2012 College Touchbacks Avoided (STOP Rank) Leaders

STOP (Saved Touchbacks Over Projection) is FootballKickingStats.com's touchback rating: how many touchbacks a punter avoided. Every punt gets an expected touchback chance: how often that season's punts from the same 5-yard stretch of the field went into the end zone. Add those chances up over a punter's season and subtract his real touchbacks. A punter who kicks often from midfield and keeps the ball out of the end zone climbs; one who punts from deep in his own end has few chances to gain or lose.

Higher is better. A STOP of +2.0 means two fewer touchbacks than an average punter would have had from the same spots. A short punt also avoids a touchback, so read it with net average. Blocked punts are left out. In 2012, Ryan Neir (+4.7) led college football punters in touchbacks avoided (STOP rank), ahead of Kirby Van Der Kamp (+3.9) and Cole Way (+3.6). 119 punters qualify (minimum 30 punts). The median qualified punter had +0.2.

Final 2012 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	STOP	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Ryan Neir	Northern Illinois	+4.7	45	37.8	36.8	19	49%	0%	55%	−0.8
2	Kirby Van Der Kamp	Iowa State	+3.9	69	41.6	41.0	27	40%	3%	46%	+10.3
3	Cole Way	Tulsa	+3.6	69	39.4	38.0	22	31%	1%	42%	−8.0
4	Scott Kovanda	Ball State	+3.5	44	40.2	39.7	25	57%	2%	43%	+4.3
5	Alex Butterworth	Penn State	+3.3	51	37.4	36.6	20	39%	4%	48%	−7.0
6	Cason Beatty	Florida State	+2.8	42	38.4	36.6	21	49%	5%	56%	+1.1
7	A.J. Hughes	Virginia Tech	+2.8	68	40.3	39.5	25	36%	3%	41%	−1.7
8	Dalton Botts	Miami	+2.8	54	40.5	39.3	29	54%	6%	39%	+11.3
9	Brandon Williams	Northwestern	+2.6	59	39.6	39.3	19	33%	2%	47%	−1.7
10	Spencer Benton	Clemson	+2.5	42	38.6	38.5	14	34%	2%	48%	−2.2
11	Tyler Grassman	Buffalo	+2.5	80	35.4	34.0	19	26%	4%	41%	−28.4
12	Kyle Dugandzic	Arizona	+2.4	48	43.4	42.8	21	44%	2%	39%	+5.0
13	Kyle Negrete	USC	+2.4	36	42.4	42.5	16	44%	0%	46%	+2.0
14	Trey Barrow	Missouri	+2.3	68	43.0	41.1	31	44%	4%	49%	+1.1
15	Jonathan Fisher	Syracuse	+2.3	50	39.2	38.4	19	38%	4%	45%	+0.1
16	Tom Hornsey	Memphis	+2.1	60	43.4	42.3	29	47%	3%	23%	+6.3
17	Cole Leininger	California	+2.1	60	40.0	39.8	17	29%	2%	59%	−7.1
18	Keith Kostol	Oregon State	+2.0	55	42.1	40.9	24	44%	5%	51%	+9.7
19	Collin Barber	Georgia	+1.9	57	41.6	40.5	22	38%	5%	64%	+6.8
20	Jay Karutz	Eastern Michigan	+1.8	69	42.7	41.3	24	34%	4%	45%	−0.2
21	Brett Baer	Louisiana	+1.8	54	42.0	41.3	20	40%	4%	47%	+1.1
22	Peter Picerelli	Tulane	+1.7	69	41.2	41.6	13	29%	0%	29%	−4.1
23	Tyler Bennett	Utah State	+1.6	57	41.8	40.4	30	54%	5%	46%	+6.2
24	Will Scott	Troy	+1.6	54	41.0	40.1	21	40%	4%	22%	+0.1
25	Michael Palardy	Tennessee	+1.6	36	43.1	42.3	16	46%	3%	39%	−0.7
26	Josh Brisk	Florida International	+1.6	47	40.0	39.4	11	24%	2%	74%	−6.4
27	Drew Meyer	Wisconsin	+1.6	73	41.2	39.9	35	48%	7%	60%	+12.2
28	Taylor Cook	Rice	+1.5	37	36.4	35.7	10	28%	3%	69%	−9.5
29	Zach Paul	Akron	+1.5	65	40.9	39.5	17	30%	5%	34%	−3.4
30	Ryan Epperson	Texas A&M	+1.5	37	42.8	42.6	13	37%	3%	46%	+8.7
31	Christian Eldred	Minnesota	+1.4	63	38.5	37.2	22	37%	7%	50%	−3.5
32	Peter Boehme	Southern Miss	+1.4	63	40.0	39.1	18	32%	5%	35%	−8.7
33	Steven Clark	Auburn	+1.4	70	39.8	38.6	19	28%	6%	58%	+4.8
34	Vince Penza	Toledo	+1.4	52	40.6	39.4	21	40%	6%	26%	+1.4
35	Alex King	Texas	+1.3	38	45.3	44.8	16	42%	3%	50%	+6.9
36	Scott Garber	South Alabama	+1.2	72	39.6	39.0	19	28%	3%	38%	−12.2
37	Connor Kornbrath	Iowa	+1.2	53	37.9	37.3	11	22%	2%	45%	−9.2
38	Ben Turk	Notre Dame	+1.2	48	40.6	39.7	13	27%	4%	50%	+1.8
39	Richie Hogan	Central Michigan	+1.1	47	40.8	40.4	16	40%	3%	30%	−3.2
40	Justin DuVernois	Illinois	+1.0	73	41.9	41.4	19	26%	3%	34%	−1.3
41	Richard Kent	Vanderbilt	+1.0	54	44.8	43.8	26	48%	6%	44%	+14.6
42	Jeff Locke	UCLA	+0.9	71	43.4	41.5	33	47%	10%	56%	+7.6
43	Bobby Cowan	Idaho	+0.9	65	42.8	41.5	16	25%	3%	46%	+0.3
44	David Baska	Air Force	+0.8	33	40.5	39.8	9	27%	3%	39%	−3.9
45	Erich Toth	Indiana	+0.8	48	39.5	38.7	9	19%	4%	47%	−4.2
46	Quinn Sharp	Oklahoma State	+0.7	41	45.8	44.8	19	46%	5%	48%	+7.9
47	Baker Swedenburg	Mississippi State	+0.7	52	40.8	39.7	21	40%	6%	72%	+7.9
48	Darragh O'Neill	Colorado	+0.7	76	43.5	42.6	28	37%	4%	53%	+3.6
49	Wil Baumann	NC State	+0.7	71	39.3	37.3	19	27%	7%	62%	−11.1
50	Brett Maher	Nebraska	+0.6	58	41.7	40.8	19	33%	5%	24%	−4.0
51	Ben Buchanan	Ohio State	+0.6	59	41.0	39.0	17	29%	7%	60%	+3.4
52	Justin Manton	UL Monroe	+0.6	43	40.2	39.7	15	38%	8%	50%	−0.6
53	Alexander Kinal	Wake Forest	+0.5	95	40.7	40.1	26	30%	6%	49%	−4.2
54	Mike Sadler	Michigan State	+0.5	68	43.3	41.2	26	38%	7%	38%	−1.6
55	Anthony Melchiori	Kent State	+0.3	66	42.5	41.0	27	42%	8%	52%	+16.5
56	Justin Brockhaus-Kann	South Florida	+0.3	54	40.6	37.9	19	35%	9%	65%	+3.9
57	Tommy Hibbard	North Carolina	+0.2	50	43.0	41.8	17	34%	6%	31%	+0.6
58	Matt Yoklic	Pittsburgh	+0.2	55	41.1	38.6	18	33%	9%	24%	−6.4
59	Alec Vozenilek	Virginia	+0.2	66	40.6	39.2	19	29%	6%	35%	+3.5
60	Hendrix Brakefield	Western Kentucky	+0.2	40	40.9	38.9	12	30%	10%	27%	+2.7
61	Grant Venham	Ohio	+0.1	53	39.4	36.8	21	47%	9%	41%	−3.6
62	Ian Campbell	UTEP	+0.1	66	42.6	41.4	20	34%	7%	31%	+8.0
63	Ryan Erxleben	Texas Tech	+0.1	37	42.1	38.3	7	19%	6%	46%	−7.1
64	Dylan Breeding	Arkansas	0.0	53	45.6	43.6	20	37%	6%	38%	+13.0
65	Jim Broadway	Ole Miss	0.0	54	41.2	39.9	13	27%	4%	55%	−5.1
66	Spencer Roth	Baylor	−0.2	32	44.2	42.3	12	38%	9%	35%	+5.1
67	Chris Boldt	Army	−0.2	34	38.1	36.4	9	26%	9%	43%	−8.4
68	Cole Wagner	UConn	−0.2	78	40.5	38.5	29	37%	10%	37%	+6.0
69	Pat O'Donnell	Cincinnati	−0.3	55	42.0	39.8	25	45%	11%	23%	+3.1
70	Jackson Rice	Oregon	−0.3	48	39.6	38.0	13	27%	8%	58%	−0.8
71	Cayle Chapman-Brown	New Mexico State	−0.4	70	44.3	43.2	24	38%	6%	42%	+3.1
72	Mike Loftus	SMU	−0.5	47	42.5	41.2	10	23%	5%	22%	+2.3
73	Josh Davis	Middle Tennessee	−0.5	42	40.2	37.7	14	34%	8%	41%	−6.1
74	Ron Doherty	Kansas	−0.5	56	40.5	38.5	18	33%	7%	42%	−4.9
75	Cody Mandell	Alabama	−0.5	46	43.8	41.7	17	37%	11%	43%	+7.5
76	Michael Bowlin	Washington State	−0.6	58	41.9	40.5	11	20%	7%	32%	+2.7
77	Kyle Christy	Florida	−0.6	62	46.1	43.5	30	48%	10%	49%	+16.7
78	Nathan Renfro	Maryland	−0.7	75	39.7	38.3	17	23%	7%	47%	−17.1
79	Gerald Levano	Boston College	−0.7	57	42.0	40.5	12	20%	5%	20%	−8.0
80	Ryan Doerr	Kansas State	−1.0	36	41.7	39.0	14	38%	14%	52%	+3.7
81	Cody Webster	Purdue	−1.0	66	42.5	39.4	28	43%	11%	43%	+3.9
82	Sean Kelly	Florida Atlantic	−1.0	68	39.9	36.5	10	25%	10%	21%	−12.7
83	Harrison Waid	San José State	−1.0	51	42.4	40.2	16	34%	11%	23%	−0.3
84	Tyler Hull	South Carolina	−1.1	51	39.4	37.5	15	29%	10%	53%	−6.5
85	Tyler Williams	Marshall	−1.1	43	45.2	42.4	17	39%	9%	26%	+4.5
86	Colter Johnson	Massachusetts	−1.2	66	43.6	41.4	12	24%	8%	23%	−0.2
87	Riley Stephenson	BYU	−1.2	51	47.3	45.0	28	55%	10%	33%	+25.4
88	Jamie Boyle	UCF	−1.2	59	40.7	38.3	26	44%	12%	33%	+6.5
89	Will Monday	Duke	−1.4	66	44.1	42.3	20	30%	9%	27%	+4.4
90	Daniel Zychlinski	Stanford	−1.4	60	42.9	40.6	27	45%	12%	42%	+8.6
91	Ryan Johnson	Louisville	−1.5	48	39.5	35.4	18	36%	13%	45%	−13.1
92	Landon Foster	Kentucky	−1.5	61	42.9	41.5	18	30%	7%	35%	+3.8
93	Justin Doerner	Rutgers	−1.7	71	37.4	35.3	17	24%	10%	30%	−25.5
94	Pablo Beltran	Navy	−1.8	40	43.9	40.9	20	50%	15%	46%	+3.7
95	Travis Coons	Washington	−1.9	51	39.5	36.9	14	27%	10%	58%	−3.1
96	Brandon McManus	Temple	−2.0	54	45.1	42.5	16	29%	9%	43%	+6.5
97	Tim Gleeson	Wyoming	−2.2	62	43.0	41.1	24	39%	10%	30%	−8.2
98	Tress Way	Oklahoma	−2.2	48	43.6	39.3	18	38%	17%	31%	+7.3
99	Sean Sellwood	Utah	−2.3	38	46.5	44.5	13	34%	11%	62%	+9.3
100	Zac Murphy	Miami (OH)	−2.4	57	40.5	38.5	12	21%	11%	31%	−7.9
101	Ryan Allen	Louisiana Tech	−2.5	45	48.0	45.4	22	49%	13%	23%	+15.2
102	Chase Tenpenny	Nevada	−2.5	43	42.9	39.6	12	28%	16%	20%	+1.6
103	Richie Leone	Houston	−2.7	60	45.5	43.6	18	31%	10%	57%	+7.2
104	Seamus McMorrow	San Diego State	−2.7	35	41.9	38.6	13	38%	18%	21%	+1.2
105	Hunter Mullins	UAB	−2.9	50	44.8	42.1	15	30%	14%	39%	−4.1
106	Ben Skaer	New Mexico	−3.0	54	43.9	41.5	17	33%	12%	33%	+4.9
107	Will Hagerup	Michigan	−3.0	33	45.0	42.3	5	15%	12%	29%	−5.3
108	Josh Hubner	Arizona State	−3.2	52	47.1	44.4	22	43%	14%	43%	+15.6
109	J. Schroeder	Western Michigan	−3.4	56	40.8	38.1	11	23%	13%	40%	−12.5
110	Will Atterberry	North Texas	−3.4	70	41.3	38.1	26	37%	16%	38%	+2.4
111	Andrew Shapiro	Fresno State	−3.6	58	42.4	40.0	17	29%	12%	22%	+2.9
112	Alex Dunnachie	Hawai'i	−3.8	49	46.2	43.7	16	33%	12%	42%	+11.1
113	Chase Lansford	UNLV	−4.1	65	41.8	39.8	23	35%	12%	29%	+3.3
114	Trevor Harman	Boise State	−4.2	38	41.6	38.0	9	24%	18%	25%	−2.6
115	Brad Wing	LSU	−4.3	59	44.8	41.4	22	37%	17%	39%	+12.7
116	Trent Tignor	East Carolina	−4.8	59	42.4	38.7	12	24%	18%	23%	−4.0
117	Brian Schmiedebusch	Bowling Green	−5.4	65	41.8	38.3	23	35%	18%	18%	+0.8
118	Ethan Perry	TCU	−5.6	56	45.2	41.6	22	39%	18%	38%	+6.7
119	Pete Kontodiakos	Colorado State	−9.1	59	46.5	40.0	19	35%	26%	26%	+1.1

All 2012 College punter rankings

Touchbacks Avoided (STOP Rank) in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2011

More 2012 College punter leaderboards

Other 2012 College rankings

Loading the interactive stats…