2016 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 2016, Blake Cusick (0.0) topped college football punters in return yards allowed per punt, ahead of Kevin Phillips (0.1) and Tom Sheldon (0.1). 122 punters qualify (minimum 30 punts). The median qualified punter had 2.1.

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

Rk	Player	Team	Ret yds/punt	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Blake Cusick	Fresno State	0.0	78	38.3	36.9	20	25%	3%	46%	−12.1
2	Kevin Phillips	Auburn	0.1	40	41.4	39.5	14	36%	8%	61%	+4.9
3	Tom Sheldon	North Carolina	0.1	46	42.5	40.2	18	39%	11%	42%	+8.0
4	Drew Galitz	Baylor	0.2	52	41.3	40.5	15	30%	4%	46%	+3.4
5	Zachary Block	Tulane	0.4	68	40.8	38.8	23	34%	7%	33%	−1.9
6	Chris Tilbey	USC	0.6	46	37.8	36.4	19	41%	4%	35%	−3.9
7	Spencer Smith	Memphis	0.6	44	45.2	43.0	11	27%	7%	36%	+13.3
8	Zach Sinor	Oklahoma State	0.7	52	42.4	40.4	35	66%	2%	38%	+13.0
9	Mitchell Ludwig	Virginia Tech	0.7	62	38.8	37.2	31	51%	3%	45%	−2.1
10	Dane Roy	Houston	0.7	55	40.7	38.7	19	35%	7%	45%	+0.1
11	Sam Loy	Vanderbilt	0.7	64	41.2	37.8	23	36%	10%	21%	−0.9
12	Jonny Linehan	BYU	0.7	52	42.7	41.4	22	54%	5%	28%	+10.4
13	Nick Porebski	Oregon State	0.7	64	41.3	38.9	23	35%	9%	40%	+4.5
14	Damon Foncham	Arkansas State	0.7	65	39.4	38.1	19	30%	3%	27%	−5.8
15	Joe Schopper	Purdue	0.8	56	40.7	37.8	25	45%	11%	25%	+4.7
16	Cameron Johnston	Ohio State	0.8	49	46.2	43.4	23	47%	10%	39%	+18.4
17	Ryan Kay	Troy	0.8	62	40.8	38.9	28	50%	7%	35%	+6.9
18	Josh Growden	LSU	0.8	51	41.9	39.8	20	40%	6%	50%	+5.5
19	Jack Sheldon	Central Michigan	0.8	43	40.3	37.5	16	38%	12%	15%	−3.2
20	Matt Flynn	Georgia Southern	0.9	56	39.1	37.9	11	20%	2%	48%	−10.5
21	Andy Teasdall	Clemson	0.9	48	37.7	35.1	18	38%	8%	52%	−6.2
22	Brandon McKee	South Alabama	0.9	44	44.5	41.4	27	61%	11%	37%	+11.7
23	Matt Bonadies	Middle Tennessee	1.0	55	38.4	37.0	16	30%	4%	29%	−7.7
24	A.J. Cole III	NC State	1.0	46	41.6	38.1	13	28%	9%	34%	−3.9
25	Matt Haack	Arizona State	1.0	66	43.9	42.0	21	32%	5%	35%	+14.5
26	Lumi Kaba	Texas State	1.0	74	41.9	39.2	20	27%	8%	39%	+3.3
27	Alex Starzyk	Temple	1.1	48	39.7	38.2	22	46%	2%	13%	−2.2
28	Corey Fatony	Missouri	1.1	66	43.8	41.0	28	43%	9%	19%	+15.3
29	Sam Geraci	Cincinnati	1.1	66	40.0	37.6	33	49%	5%	50%	+2.8
30	Wade Lees	Maryland	1.3	65	39.9	38.4	21	32%	2%	41%	−2.5
31	Joseph Davidson	Bowling Green	1.3	61	45.8	43.5	24	45%	6%	19%	+26.0
32	Colin Downing	Iowa State	1.3	58	41.1	38.8	24	41%	5%	34%	+5.3
33	Michael Dickson	Texas	1.3	65	47.4	43.4	30	48%	14%	29%	+23.9
34	Ethan Wood	Wyoming	1.4	65	41.6	39.8	32	52%	3%	18%	+8.3
35	Nick Walsh	Kansas State	1.4	46	42.7	39.2	22	48%	11%	16%	+5.0
36	Dalton Schomp	Florida Atlantic	1.4	68	42.6	39.4	24	38%	10%	32%	+10.0
37	Jake Collins	Western Kentucky	1.4	36	42.9	38.8	11	32%	12%	18%	+6.8
38	Adam Nunez	TCU	1.4	69	39.6	37.7	26	38%	3%	36%	−2.6
39	Ron Coluzzi	Iowa	1.4	68	41.3	38.4	26	38%	7%	47%	+4.1
40	Tyler Sarrazin	Southern Miss	1.4	48	44.6	41.0	17	33%	10%	17%	+11.9
41	Austin Seibert	Oklahoma	1.4	45	40.8	39.4	22	49%	0%	64%	+5.6
42	Nicholas Conte	Virginia	1.5	74	44.3	40.5	34	46%	12%	22%	+13.0
43	Arthur Hart	Charlotte	1.5	68	39.2	36.6	16	25%	6%	24%	−11.7
44	Bentlee Critcher	App State	1.5	50	40.9	37.7	21	45%	7%	43%	−0.8
45	Shane Tripucka	Texas A&M	1.6	66	43.2	41.4	25	40%	0%	36%	+10.5
46	Steve Brosy	Air Force	1.6	46	41.3	39.2	25	57%	2%	40%	+4.5
47	Kaare Vedvik	Marshall	1.7	70	40.0	37.1	26	41%	3%	39%	+1.1
48	Michael Farkas	Ohio	1.7	69	41.0	38.7	31	46%	4%	40%	+4.5
49	Jake Hartbarger	Michigan State	1.7	54	40.9	38.2	22	41%	6%	27%	+3.5
50	Jack Fox	Rice	1.7	75	40.7	37.7	31	41%	4%	35%	−0.9
51	Austin Barnes	Eastern Michigan	1.7	60	43.7	40.7	33	55%	7%	32%	+17.1
52	Caleb Houston	UCF	1.7	64	41.8	39.6	21	38%	4%	39%	+4.9
53	Mike Knoll	Boston College	1.8	86	38.3	34.9	16	19%	8%	32%	−21.5
54	Jacob Ambrose	Northern Illinois	1.8	70	39.1	36.4	20	33%	8%	23%	−6.6
55	Jamie Sackville	SMU	1.9	71	39.6	35.9	23	32%	7%	21%	−4.6
56	Dayton Balvanz	UL Monroe	1.9	63	41.0	38.3	25	40%	5%	34%	−0.2
57	Justin Wain	UConn	1.9	74	40.8	37.4	24	32%	8%	43%	−3.2
58	Blake Gillikin	Penn State	2.0	56	42.1	38.4	25	45%	9%	28%	+6.7
59	Billy Kinney	West Virginia	2.0	51	41.4	37.5	15	31%	10%	40%	+1.1
60	Michael Barden	Texas Tech	2.0	43	38.3	35.1	10	24%	5%	10%	−10.3
61	Austin Kent	UCLA	2.0	44	38.3	36.5	15	37%	2%	51%	−5.1
62	Kyle Schmidt	Ball State	2.1	57	41.3	37.9	21	36%	7%	16%	+4.8
63	Nick Ellis	Toledo	2.1	47	43.1	37.9	15	37%	15%	19%	+5.6
64	Jonathan Hernandez	South Florida	2.1	59	41.2	38.5	26	51%	0%	40%	+3.0
65	Aaron Dalton	Utah State	2.2	62	37.9	34.1	22	35%	6%	36%	−12.6
66	Ryan Santoso	Minnesota	2.2	70	40.6	37.3	27	39%	7%	15%	−3.9
67	Ian Wheeler	Oregon	2.2	59	37.8	34.8	22	37%	5%	43%	−10.0
68	Marshall Long	Georgia	2.2	49	38.7	35.2	14	29%	6%	27%	−9.4
69	Steven Coutts	Louisiana	2.3	58	44.4	41.0	24	41%	7%	46%	+7.5
70	Toby Baker	Arkansas	2.3	50	44.6	41.3	21	42%	6%	40%	+16.6
71	Grant McKinniss	Kentucky	2.3	55	39.5	36.0	12	21%	9%	19%	−5.6
72	Hayden Hunt	Colorado State	2.3	50	44.3	40.9	27	54%	6%	32%	+14.2
73	Joseph Gedeon	Indiana	2.4	55	40.0	36.9	25	45%	0%	15%	+1.6
74	Evan Pantels	UNLV	2.5	64	41.7	38.3	16	25%	3%	18%	−1.0
75	Dalton Parks	Tulsa	2.5	64	41.8	37.6	20	31%	9%	22%	−0.9
76	Austin Rehkow	Idaho	2.7	49	42.6	38.1	26	58%	5%	31%	+3.2
77	Nick Gasser	Akron	2.7	59	37.7	35.1	23	40%	0%	28%	−11.7
78	Trevor Daniel	Tennessee	2.7	64	44.7	40.2	28	44%	11%	41%	+10.6
79	Stone Wilson	Florida International	2.7	61	37.6	34.2	13	21%	5%	30%	−15.4
80	Jake Bailey	Stanford	2.7	45	42.8	39.3	22	49%	4%	14%	+6.0
81	Tristan Vizcaino	Washington	2.8	43	39.6	33.6	15	35%	12%	15%	−11.9
82	Ryan Frain	Illinois	2.8	53	40.1	35.9	21	40%	8%	20%	−10.2
83	Sean Wale	Boise State	2.8	47	45.2	40.5	19	42%	7%	41%	+7.0
84	Ryan Rodwell	Georgia Tech	2.8	44	43.4	38.4	15	34%	11%	32%	−2.9
85	Kenny Allen	Michigan	2.8	46	42.6	37.6	21	46%	11%	17%	+1.1
86	Alan Luna	UTEP	2.9	62	41.0	37.5	19	34%	2%	12%	−5.8
87	Justin Vogel	Miami	2.9	57	44.2	41.1	25	44%	2%	47%	+7.2
88	Logan Cooke	Mississippi State	2.9	40	39.8	35.0	21	51%	5%	38%	−7.4
89	Hunter Niswander	Northwestern	2.9	70	41.4	36.4	26	37%	9%	23%	−4.3
90	Bailey Cate	Old Dominion	2.9	53	37.7	34.9	23	47%	6%	36%	−5.3
91	Derek Adams	Kent State	3.0	76	40.3	37.4	25	43%	2%	43%	−5.3
92	Mason King	Louisville	3.0	47	42.7	39.3	15	32%	2%	51%	+4.8
93	Alex Boy	Nevada	3.0	51	43.7	38.0	18	39%	11%	30%	+3.4
94	Mitch Wishnowsky	Utah	3.1	60	48.0	44.5	37	62%	3%	26%	+25.3
95	Sean Kelly	South Carolina	3.1	72	42.5	38.5	30	42%	6%	37%	+1.1
96	Michael Carrizosa	San José State	3.2	61	44.3	39.3	27	44%	10%	26%	+5.9
97	Dom Maggio	Wake Forest	3.2	67	42.6	36.9	26	38%	10%	12%	−10.7
98	Anthony Lotti	Wisconsin	3.2	48	37.5	33.8	25	53%	2%	26%	−9.0
99	Sterling Hofrichter	Syracuse	3.3	77	42.7	38.4	21	31%	4%	25%	−2.5
100	Justin Martin	Miami (OH)	3.3	33	38.0	35.2	7	21%	3%	20%	−4.8
101	Gerald Shouse	Louisiana Tech	3.3	32	43.0	37.2	13	41%	13%	16%	+1.5
102	Michael Cintron	Rutgers	3.3	95	37.9	33.2	19	20%	6%	24%	−40.2
103	Logan Laurent	Massachusetts	3.4	62	41.6	37.4	21	34%	3%	19%	−2.0
104	Cole Moos	Kansas	3.4	73	41.4	38.2	13	19%	3%	28%	−2.1
105	Kyle DeWeen	Buffalo	3.4	72	39.8	34.3	22	30%	8%	23%	−15.6
106	Caleb Lightbourn	Nebraska	3.6	58	39.3	34.6	21	40%	6%	24%	−11.9
107	Eric Keena	North Texas	3.6	69	43.8	39.8	27	40%	3%	18%	+7.7
108	Tanner Blain	San Diego State	3.6	56	41.9	38.3	27	57%	6%	29%	+7.0
109	Corey Bojorquez	New Mexico	3.6	46	42.4	37.8	15	33%	7%	19%	−4.1
110	Worth Gregory	East Carolina	3.8	51	42.3	38.1	17	33%	4%	28%	−3.2
111	Tyler Newsome	Notre Dame	3.8	54	43.5	37.3	18	33%	6%	13%	−3.6
112	Yannis Routsas	UTSA	3.9	67	41.9	38.1	15	24%	2%	28%	−1.4
113	Josh Pollack	Arizona	4.3	48	42.3	36.4	14	34%	5%	8%	−7.4
114	Johnny Townsend	Florida	4.4	60	48.0	42.0	24	41%	10%	25%	+13.4
115	Ryan Winslow	Pittsburgh	4.4	55	42.6	36.2	14	25%	11%	19%	−5.6
116	JK Scott	Alabama	4.6	46	47.7	40.3	16	36%	16%	24%	+6.7
117	Logan Tyler	Florida State	4.7	49	40.6	34.8	13	28%	4%	30%	−7.6
118	Rigoberto Sanchez	Hawai'i	4.8	67	44.6	38.9	24	36%	6%	31%	+6.8
119	Dylan Klumph	California	5.1	50	44.8	38.5	19	38%	6%	14%	−6.7
120	Alex Kinney	Colorado	5.2	66	41.3	35.0	15	24%	6%	33%	−11.0
121	Brandon Wright	Georgia State	5.2	61	39.8	34.0	17	28%	5%	17%	−19.6
122	Payton Theisler	New Mexico State	7.2	65	42.2	34.2	21	32%	3%	16%	−18.5

All 2016 College punter rankings

Return Yards Allowed per Punt in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

More 2016 College punter leaderboards

Other 2016 College rankings

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