2016 College Punter Rankings

Every college football punter with enough work in the 2016 regular season (at least 30), ranked by punt points added. Each punt's expected-points result compared with an average punt from the same spot on the field, added up over the season. It puts distance, placement, coverage and returns on one scale.

Final 2016 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

2016 College Leaders

Gross Punting Average

Johnny Townsend (Florida): 48.0 60 punts
Mitch Wishnowsky (Utah): 48.0 60 punts
JK Scott (Alabama): 47.7 46 punts
Michael Dickson (Texas): 47.4 65 punts
Cameron Johnston (Ohio State): 46.2 49 punts

Full Gross Punting Average leaderboard

Net Punting Average

Mitch Wishnowsky (Utah): 44.5 60 punts
Joseph Davidson (Bowling Green): 43.5 61 punts
Michael Dickson (Texas): 43.4 65 punts
Cameron Johnston (Ohio State): 43.4 49 punts
Spencer Smith (Memphis): 43.0 44 punts

Full Net Punting Average leaderboard

Inside the 20 Percentage

Zach Sinor (Oklahoma State): 66.0% 35 of 52
Mitch Wishnowsky (Utah): 61.7% 37 of 60
Brandon McKee (South Alabama): 61.4% 27 of 44
Austin Rehkow (Idaho): 57.8% 26 of 49
Tanner Blain (San Diego State): 57.4% 27 of 56

Full Inside the 20 Percentage leaderboard

Longest Punts

Cole Moos (Kansas): 82 yds
Joseph Davidson (Bowling Green): 82 yds
Dom Maggio (Wake Forest): 80 yds
Corey Bojorquez (New Mexico): 80 yds
Jacob Ambrose (Northern Illinois): 78 yds

Full Longest Punts leaderboard

Punt Points Added

Joseph Davidson (Bowling Green): +26.0 61 punts
Mitch Wishnowsky (Utah): +25.3 60 punts
Michael Dickson (Texas): +23.9 65 punts
Cameron Johnston (Ohio State): +18.4 49 punts
Austin Barnes (Eastern Michigan): +17.1 60 punts

Full Punt Points Added leaderboard

Fair Catch Percentage

Austin Seibert (Oklahoma): 64.4% 29 of 45
Kevin Phillips (Auburn): 60.5% 23 of 40
Andy Teasdall (Clemson): 52.1% 25 of 48
Austin Kent (UCLA): 51.2% 21 of 44
Mason King (Louisville): 51.1% 24 of 47

Full Fair Catch Percentage leaderboard

Punt Touchback Percentage

Jonathan Hernandez (South Florida): 0.0% 0 of 59
Nick Gasser (Akron): 0.0% 0 of 59
Shane Tripucka (Texas A&M): 0.0% 0 of 66
Joseph Gedeon (Indiana): 0.0% 0 of 55
Austin Seibert (Oklahoma): 0.0% 0 of 45

Full Punt Touchback Percentage leaderboard

Touchbacks Avoided (STOP Rank)

Joseph Gedeon (Indiana): +4.1 0 TB on 55 punts
Jonathan Hernandez (South Florida): +4.0 0 TB on 59 punts
Nick Gasser (Akron): +3.8 0 TB on 59 punts
Anthony Lotti (Wisconsin): +3.7 1 TB on 48 punts
Shane Tripucka (Texas A&M): +3.3 0 TB on 66 punts

Full Touchbacks Avoided (STOP Rank) leaderboard

Return Yards Allowed per Punt

Blake Cusick (Fresno State): 0.0 2 yards
Kevin Phillips (Auburn): 0.1 5 yards
Tom Sheldon (North Carolina): 0.1 6 yards
Drew Galitz (Baylor): 0.2 11 yards
Zachary Block (Tulane): 0.4 26 yards

Full Return Yards Allowed per Punt leaderboard

Opponent Starting Field Position

Brandon McKee (South Alabama): 19.6 44 punts
Zach Sinor (Oklahoma State): 19.7 52 punts
Michael Dickson (Texas): 20.0 65 punts
Jonny Linehan (BYU): 20.0 52 punts
Mitch Wishnowsky (Utah): 20.1 60 punts

Full Opponent Starting Field Position leaderboard

Net Average in Opponent Territory

Mitch Wishnowsky (Utah): 37.8 12 punts
Justin Vogel (Miami): 36.9 12 punts
Ethan Wood (Wyoming): 35.6 17 punts
Logan Cooke (Mississippi State): 34.6 13 punts
Dane Roy (Houston): 34.5 12 punts

Full Net Average in Opponent Territory leaderboard

Net Average in Wind

Joseph Davidson (Bowling Green): 45.4 13 punts
Michael Dickson (Texas): 44.2 13 punts
Mitch Wishnowsky (Utah): 44.1 31 punts
Jonny Linehan (BYU): 43.8 11 punts
Justin Vogel (Miami): 42.9 15 punts

Full Net Average in Wind leaderboard

All 2016 College Punter Leaderboards

Punters by Points Added

122 punters qualify.

Rk	Player	Team	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Joseph Davidson	Bowling Green	61	45.8	43.5	24	45%	6%	19%	+26.0
2	Mitch Wishnowsky	Utah	60	48.0	44.5	37	62%	3%	26%	+25.3
3	Michael Dickson	Texas	65	47.4	43.4	30	48%	14%	29%	+23.9
4	Cameron Johnston	Ohio State	49	46.2	43.4	23	47%	10%	39%	+18.4
5	Austin Barnes	Eastern Michigan	60	43.7	40.7	33	55%	7%	32%	+17.1
6	Toby Baker	Arkansas	50	44.6	41.3	21	42%	6%	40%	+16.6
7	Corey Fatony	Missouri	66	43.8	41.0	28	43%	9%	19%	+15.3
8	Matt Haack	Arizona State	66	43.9	42.0	21	32%	5%	35%	+14.5
9	Hayden Hunt	Colorado State	50	44.3	40.9	27	54%	6%	32%	+14.2
10	Johnny Townsend	Florida	60	48.0	42.0	24	41%	10%	25%	+13.4
11	Spencer Smith	Memphis	44	45.2	43.0	11	27%	7%	36%	+13.3
12	Zach Sinor	Oklahoma State	52	42.4	40.4	35	66%	2%	38%	+13.0
13	Nicholas Conte	Virginia	74	44.3	40.5	34	46%	12%	22%	+13.0
14	Tyler Sarrazin	Southern Miss	48	44.6	41.0	17	33%	10%	17%	+11.9
15	Brandon McKee	South Alabama	44	44.5	41.4	27	61%	11%	37%	+11.7
16	Trevor Daniel	Tennessee	64	44.7	40.2	28	44%	11%	41%	+10.6
17	Shane Tripucka	Texas A&M	66	43.2	41.4	25	40%	0%	36%	+10.5
18	Jonny Linehan	BYU	52	42.7	41.4	22	54%	5%	28%	+10.4
19	Dalton Schomp	Florida Atlantic	68	42.6	39.4	24	38%	10%	32%	+10.0
20	Ethan Wood	Wyoming	65	41.6	39.8	32	52%	3%	18%	+8.3
21	Tom Sheldon	North Carolina	46	42.5	40.2	18	39%	11%	42%	+8.0
22	Eric Keena	North Texas	69	43.8	39.8	27	40%	3%	18%	+7.7
23	Steven Coutts	Louisiana	58	44.4	41.0	24	41%	7%	46%	+7.5
24	Justin Vogel	Miami	57	44.2	41.1	25	44%	2%	47%	+7.2
25	Sean Wale	Boise State	47	45.2	40.5	19	42%	7%	41%	+7.0
26	Tanner Blain	San Diego State	56	41.9	38.3	27	57%	6%	29%	+7.0
27	Ryan Kay	Troy	62	40.8	38.9	28	50%	7%	35%	+6.9
28	Rigoberto Sanchez	Hawai'i	67	44.6	38.9	24	36%	6%	31%	+6.8
29	Jake Collins	Western Kentucky	36	42.9	38.8	11	32%	12%	18%	+6.8
30	JK Scott	Alabama	46	47.7	40.3	16	36%	16%	24%	+6.7
31	Blake Gillikin	Penn State	56	42.1	38.4	25	45%	9%	28%	+6.7
32	Jake Bailey	Stanford	45	42.8	39.3	22	49%	4%	14%	+6.0
33	Michael Carrizosa	San José State	61	44.3	39.3	27	44%	10%	26%	+5.9
34	Nick Ellis	Toledo	47	43.1	37.9	15	37%	15%	19%	+5.6
35	Austin Seibert	Oklahoma	45	40.8	39.4	22	49%	0%	64%	+5.6
36	Josh Growden	LSU	51	41.9	39.8	20	40%	6%	50%	+5.5
37	Colin Downing	Iowa State	58	41.1	38.8	24	41%	5%	34%	+5.3
38	Nick Walsh	Kansas State	46	42.7	39.2	22	48%	11%	16%	+5.0
39	Kevin Phillips	Auburn	40	41.4	39.5	14	36%	8%	61%	+4.9
40	Caleb Houston	UCF	64	41.8	39.6	21	38%	4%	39%	+4.9
41	Kyle Schmidt	Ball State	57	41.3	37.9	21	36%	7%	16%	+4.8
42	Mason King	Louisville	47	42.7	39.3	15	32%	2%	51%	+4.8
43	Joe Schopper	Purdue	56	40.7	37.8	25	45%	11%	25%	+4.7
44	Michael Farkas	Ohio	69	41.0	38.7	31	46%	4%	40%	+4.5
45	Steve Brosy	Air Force	46	41.3	39.2	25	57%	2%	40%	+4.5
46	Nick Porebski	Oregon State	64	41.3	38.9	23	35%	9%	40%	+4.5
47	Ron Coluzzi	Iowa	68	41.3	38.4	26	38%	7%	47%	+4.1
48	Jake Hartbarger	Michigan State	54	40.9	38.2	22	41%	6%	27%	+3.5
49	Drew Galitz	Baylor	52	41.3	40.5	15	30%	4%	46%	+3.4
50	Alex Boy	Nevada	51	43.7	38.0	18	39%	11%	30%	+3.4
51	Lumi Kaba	Texas State	74	41.9	39.2	20	27%	8%	39%	+3.3
52	Austin Rehkow	Idaho	49	42.6	38.1	26	58%	5%	31%	+3.2
53	Jonathan Hernandez	South Florida	59	41.2	38.5	26	51%	0%	40%	+3.0
54	Sam Geraci	Cincinnati	66	40.0	37.6	33	49%	5%	50%	+2.8
55	Joseph Gedeon	Indiana	55	40.0	36.9	25	45%	0%	15%	+1.6
56	Gerald Shouse	Louisiana Tech	32	43.0	37.2	13	41%	13%	16%	+1.5
57	Kenny Allen	Michigan	46	42.6	37.6	21	46%	11%	17%	+1.1
58	Billy Kinney	West Virginia	51	41.4	37.5	15	31%	10%	40%	+1.1
59	Kaare Vedvik	Marshall	70	40.0	37.1	26	41%	3%	39%	+1.1
60	Sean Kelly	South Carolina	72	42.5	38.5	30	42%	6%	37%	+1.1
61	Dane Roy	Houston	55	40.7	38.7	19	35%	7%	45%	+0.1
62	Dayton Balvanz	UL Monroe	63	41.0	38.3	25	40%	5%	34%	−0.2
63	Bentlee Critcher	App State	50	40.9	37.7	21	45%	7%	43%	−0.8
64	Dalton Parks	Tulsa	64	41.8	37.6	20	31%	9%	22%	−0.9
65	Jack Fox	Rice	75	40.7	37.7	31	41%	4%	35%	−0.9
66	Sam Loy	Vanderbilt	64	41.2	37.8	23	36%	10%	21%	−0.9
67	Evan Pantels	UNLV	64	41.7	38.3	16	25%	3%	18%	−1.0
68	Yannis Routsas	UTSA	67	41.9	38.1	15	24%	2%	28%	−1.4
69	Zachary Block	Tulane	68	40.8	38.8	23	34%	7%	33%	−1.9
70	Logan Laurent	Massachusetts	62	41.6	37.4	21	34%	3%	19%	−2.0
71	Cole Moos	Kansas	73	41.4	38.2	13	19%	3%	28%	−2.1
72	Mitchell Ludwig	Virginia Tech	62	38.8	37.2	31	51%	3%	45%	−2.1
73	Alex Starzyk	Temple	48	39.7	38.2	22	46%	2%	13%	−2.2
74	Wade Lees	Maryland	65	39.9	38.4	21	32%	2%	41%	−2.5
75	Sterling Hofrichter	Syracuse	77	42.7	38.4	21	31%	4%	25%	−2.5
76	Adam Nunez	TCU	69	39.6	37.7	26	38%	3%	36%	−2.6
77	Ryan Rodwell	Georgia Tech	44	43.4	38.4	15	34%	11%	32%	−2.9
78	Jack Sheldon	Central Michigan	43	40.3	37.5	16	38%	12%	15%	−3.2
79	Justin Wain	UConn	74	40.8	37.4	24	32%	8%	43%	−3.2
80	Worth Gregory	East Carolina	51	42.3	38.1	17	33%	4%	28%	−3.2
81	Tyler Newsome	Notre Dame	54	43.5	37.3	18	33%	6%	13%	−3.6
82	A.J. Cole III	NC State	46	41.6	38.1	13	28%	9%	34%	−3.9
83	Chris Tilbey	USC	46	37.8	36.4	19	41%	4%	35%	−3.9
84	Ryan Santoso	Minnesota	70	40.6	37.3	27	39%	7%	15%	−3.9
85	Corey Bojorquez	New Mexico	46	42.4	37.8	15	33%	7%	19%	−4.1
86	Hunter Niswander	Northwestern	70	41.4	36.4	26	37%	9%	23%	−4.3
87	Jamie Sackville	SMU	71	39.6	35.9	23	32%	7%	21%	−4.6
88	Justin Martin	Miami (OH)	33	38.0	35.2	7	21%	3%	20%	−4.8
89	Austin Kent	UCLA	44	38.3	36.5	15	37%	2%	51%	−5.1
90	Bailey Cate	Old Dominion	53	37.7	34.9	23	47%	6%	36%	−5.3
91	Derek Adams	Kent State	76	40.3	37.4	25	43%	2%	43%	−5.3
92	Ryan Winslow	Pittsburgh	55	42.6	36.2	14	25%	11%	19%	−5.6
93	Grant McKinniss	Kentucky	55	39.5	36.0	12	21%	9%	19%	−5.6
94	Alan Luna	UTEP	62	41.0	37.5	19	34%	2%	12%	−5.8
95	Damon Foncham	Arkansas State	65	39.4	38.1	19	30%	3%	27%	−5.8
96	Andy Teasdall	Clemson	48	37.7	35.1	18	38%	8%	52%	−6.2
97	Jacob Ambrose	Northern Illinois	70	39.1	36.4	20	33%	8%	23%	−6.6
98	Dylan Klumph	California	50	44.8	38.5	19	38%	6%	14%	−6.7
99	Logan Cooke	Mississippi State	40	39.8	35.0	21	51%	5%	38%	−7.4
100	Josh Pollack	Arizona	48	42.3	36.4	14	34%	5%	8%	−7.4
101	Logan Tyler	Florida State	49	40.6	34.8	13	28%	4%	30%	−7.6
102	Matt Bonadies	Middle Tennessee	55	38.4	37.0	16	30%	4%	29%	−7.7
103	Anthony Lotti	Wisconsin	48	37.5	33.8	25	53%	2%	26%	−9.0
104	Marshall Long	Georgia	49	38.7	35.2	14	29%	6%	27%	−9.4
105	Ian Wheeler	Oregon	59	37.8	34.8	22	37%	5%	43%	−10.0
106	Ryan Frain	Illinois	53	40.1	35.9	21	40%	8%	20%	−10.2
107	Michael Barden	Texas Tech	43	38.3	35.1	10	24%	5%	10%	−10.3
108	Matt Flynn	Georgia Southern	56	39.1	37.9	11	20%	2%	48%	−10.5
109	Dom Maggio	Wake Forest	67	42.6	36.9	26	38%	10%	12%	−10.7
110	Alex Kinney	Colorado	66	41.3	35.0	15	24%	6%	33%	−11.0
111	Nick Gasser	Akron	59	37.7	35.1	23	40%	0%	28%	−11.7
112	Arthur Hart	Charlotte	68	39.2	36.6	16	25%	6%	24%	−11.7
113	Tristan Vizcaino	Washington	43	39.6	33.6	15	35%	12%	15%	−11.9
114	Caleb Lightbourn	Nebraska	58	39.3	34.6	21	40%	6%	24%	−11.9
115	Blake Cusick	Fresno State	78	38.3	36.9	20	25%	3%	46%	−12.1
116	Aaron Dalton	Utah State	62	37.9	34.1	22	35%	6%	36%	−12.6
117	Stone Wilson	Florida International	61	37.6	34.2	13	21%	5%	30%	−15.4
118	Kyle DeWeen	Buffalo	72	39.8	34.3	22	30%	8%	23%	−15.6
119	Payton Theisler	New Mexico State	65	42.2	34.2	21	32%	3%	16%	−18.5
120	Brandon Wright	Georgia State	61	39.8	34.0	17	28%	5%	17%	−19.6
121	Mike Knoll	Boston College	86	38.3	34.9	16	19%	8%	32%	−21.5
122	Michael Cintron	Rutgers	95	37.9	33.2	19	20%	6%	24%	−40.2

Ranked by points added: each punt's expected-points result compared with an average punt from the same spot, summed (for college, expected points come from field position, since the source has no expected-points value on punts). Net subtracts return yards and 20 for touchbacks. TB % and FC % are shares of punts that were not blocked. Hang time is not recorded in public play-by-play, so fair-catch rate stands in for it. 5% of 2016 college punts have no outcome in the source play text. They are counted as not returned and left out of the fair catch, out of bounds, downed and return percentages. Minimum 30 punts.

Punter Rankings in Other Seasons

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Other 2016 College Rankings

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