2016 College Punts Downed Percentage Leaders

The share of punts a member of the kicking team stopped or touched before they could roll into the end zone. It is a control and coverage stat as much as a leg stat.

Downed punts are rare, so one or two change the percentage. In 2016, Alex Starzyk (41.7%) led college football punters in punts downed percentage, ahead of Jack Sheldon (38.5%) and Sam Loy (37.1%). 122 punters qualify (minimum 30 punts). The median qualified punter had 22.1%.

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

Rk	Player	Team	Downed %	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Alex Starzyk	Temple	41.7%	48	39.7	38.2	22	46%	2%	13%	−2.2
2	Jack Sheldon	Central Michigan	38.5%	43	40.3	37.5	16	38%	12%	15%	−3.2
3	Sam Loy	Vanderbilt	37.1%	64	41.2	37.8	23	36%	10%	21%	−0.9
4	Ethan Wood	Wyoming	36.7%	65	41.6	39.8	32	52%	3%	18%	+8.3
5	Michael Barden	Texas Tech	36.6%	43	38.3	35.1	10	24%	5%	10%	−10.3
6	Tyler Sarrazin	Southern Miss	36.2%	48	44.6	41.0	17	33%	10%	17%	+11.9
7	Logan Cooke	Mississippi State	35.9%	40	39.8	35.0	21	51%	5%	38%	−7.4
8	Nicholas Conte	Virginia	35.3%	74	44.3	40.5	34	46%	12%	22%	+13.0
9	Jake Collins	Western Kentucky	35.3%	36	42.9	38.8	11	32%	12%	18%	+6.8
10	Matt Bonadies	Middle Tennessee	34.6%	55	38.4	37.0	16	30%	4%	29%	−7.7
11	A.J. Cole III	NC State	34.1%	46	41.6	38.1	13	28%	9%	34%	−3.9
12	Alan Luna	UTEP	34.0%	62	41.0	37.5	19	34%	2%	12%	−5.8
13	Kyle Schmidt	Ball State	33.3%	57	41.3	37.9	21	36%	7%	16%	+4.8
14	Joseph Davidson	Bowling Green	32.7%	61	45.8	43.5	24	45%	6%	19%	+26.0
15	Damon Foncham	Arkansas State	31.7%	65	39.4	38.1	19	30%	3%	27%	−5.8
16	Mitch Wishnowsky	Utah	31.5%	60	48.0	44.5	37	62%	3%	26%	+25.3
17	Bailey Cate	Old Dominion	31.0%	53	37.7	34.9	23	47%	6%	36%	−5.3
18	Caleb Houston	UCF	30.6%	64	41.8	39.6	21	38%	4%	39%	+4.9
19	Zach Sinor	Oklahoma State	30.0%	52	42.4	40.4	35	66%	2%	38%	+13.0
20	Justin Martin	Miami (OH)	30.0%	33	38.0	35.2	7	21%	3%	20%	−4.8
21	Evan Pantels	UNLV	29.8%	64	41.7	38.3	16	25%	3%	18%	−1.0
22	Mitchell Ludwig	Virginia Tech	28.3%	62	38.8	37.2	31	51%	3%	45%	−2.1
23	Tyler Newsome	Notre Dame	28.3%	54	43.5	37.3	18	33%	6%	13%	−3.6
24	Gerald Shouse	Louisiana Tech	28.1%	32	43.0	37.2	13	41%	13%	16%	+1.5
25	Jake Bailey	Stanford	27.9%	45	42.8	39.3	22	49%	4%	14%	+6.0
26	Ryan Kay	Troy	27.8%	62	40.8	38.9	28	50%	7%	35%	+6.9
27	Spencer Smith	Memphis	27.8%	44	45.2	43.0	11	27%	7%	36%	+13.3
28	Dom Maggio	Wake Forest	27.7%	67	42.6	36.9	26	38%	10%	12%	−10.7
29	Anthony Lotti	Wisconsin	27.7%	48	37.5	33.8	25	53%	2%	26%	−9.0
30	Jonny Linehan	BYU	27.5%	52	42.7	41.4	22	54%	5%	28%	+10.4
31	Jake Hartbarger	Michigan State	27.5%	54	40.9	38.2	22	41%	6%	27%	+3.5
32	Ryan Frain	Illinois	27.5%	53	40.1	35.9	21	40%	8%	20%	−10.2
33	Kyle DeWeen	Buffalo	26.1%	72	39.8	34.3	22	30%	8%	23%	−15.6
34	Drew Galitz	Baylor	26.0%	52	41.3	40.5	15	30%	4%	46%	+3.4
35	Worth Gregory	East Carolina	25.5%	51	42.3	38.1	17	33%	4%	28%	−3.2
36	Logan Tyler	Florida State	25.5%	49	40.6	34.8	13	28%	4%	30%	−7.6
37	Austin Barnes	Eastern Michigan	25.4%	60	43.7	40.7	33	55%	7%	32%	+17.1
38	Arthur Hart	Charlotte	25.4%	68	39.2	36.6	16	25%	6%	24%	−11.7
39	Zachary Block	Tulane	25.0%	68	40.8	38.8	23	34%	7%	33%	−1.9
40	Steven Coutts	Louisiana	25.0%	58	44.4	41.0	24	41%	7%	46%	+7.5
41	Jack Fox	Rice	24.6%	75	40.7	37.7	31	41%	4%	35%	−0.9
42	Dalton Schomp	Florida Atlantic	24.6%	68	42.6	39.4	24	38%	10%	32%	+10.0
43	Cameron Johnston	Ohio State	24.5%	49	46.2	43.4	23	47%	10%	39%	+18.4
44	Brandon McKee	South Alabama	24.4%	44	44.5	41.4	27	61%	11%	37%	+11.7
45	Eric Keena	North Texas	24.2%	69	43.8	39.8	27	40%	3%	18%	+7.7
46	Caleb Lightbourn	Nebraska	24.0%	58	39.3	34.6	21	40%	6%	24%	−11.9
47	Michael Farkas	Ohio	23.9%	69	41.0	38.7	31	46%	4%	40%	+4.5
48	Austin Rehkow	Idaho	23.8%	49	42.6	38.1	26	58%	5%	31%	+3.2
49	Wade Lees	Maryland	23.7%	65	39.9	38.4	21	32%	2%	41%	−2.5
50	Derek Adams	Kent State	23.5%	76	40.3	37.4	25	43%	2%	43%	−5.3
51	Adam Nunez	TCU	23.4%	69	39.6	37.7	26	38%	3%	36%	−2.6
52	Chris Tilbey	USC	23.3%	46	37.8	36.4	19	41%	4%	35%	−3.9
53	Blake Cusick	Fresno State	23.2%	78	38.3	36.9	20	25%	3%	46%	−12.1
54	Aaron Dalton	Utah State	23.2%	62	37.9	34.1	22	35%	6%	36%	−12.6
55	Joe Schopper	Purdue	23.2%	56	40.7	37.8	25	45%	11%	25%	+4.7
56	Ryan Rodwell	Georgia Tech	22.7%	44	43.4	38.4	15	34%	11%	32%	−2.9
57	Colin Downing	Iowa State	22.6%	58	41.1	38.8	24	41%	5%	34%	+5.3
58	Grant McKinniss	Kentucky	22.6%	55	39.5	36.0	12	21%	9%	19%	−5.6
59	Jamie Sackville	SMU	22.5%	71	39.6	35.9	23	32%	7%	21%	−4.6
60	Josh Pollack	Arizona	22.5%	48	42.3	36.4	14	34%	5%	8%	−7.4
61	Tom Sheldon	North Carolina	22.2%	46	42.5	40.2	18	39%	11%	42%	+8.0
62	Jonathan Hernandez	South Florida	22.0%	59	41.2	38.5	26	51%	0%	40%	+3.0
63	Tristan Vizcaino	Washington	22.0%	43	39.6	33.6	15	35%	12%	15%	−11.9
64	Austin Kent	UCLA	22.0%	44	38.3	36.5	15	37%	2%	51%	−5.1
65	Hunter Niswander	Northwestern	21.2%	70	41.4	36.4	26	37%	9%	23%	−4.3
66	Corey Fatony	Missouri	21.0%	66	43.8	41.0	28	43%	9%	19%	+15.3
67	Blake Gillikin	Penn State	20.8%	56	42.1	38.4	25	45%	9%	28%	+6.7
68	Sterling Hofrichter	Syracuse	20.6%	77	42.7	38.4	21	31%	4%	25%	−2.5
69	Bentlee Critcher	App State	20.5%	50	40.9	37.7	21	45%	7%	43%	−0.8
70	Stone Wilson	Florida International	20.4%	61	37.6	34.2	13	21%	5%	30%	−15.4
71	Dayton Balvanz	UL Monroe	20.3%	63	41.0	38.3	25	40%	5%	34%	−0.2
72	Nick Walsh	Kansas State	20.0%	46	42.7	39.2	22	48%	11%	16%	+5.0
73	Michael Cintron	Rutgers	19.8%	95	37.9	33.2	19	20%	6%	24%	−40.2
74	Kenny Allen	Michigan	19.6%	46	42.6	37.6	21	46%	11%	17%	+1.1
75	Nick Ellis	Toledo	19.4%	47	43.1	37.9	15	37%	15%	19%	+5.6
76	Cole Moos	Kansas	19.4%	73	41.4	38.2	13	19%	3%	28%	−2.1
77	Ryan Santoso	Minnesota	19.4%	70	40.6	37.3	27	39%	7%	15%	−3.9
78	Sam Geraci	Cincinnati	19.0%	66	40.0	37.6	33	49%	5%	50%	+2.8
79	Andy Teasdall	Clemson	18.8%	48	37.7	35.1	18	38%	8%	52%	−6.2
80	Matt Haack	Arizona State	18.5%	66	43.9	42.0	21	32%	5%	35%	+14.5
81	Joseph Gedeon	Indiana	18.2%	55	40.0	36.9	25	45%	0%	15%	+1.6
82	Dane Roy	Houston	18.2%	55	40.7	38.7	19	35%	7%	45%	+0.1
83	Payton Theisler	New Mexico State	18.0%	65	42.2	34.2	21	32%	3%	16%	−18.5
84	Kaare Vedvik	Marshall	18.0%	70	40.0	37.1	26	41%	3%	39%	+1.1
85	Justin Wain	UConn	17.9%	74	40.8	37.4	24	32%	8%	43%	−3.2
86	Mike Knoll	Boston College	17.9%	86	38.3	34.9	16	19%	8%	32%	−21.5
87	Ryan Winslow	Pittsburgh	17.0%	55	42.6	36.2	14	25%	11%	19%	−5.6
88	Tanner Blain	San Diego State	16.7%	56	41.9	38.3	27	57%	6%	29%	+7.0
89	Shane Tripucka	Texas A&M	16.4%	66	43.2	41.4	25	40%	0%	36%	+10.5
90	Josh Growden	LSU	16.0%	51	41.9	39.8	20	40%	6%	50%	+5.5
91	Kevin Phillips	Auburn	15.8%	40	41.4	39.5	14	36%	8%	61%	+4.9
92	Nick Gasser	Akron	15.5%	59	37.7	35.1	23	40%	0%	28%	−11.7
93	Sean Wale	Boise State	15.4%	47	45.2	40.5	19	42%	7%	41%	+7.0
94	Logan Laurent	Massachusetts	15.3%	62	41.6	37.4	21	34%	3%	19%	−2.0
95	Ron Coluzzi	Iowa	15.2%	68	41.3	38.4	26	38%	7%	47%	+4.1
96	Alex Kinney	Colorado	15.0%	66	41.3	35.0	15	24%	6%	33%	−11.0
97	Alex Boy	Nevada	15.0%	51	43.7	38.0	18	39%	11%	30%	+3.4
98	Sean Kelly	South Carolina	14.7%	72	42.5	38.5	30	42%	6%	37%	+1.1
99	Matt Flynn	Georgia Southern	14.6%	56	39.1	37.9	11	20%	2%	48%	−10.5
100	Marshall Long	Georgia	14.6%	49	38.7	35.2	14	29%	6%	27%	−9.4
101	Michael Dickson	Texas	14.5%	65	47.4	43.4	30	48%	14%	29%	+23.9
102	Johnny Townsend	Florida	14.3%	60	48.0	42.0	24	41%	10%	25%	+13.4
103	Corey Bojorquez	New Mexico	14.3%	46	42.4	37.8	15	33%	7%	19%	−4.1
104	Steve Brosy	Air Force	14.0%	46	41.3	39.2	25	57%	2%	40%	+4.5
105	Lumi Kaba	Texas State	13.9%	74	41.9	39.2	20	27%	8%	39%	+3.3
106	Dalton Parks	Tulsa	13.8%	64	41.8	37.6	20	31%	9%	22%	−0.9
107	Michael Carrizosa	San José State	13.8%	61	44.3	39.3	27	44%	10%	26%	+5.9
108	Austin Seibert	Oklahoma	13.3%	45	40.8	39.4	22	49%	0%	64%	+5.6
109	Trevor Daniel	Tennessee	13.1%	64	44.7	40.2	28	44%	11%	41%	+10.6
110	Rigoberto Sanchez	Hawai'i	12.9%	67	44.6	38.9	24	36%	6%	31%	+6.8
111	Hayden Hunt	Colorado State	12.8%	50	44.3	40.9	27	54%	6%	32%	+14.2
112	Mason King	Louisville	12.8%	47	42.7	39.3	15	32%	2%	51%	+4.8
113	Toby Baker	Arkansas	12.0%	50	44.6	41.3	21	42%	6%	40%	+16.6
114	Nick Porebski	Oregon State	11.1%	64	41.3	38.9	23	35%	9%	40%	+4.5
115	Ian Wheeler	Oregon	11.1%	59	37.8	34.8	22	37%	5%	43%	−10.0
116	Justin Vogel	Miami	10.9%	57	44.2	41.1	25	44%	2%	47%	+7.2
117	Yannis Routsas	UTSA	10.3%	67	41.9	38.1	15	24%	2%	28%	−1.4
118	Dylan Klumph	California	10.0%	50	44.8	38.5	19	38%	6%	14%	−6.7
119	Brandon Wright	Georgia State	8.3%	61	39.8	34.0	17	28%	5%	17%	−19.6
120	Billy Kinney	West Virginia	8.3%	51	41.4	37.5	15	31%	10%	40%	+1.1
121	Jacob Ambrose	Northern Illinois	7.7%	70	39.1	36.4	20	33%	8%	23%	−6.6
122	JK Scott	Alabama	6.7%	46	47.7	40.3	16	36%	16%	24%	+6.7

All 2016 College punter rankings

Punts Downed Percentage in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

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