Football | December 12, 2024
LOS ANGELES–USC senior punter Eddie Czaplicki was named the recipient of the 2024 Ray Guy Award by the Augusta Sports Council Board of Directors on Thursday (Dec. 12).
He is USC’s first-ever Ray Guy Award winner.
The Ray Guy Award is presented to the nation’s best punter. Punters are evaluated on their overall statistics and contribution to the team. Particular emphasis is placed on net average, percentage of total punts inside the 20-yard line and percentage of punts not returned. The winner must display team leadership, self-discipline and have a positive impact on the team’s success.
Czaplicki was announced as the winner during The Home Depot College Football Awards show which was broadcast live on ESPN.
He was also named a First Team All-American by The Athletic making him USC’s second-ever punter named to an All-American First Team. The first was punter Tom Malone in 2003. USC now has 177 First Team All-Americans.
Czaplicki has also been named a Second Team All-American by the College Football Network and the Action Network as well as an All-American Honorable Mention by CBS Sports / 247Sports.
He was selected to the All-Big Ten First Team, the AP All-Big Ten First Team and was named the Big Ten Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year.
USC ranks first in the nation in net punting (45.54). He leads the nation in percentage of punts inside the 20 for punters with a minimum of 30 attempts. Twenty-four of his punts have been inside the 20, 9 have been inside the 10 and 4 inside the 5. He has recorded just 1 touchback the entire season.
He has averaged over 50-yards in 4 games this season (55.3 vs. LSU, 53.1 vs. Michigan, 56.0 vs. Minnesota and 51.8 vs. Nebraska). He has been named a Ray’s 8 Award recipient three times this season. Twenty-one of Czaplicki’s 40 punts have been over 50 yards (.525), including a season-long of 62 yards against Minnesota. He also recorded a career-high single game punting average of 53.1 yards against Michigan.
Czaplicki has been instrumental in flipping the field and giving the Trojan defense great field position all season long.
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