.  He earned All-Pac 12 Honorable Mention honors in 2018. Oscar comes from an athletic family where his Dad played professional soccer for the San Jose Clash in Major League Soccer and his sister plays soccer for UTSA.  Started his playing career at the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas where he earned 2nd team All-Southland Conference during his Freshman year.

Max Duffy (JR) – Kentucky – Hometown: Perth, Australia
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .565
2018 FAU Ranking: #15
One big surprise in a remarkable year for Kentucky was the emergence of Australian punter Max Duffy.  Trained with Prokick Australia.  Max played Aussie Rules Football professionally and his dream job is to be a Head Coach in the AFL.

Bailey Flint (JR) – Toledo – Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .522
2018 FAU Ranking: #38 and 3rd team All-MAC
Majoring in Media Communications and was named Academic All-MAC in 2018.  Performed in the University of Toledo production of “All Quiet on the Western Front.”  Renaissance Man!

Cody Grace (JR-R) – Arkansas State – Hometown: Perth Australia
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .552
2017 FAU Ranking: #6.  2018 FAU Ranking: #17 and 3rd team All-Sun Belt
Named a Ray Guy Award Semifinalist in 2017. Cody did not allow a touchback all season in 2017 and only one in 2018.  Cody was picked as 2nd team All-Sun Belt by the conference and Phil Steele. Last two seasons were really good; curious to see if he can get another Top 10 finish.

Pressley Harvin III (JR) – Georgia Tech – Hometown: Alcolu, South Carolina
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .541
2017 FAU Ranking: #19.  2018 FAU Ranking: #24 in 2018 and 1st team All-ACC
Was picked 1st team All-ACC by ESPN, Phil Steele, and FAU; 2nd team by the conference, the AP, Athlon Sports.  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 majoring in Business Administration.

Jacob Herbers (SR-R) – Minnesota – Hometown: Battle Creek, Michigan
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .571
2018 FAU Ranking: #13 and 2nd team All-Big Ten
Jacob received Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2018.  He also plays baseball for Minnesota.  Jacob already graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Clayton Howell (SO-R) – App State – Hometown: High Point, NC
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .527
2018 FAU Ranking: #34
Clayton, whose hometown (High Point, NC) is the “Furniture Capital of America”, does some crafty work with a pigskin.  His specialty is limiting the number of yards after the kick. His excellence earned him a Freshman All-American selection by the Football Writers Association.  He was also an accomplished soccer and tennis player in high school.

Jake Julien (JR) – Eastern Michigan – Barrie, Ontario, Canada
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .525
2018 FAU Ranking: #37 in 2018 and 2nd team All-MAC
The only Canadian out of the 134 ranked FBS punters in 2018.  Eastern Michigan is 45 minutes from the Canadian border.  2nd team All-MAC by the conference, Phil Steele, and FAU.  In Week 6 of 2018, Jake won both our "Best Punter Award" and "Sonic Boom Award" for longest net yardage punt (73 yards).

Alvin Kenworthy (SR-R) – North Texas – Hometown: Rowlett, Texas
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .543
2018 FAU Ranking: #23 and 2nd team All-CUSA
Alvin was selected 2nd team by FAU and 3rd team by Phil Steele.  Started his college career at Kilgore College in Texas. Of the returning punters, Alvin is the 2nd most consistent punter behind Siposs.

Kyle Kramer (SR-R) – Miami, Ohio – Hometown: Glen Ellyn, Illinois
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .528
2018 FAU Ranking: #33 and 1st team All-MAC
Selected as 3rd team All-MAC by the MAC Conference and Phil Steele.  Last season downed a punt at the Ohio 1-yard line that set up the game-winning safety.  Kyle is majoring in Marketing.

Wade Lees (GR) – UCLA – Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .549
2018 FAU Ranking: #20
Wade played 3 years for Maryland; transferred to UCLA in Summer 2019.  Recently married in July 2019.  Wade was able to translate his Aussie Rules skills into an American football punting opportunity by training with Prokick Australia.

Blake Maimone (SR) – Oregon – Hometown: Thousand Oaks, California
2018 FAU Boom Rating:  .536
2018 FAU Ranking: #27
Blake shared punting duties for Oregon in 2018. By mid-season he had enough punts to qualify for a ranking and debuted at #1.  Finished in the 80th percentile of all punters. Blake is a Pac-12 Academic All-Conference honorable mention earning a bachelor’s degree in Accounting.  He will continue his education by enrolling as a master’s student in Accounting.

Braden Mann (SR) – Texas AM – Hometown:  Houston, Texas
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .667
2018 FAU Ranking: #1 and 1st team All-SEC
Ray Guy Award winner for best punter in the nation.  Enough said.

Arryn Siposs (JR) – Auburn – Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .611
2018 FAU Ranking: #7
His punting has the least amount of variation of all top punters, which means he is the most consistent of all punters -- and consistently good!  The SEC was loaded with top punters in 2018, so Arryn didn’t make the All-Conference team even though he was 7th best in the nation.  He would have been 1st team in 6 of the 10 conferences.  Was named 2nd team All-SEC by Phil Steele.  Arryn trained with Prokick Australia.  Played 5 season of Aussie Rules Football.

Michael Sleep-Dalton (SR-R) – Iowa – Hometown: Geelong, Australia
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .531
2018 FAU Ranking: #30
Michael Sleep-Dalton was our #1 punter for the first half of the 2018 season. For that reason alone, we know he has it in him to do something special this year.  This summer Michael transferred to Iowa from Arizona State where he played two seasons.  Trained at Prokick Australia.  Michael’s major is Social Work.

James Smith (JR) – Cincinnati – Hometown: Wangaratta, Australia
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .636
2018 FAU Ranking: #3 and 1st team All-American Conf.
James trained with Prokick Australia.  The American Conference, Phil Steele, and FAU all had James as the 1st team All-Conference pick in 2018.  James also recieved a 2nd team All-American (National) Award.  In two years and 123 punts with Cincinnati, he has only had one touchback.  In Week 8 of 2018, James won our "Best Punter Award."

Tyler Sumpter (JR) – Troy – Hometown: Hoover, Alabama
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .582
2018 FAU Ranking: #10 and 2nd team All-Sun Belt
Only player on both the Kicker Watch List and Punter Watch List.  He made 18 of 24 FGs last year with a long of 50.  Majoring in Elementary Education. The Sun Belt Conference awarded Tyler 2nd team All-Sun Belt honors as a kicker and 3rd team All-Sun Belt as a punter.

Tommy Townsend (SR-R) – Florida – Hometown: Orlando, Florida
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .624
2018 FAU Ranking: #4 and 2nd team All-SEC
Named a Ray Guy Award semi-finalist in 2018.  Named 2nd team All-SEC by Athlon Sports and FAU.  In Week 13 of 2018, Tommy won our "Best Punter Award."  Tommy’s brother is Johnny Townsend (punter) of the Oakland Raiders. 

Zach Von Rosenberg (JR) – LSU – Hometown: Zachary, Louisiana
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .615
2018 FAU Ranking: #6 and 3rd team All-SEC
Zach is a left-footed punter who was selected 2nd team All-SEC by the AP and 3rd team by Phil Steele and Athlon Sports.  Was part of the Dymanic-Duo place kicking team for LSU in 2018.  Zach was the holder for Cole Tracy who made several momentous FGs on his way to being named a Lou Groza Award finalist. Zach was selected in the 6th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates and played 6 years in the minor leagues.

Adam Williams (SO-R) – Memphis – Hometown: Lebanon, Tennessee
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .526
2018 FAU Ranking: #35
Promising Freshman season which included a 73-yard punt.  He has a strong leg as evidenced by his successful 55-yard FG attempt in high school.  Adam was a three-sport athlete in high school (basketball and soccer), and he is majoring in Sport and Leisure Management.

Brandon Wright (SR-R) – Georgia State – Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
2018 FAU Boom Rating: .598
2018 FAU Ranking: #9 and 1st team All-Sun Belt
Unlike Arryn Siposs above, Brandon appears to be a high risk/high reward type of punter.  He goes for long punts at the risk of having the ball returned.  Georgia State coaches probably aren’t too worried as he finished Top 10 nationally in 2018. Brandon was a Ray Guy Award semi-finalist and 1st team All-Sun Belt by Phil Steele, the Sun Belt Conference and FAU.