2014 College Return Yards Allowed per Punt Leaders

Total return yards allowed divided by every punt that was not blocked, so a fair catch or an out-of-bounds punt counts as zero. College punts whose play text records no outcome are left out. It is the fairest single measure of how much a returner gets to work with.

Lowest comes first. Coverage teams share the credit. In 2014, Ethan Perry (-0.1) topped college football punters in return yards allowed per punt, ahead of Sam Irwin-HIll (0.2) and Alex Tardieu (0.2). 125 punters qualify (minimum 30 punts). The median qualified punter had 2.1.

Final 2014 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Ret yds/punt	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Ethan Perry	TCU	-0.1	60	39.0	37.4	27	46%	8%	41%	+5.2
2	Sam Irwin-HIll	Arkansas	0.2	54	40.1	39.2	29	54%	4%	43%	+14.3
3	Alex Tardieu	Army	0.2	44	39.3	38.7	19	43%	2%	44%	+8.3
4	Owen Dubiel	Eastern Michigan	0.3	58	40.0	38.7	20	34%	5%	14%	−0.9
5	Scott Harding	Hawai'i	0.5	86	41.3	40.0	31	42%	3%	18%	+9.5
6	Matt Mengel	UCLA	0.6	55	39.7	38.1	20	36%	5%	53%	−0.3
7	Korey Durkee	Washington	0.6	60	41.9	39.3	16	31%	10%	20%	+2.1
8	Nick Walsh	Kansas State	0.6	40	40.5	37.4	13	32%	10%	46%	−0.8
9	Jaron Bentrude	Utah State	0.6	78	40.9	38.5	33	42%	6%	43%	+11.1
10	Kyle Schmidt	Ball State	0.7	52	42.1	39.9	18	35%	8%	27%	+3.6
11	Spencer Smith	Memphis	0.7	53	40.2	39.3	20	38%	2%	40%	+9.3
12	Tyler Grassman	Buffalo	0.8	50	40.7	38.4	18	36%	8%	35%	+3.5
13	Will Monday	Duke	0.8	56	43.4	40.0	21	39%	13%	33%	+11.3
14	Tyler Wedel	Northern Illinois	0.8	59	41.7	41.0	26	44%	0%	34%	+11.5
15	Sam Geraci	Cincinnati	0.8	46	39.0	35.9	13	30%	9%	28%	−5.2
16	Tommy Hibbard	North Carolina	0.8	64	41.1	39.4	29	45%	5%	40%	+2.6
17	Kyle Brindza	Notre Dame	0.8	47	41.6	37.8	17	36%	15%	41%	+1.0
18	Alex Starzyk	Temple	0.9	70	38.4	36.5	18	27%	6%	36%	−3.4
19	Luke Ferguson	Arkansas State	0.9	52	41.5	39.3	22	42%	8%	39%	+0.9
20	Taylor Symmank	Texas Tech	1.0	54	42.6	39.8	18	34%	9%	42%	+8.7
21	Alexander Kinal	Wake Forest	1.0	81	43.6	42.7	28	35%	0%	24%	+21.8
22	Ian Wheeler	Oregon	1.0	39	39.1	36.5	11	29%	8%	24%	−6.8
23	Matt Darr	Tennessee	1.0	76	42.5	38.8	27	36%	13%	36%	+9.4
24	Kaleb Smith	Oklahoma State	1.0	76	42.1	39.8	24	32%	7%	42%	+11.0
25	Logan Yunker	UNLV	1.0	82	40.5	38.5	35	43%	5%	32%	+1.7
26	Colin Downing	Iowa State	1.1	69	39.4	38.4	19	28%	0%	36%	−1.6
27	Colby Cooke	Vanderbilt	1.1	66	42.4	39.0	24	37%	11%	16%	+7.5
28	Brian McDonald	Massachusetts	1.1	57	37.7	34.5	12	21%	11%	31%	−15.8
29	A.J. Hughes	Virginia Tech	1.1	78	40.0	37.9	23	29%	5%	23%	+3.3
30	Collin Barber	Georgia	1.2	32	39.2	37.5	13	41%	3%	34%	−2.5
31	Daniel Pasquariello	Penn State	1.2	41	37.7	35.7	14	34%	5%	27%	−7.8
32	Ryan Nowicki	Georgia Southern	1.2	35	40.1	37.8	17	50%	6%	47%	−0.4
33	Nick Ellis	Toledo	1.2	48	36.6	37.0	17	40%	0%	37%	−5.5
34	Will Gleeson	Ole Miss	1.2	50	42.9	40.8	23	50%	4%	24%	+9.9
35	Cameron Johnston	Ohio State	1.2	39	45.1	41.3	23	59%	13%	31%	+7.8
36	Logan Piper	Houston	1.2	39	39.3	36.2	11	29%	11%	42%	−1.4
37	Kristian Stern	UTSA	1.3	83	41.2	39.7	33	40%	1%	49%	+11.9
38	Spencer Roth	Baylor	1.3	46	43.3	41.2	20	43%	4%	40%	+4.6
39	Will Johnson	Texas State	1.3	65	43.8	41.3	24	37%	6%	37%	+14.4
40	Ryan Winslow	Pittsburgh	1.3	48	39.9	37.0	18	44%	10%	34%	+2.4
41	Peter Picerelli	Tulane	1.4	71	37.8	35.7	20	28%	6%	29%	−13.5
42	Zach Paul	Akron	1.4	66	42.5	36.4	26	39%	21%	21%	−5.1
43	Peter Mortell	Minnesota	1.4	62	45.5	39.9	25	40%	18%	24%	+10.5
44	JK Scott	Alabama	1.6	48	47.0	43.3	26	54%	10%	33%	+18.0
45	Justin Wain	UConn	1.6	74	38.8	36.2	23	34%	6%	38%	−10.3
46	Caleb Houston	UCF	1.6	48	38.5	35.3	19	41%	7%	29%	−0.6
47	Christian Koch	Miami (OH)	1.6	57	40.4	37.1	14	25%	9%	29%	−5.1
48	Joel Alesi	San Diego State	1.6	55	36.3	34.4	22	40%	2%	32%	−5.2
49	Brandon McKee	South Alabama	1.6	66	41.7	37.1	24	39%	12%	19%	+1.1
50	Tom Hackett	Utah	1.7	77	47.0	42.8	37	49%	13%	28%	+23.6
51	Cole Leininger	California	1.7	52	39.8	36.4	20	38%	10%	26%	−9.9
52	Will Conant	Air Force	1.7	56	43.8	39.1	23	41%	16%	16%	+6.6
53	Devon Bell	Mississippi State	1.7	49	43.0	39.4	17	36%	11%	32%	+2.6
54	Drew Kaser	Texas A&M	1.8	56	44.5	40.9	23	41%	9%	36%	+12.5
55	Zachary Lopez	Middle Tennessee	1.9	34	39.1	36.8	6	18%	6%	23%	−2.8
56	Kyle Christy	Florida	1.9	56	44.4	39.2	23	41%	13%	25%	+9.5
57	Dalton Parks	Tulsa	2.0	70	42.0	38.8	21	30%	7%	30%	−2.9
58	Tyler Sarrazin	Southern Miss	2.0	66	39.5	37.2	18	31%	5%	30%	−8.7
59	Joseph Occhipinti	Western Kentucky	2.0	46	37.7	34.6	11	24%	7%	27%	−11.6
60	Zack Rogers	New Mexico	2.0	56	42.6	37.8	21	37%	11%	13%	+1.4
61	Ron Coluzzi	Central Michigan	2.0	48	39.1	35.0	19	40%	10%	23%	−3.8
62	Landon Foster	Kentucky	2.0	66	42.6	39.2	28	44%	6%	32%	+4.7
63	Cason Beatty	Florida State	2.1	44	41.6	38.7	15	34%	5%	43%	+5.4
64	Mitch Bonnstetter	Ohio	2.1	63	41.8	38.8	24	38%	5%	17%	+3.9
65	Justin Vogel	Miami	2.1	49	43.7	41.2	22	45%	2%	37%	+11.0
66	Sam Foltz	Nebraska	2.2	56	41.9	38.2	25	45%	7%	34%	+4.8
67	Bradley Pinion	Clemson	2.3	70	42.5	39.8	28	41%	3%	44%	+8.7
68	Pablo Beltran	Navy	2.3	34	44.3	39.2	15	44%	15%	19%	+4.6
69	Jay Mattox	UTEP	2.3	34	41.7	35.5	9	26%	12%	16%	−7.0
70	Chris Gradone	Northwestern	2.3	65	37.9	33.6	20	30%	8%	19%	−19.9
71	Justin DuVernois	Illinois	2.3	72	44.4	40.4	21	30%	8%	23%	+10.1
72	Daniel Cadona	Louisiana	2.4	55	43.3	38.1	26	46%	11%	26%	+5.6
73	Ben Rhyne	Stanford	2.4	54	39.9	35.7	17	32%	9%	19%	+0.6
74	Keith Kostol	Oregon State	2.4	69	39.6	37.1	31	45%	1%	33%	−2.4
75	Christian Brinser	Missouri	2.4	71	41.2	38.5	24	34%	1%	39%	+3.5
76	Anthony Melchiori	Kent State	2.4	67	44.3	40.5	29	43%	4%	24%	+11.4
77	Ethan Wood	Wyoming	2.4	66	41.4	37.3	19	30%	8%	27%	+1.9
78	Matt Haack	Arizona State	2.5	52	43.3	38.9	18	36%	8%	14%	+1.3
79	Tyler Hull	South Carolina	2.5	38	41.2	37.1	15	39%	8%	32%	+0.6
80	Garrett Swanson	Fresno State	2.6	76	40.5	37.0	26	35%	4%	38%	−5.0
81	Erich Toth	Indiana	2.6	77	40.7	36.3	21	29%	8%	43%	−8.3
82	Trevor Pardula	Kansas	2.6	83	44.3	39.3	28	34%	12%	20%	+4.8
83	Drew Meyer	Wisconsin	2.6	51	38.1	34.2	17	33%	6%	29%	−10.0
84	Joe Davidson	Bowling Green	2.6	75	42.0	38.7	25	33%	4%	30%	+8.1
85	Sean Wale	Boise State	2.7	58	41.0	36.9	21	36%	7%	45%	−6.0
86	Ryan Kay	Troy	2.8	62	40.0	36.1	23	37%	3%	25%	−8.5
87	Jamie Keehn	LSU	2.9	68	45.0	41.2	25	37%	4%	37%	+7.6
88	J. Schroeder	Western Michigan	2.9	51	43.1	40.3	18	40%	2%	10%	+4.7
89	Alex Howell	Boston College	2.9	59	42.9	38.7	23	40%	7%	21%	+6.1
90	Justin Manton	UL Monroe	2.9	76	42.4	37.5	24	32%	11%	19%	+2.2
91	Nathan Renfro	Maryland	3.0	78	41.1	36.1	21	28%	11%	29%	−4.6
92	Scott Arellano	BYU	3.0	60	44.8	40.8	29	49%	3%	31%	+11.5
93	Tyler Williams	Marshall	3.0	39	44.8	39.8	12	32%	11%	20%	+4.7
94	Thomas Meadows	Purdue	3.0	58	39.8	36.2	14	24%	3%	30%	−7.2
95	Jed Barnett	Oklahoma	3.1	57	40.6	35.8	14	25%	9%	32%	−9.9
96	Tim Gleeson	Rutgers	3.2	32	40.3	35.9	11	34%	6%	19%	−1.8
97	Worth Gregory	East Carolina	3.2	43	43.5	37.7	15	36%	12%	24%	+3.2
98	Jose Laphitzondo	Florida International	3.2	59	40.7	36.1	10	17%	7%	7%	−12.9
99	Riley Dixon	Syracuse	3.3	75	42.4	37.4	27	36%	4%	42%	−3.9
100	Hunter Mullins	UAB	3.3	59	44.1	39.2	24	45%	4%	29%	+1.1
101	Kris Albarado	USC	3.3	53	41.6	36.7	19	37%	8%	43%	−3.1
102	Mattias Ciabatti	South Florida	3.3	65	44.4	40.3	27	42%	5%	22%	+9.1
103	Alex Boy	Nevada	3.4	54	44.5	38.4	14	27%	10%	10%	−0.3
104	Jackson Koonce	SMU	3.4	74	40.8	36.7	13	18%	4%	15%	−8.3
105	William Russ	Texas	3.4	66	42.3	38.2	22	33%	5%	30%	−1.3
106	Austin Rehkow	Idaho	3.6	44	47.8	42.9	15	42%	6%	31%	+9.8
107	Daniel Carlson	Auburn	3.6	37	41.6	37.5	12	32%	3%	22%	−2.4
108	Nick O'Toole	West Virginia	3.7	52	42.5	38.2	23	45%	4%	40%	−1.7
109	Mike Sadler	Michigan State	3.8	49	41.3	35.6	14	29%	10%	27%	−8.0
110	Alec Vozenilek	Virginia	3.8	58	42.5	35.5	15	25%	13%	22%	−8.8
111	James Farrimond	Rice	3.9	60	42.1	35.9	16	27%	12%	12%	−2.1
112	Ryan Johnson	Louisville	3.9	60	40.5	35.4	16	27%	7%	31%	−14.5
113	Logan McPherson	Louisiana Tech	3.9	57	37.1	32.5	16	30%	4%	17%	−19.3
114	Darragh O'Neill	Colorado	4.0	65	44.2	39.4	31	48%	5%	21%	+0.9
115	Wil Baumann	NC State	4.1	56	45.3	40.2	25	45%	5%	30%	+12.9
116	Hayden Hunt	Colorado State	4.3	44	43.8	38.7	11	26%	7%	10%	+5.7
117	Dillon Kidd	Iowa	4.5	42	39.1	34.3	14	33%	2%	38%	−15.2
118	Eric Keena	North Texas	4.6	43	44.8	39.4	9	21%	2%	29%	−0.2
119	Stephen Witkowski	New Mexico State	4.7	34	40.8	34.3	9	26%	9%	21%	−8.6
120	Dalton Schomp	Florida Atlantic	4.9	46	45.2	40.9	5	14%	3%	24%	+9.9
121	Drew Riggleman	Arizona	5.0	69	46.4	38.8	24	35%	13%	10%	+4.6
122	Will Hagerup	Michigan	5.2	53	42.9	34.5	17	33%	18%	10%	−7.0
123	Michael Carrizosa	San José State	5.4	43	37.1	30.7	8	20%	3%	17%	−22.8
124	Bentlee Critcher	App State	6.2	41	40.7	33.6	12	29%	5%	20%	−12.8
125	Jordan Dascalo	Washington State	6.7	49	41.6	32.9	15	31%	10%	22%	−11.7

All 2014 College punter rankings

Return Yards Allowed per Punt in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2013 2012 2011

More 2014 College punter leaderboards

Other 2014 College rankings

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