2017 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 2017, Matt Bonadies (-0.2) topped college football punters in return yards allowed per punt, ahead of Bailey Flint (0.0) and JK Scott (0.0). 125 punters qualify (minimum 30 punts). The median qualified punter had 1.5.

Final 2017 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Ret yds/punt	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Matt Bonadies	Middle Tennessee	-0.2	53	39.2	37.5	12	23%	9%	41%	−9.6
2	Bailey Flint	Toledo	0.0	39	37.1	35.6	17	44%	8%	41%	−1.8
3	JK Scott	Alabama	0.0	42	43.4	40.9	24	56%	7%	55%	+12.9
4	Cody Grace	Arkansas State	0.1	44	40.9	40.8	25	57%	0%	49%	+8.0
5	Kyle Kramer	Miami (OH)	0.2	64	40.5	38.8	28	44%	8%	30%	−5.4
6	Yannis Routsas	UTSA	0.3	47	41.6	39.6	29	62%	9%	27%	+6.4
7	Mitch Wishnowsky	Utah	0.4	46	44.2	42.6	18	39%	7%	35%	+11.7
8	Jonny Linehan	BYU	0.4	59	42.9	41.9	28	47%	3%	26%	+11.9
9	Blake Patterson	TCU	0.4	30	41.3	39.6	10	33%	7%	31%	+0.6
10	Sam Geraci	Louisiana	0.4	64	40.7	39.2	24	42%	7%	45%	+5.3
11	Sterling Hofrichter	Syracuse	0.5	57	43.2	41.4	22	39%	7%	46%	+8.4
12	Jake Hartbarger	Michigan State	0.5	67	42.0	38.3	29	43%	16%	30%	+7.2
13	Nick Porebski	Oregon State	0.5	49	38.5	37.5	12	24%	2%	37%	−7.9
14	Wade Lees	Maryland	0.5	64	39.2	37.4	17	27%	3%	48%	−12.7
15	Blake Johnson	Arkansas	0.6	59	38.6	37.6	18	31%	5%	40%	−4.1
16	Oscar Bradburn	Virginia Tech	0.6	63	42.5	40.1	27	43%	10%	50%	+11.2
17	Kyle Sweet	Washington State	0.6	32	38.4	36.6	6	19%	6%	16%	−9.4
18	Adam Stack	Oregon	0.6	54	38.0	35.7	18	33%	6%	37%	−10.0
19	Colin Downing	Iowa State	0.6	62	40.3	38.7	27	46%	5%	38%	+3.8
20	Shane Tripucka	Texas A&M	0.6	76	46.1	43.3	26	34%	8%	43%	+25.4
21	Zach Von Rosenberg	LSU	0.6	33	43.3	42.1	12	36%	3%	45%	+7.6
22	Jake Julien	Eastern Michigan	0.7	33	42.3	39.6	9	26%	6%	3%	+1.3
23	Logan Cooke	Mississippi State	0.7	48	42.8	40.5	21	44%	8%	39%	+8.2
24	James Smith	Cincinnati	0.7	64	42.0	41.4	25	39%	0%	45%	+10.1
25	Zach Feagles	Miami	0.7	68	38.1	37.1	27	40%	4%	49%	−3.9
26	Connor Martin	Baylor	0.8	39	40.3	39.1	12	31%	3%	24%	−2.0
27	Quinn Skillin	Boise State	0.8	36	40.6	38.2	18	47%	8%	35%	+7.4
28	Derek Adams	Kent State	0.9	79	43.6	40.5	22	28%	11%	29%	+8.8
29	Brett Graham	UConn	0.9	63	38.8	37.3	23	37%	3%	31%	−2.1
30	Zach Sinor	Oklahoma State	0.9	36	43.0	38.1	8	22%	14%	39%	0.0
31	Aaron Dalton	Utah State	0.9	67	41.7	38.5	21	31%	12%	38%	+2.1
32	Zachary Block	Tulane	0.9	52	39.6	36.6	15	33%	9%	29%	−2.3
33	Will Gleeson	Ole Miss	0.9	51	41.5	40.2	23	45%	2%	46%	+7.1
34	Colten Rastetter	Iowa	0.9	49	38.4	37.5	10	20%	0%	14%	−10.0
35	Caleb Lightbourn	Nebraska	0.9	59	42.1	39.7	24	41%	7%	32%	+3.9
36	Dane Roy	Houston	1.0	53	41.6	38.8	23	44%	10%	40%	+2.2
37	Kaare Vedvik	Marshall	1.0	53	44.4	40.8	24	45%	13%	27%	+14.4
38	Ryan Rickel	Florida Atlantic	1.0	46	42.6	41.0	16	36%	2%	42%	+8.0
39	Jamie Sackville	SMU	1.0	53	40.8	38.6	21	40%	6%	16%	+1.1
40	Alex Kinney	Colorado	1.1	56	43.8	41.1	28	50%	4%	35%	+10.4
41	Joseph Davidson	Bowling Green	1.1	60	44.0	42.4	27	47%	3%	25%	+16.9
42	Dominic Panazzolo	Texas Tech	1.1	55	42.0	39.6	14	25%	4%	43%	+0.7
43	Zac Everett	Southern Miss	1.1	60	40.5	38.6	21	35%	5%	26%	+2.6
44	Adam Nunez	TCU	1.1	61	39.3	36.5	31	50%	6%	40%	−2.4
45	Bailey Cate	Old Dominion	1.1	66	40.5	38.0	22	33%	5%	35%	−5.8
46	Matt Ference	Northern Illinois	1.1	78	41.2	38.1	31	40%	10%	21%	−0.8
47	Quinton Conaway	Nevada	1.1	48	39.6	36.6	9	18%	2%	53%	−12.6
48	Corey Fatony	Missouri	1.1	50	44.5	41.8	23	46%	8%	31%	+13.7
49	Joel Whitford	Washington	1.2	37	41.4	39.2	15	41%	5%	27%	+1.4
50	Blake Gillikin	Penn State	1.2	50	43.2	40.0	27	53%	6%	29%	+9.6
51	Haydon Whitehead	Indiana	1.2	85	40.7	38.0	29	35%	6%	34%	+2.4
52	Drue Chrisman	Ohio State	1.2	44	44.0	41.4	18	41%	7%	40%	+7.6
53	Matt Panton	Kentucky	1.2	57	42.7	40.5	20	35%	5%	27%	+4.8
54	Michael Dickson	Texas	1.3	73	48.4	44.8	35	49%	11%	39%	+36.8
55	Arthur Hart	Charlotte	1.3	85	43.5	39.5	24	28%	12%	36%	+2.4
56	Blake Hayes	Illinois	1.3	77	42.0	40.2	31	40%	3%	19%	+8.3
57	Mac Loudermilk	UCF	1.3	41	39.5	38.3	24	59%	0%	54%	+4.7
58	Ryan Stonehouse	Colorado State	1.3	38	46.8	41.3	19	49%	16%	11%	+5.0
59	Alex Starzyk	Temple	1.4	52	40.3	34.9	21	39%	13%	26%	−4.1
60	Cameron Nizialek	Georgia	1.4	49	44.5	41.8	23	47%	6%	51%	+9.3
61	Jake Collins	Western Kentucky	1.4	52	39.9	36.8	19	37%	8%	20%	−3.4
62	Anthony Lotti	Wisconsin	1.5	51	40.3	37.4	25	48%	4%	28%	+2.6
63	Joseph Charlton	South Carolina	1.5	47	44.3	41.1	11	23%	9%	24%	+7.0
64	Owen White	Navy	1.5	39	41.2	38.6	13	38%	6%	24%	+1.1
65	Nick Walsh	Kansas State	1.6	54	43.7	40.0	23	43%	11%	38%	+10.2
66	Stone Wilson	Florida International	1.6	50	41.8	37.9	20	40%	12%	33%	−2.3
67	Jonathan Hernandez	South Florida	1.6	58	43.2	36.9	14	23%	17%	29%	−2.9
68	Corliss Waitman	South Alabama	1.6	70	45.2	42.5	28	40%	6%	40%	+13.0
69	Derrick Mitchell	Western Michigan	1.6	65	42.4	39.6	32	49%	6%	11%	+5.4
70	Hunter Niswander	Northwestern	1.7	63	42.9	39.9	21	33%	5%	28%	+5.5
71	Tim Zaleski	Wyoming	1.7	81	39.4	37.4	28	35%	5%	30%	−0.6
72	Mike Knoll	Boston College	1.7	73	40.2	37.4	36	49%	5%	26%	−0.8
73	Kyle DeWeen	Buffalo	1.7	56	40.6	37.9	21	38%	5%	32%	−1.0
74	Brady Farlow	Louisiana Tech	1.8	36	37.6	35.5	7	19%	3%	34%	−10.6
75	Corey Bojorquez	New Mexico	1.8	67	47.3	42.1	33	49%	18%	31%	+17.3
76	Joe Schopper	Purdue	1.8	67	40.2	37.3	28	44%	5%	49%	+0.4
77	Jake Bailey	Stanford	1.8	53	45.1	42.5	25	48%	6%	35%	+14.4
78	Ryan Santoso	Minnesota	1.9	66	43.0	38.5	19	29%	14%	29%	+6.1
79	Payton Theisler	New Mexico State	1.9	69	41.5	38.5	18	26%	6%	19%	−1.3
80	Marcus Ripley	Texas State	1.9	81	42.4	38.5	27	38%	7%	23%	+0.3
81	Michael Farkas	Ohio	2.0	54	40.4	37.9	17	35%	4%	36%	+2.4
82	Matt Flynn	Georgia Southern	2.0	66	40.2	36.6	15	23%	9%	35%	−11.8
83	Xavier Subotsch	App State	2.1	52	39.8	35.9	19	37%	10%	35%	−6.2
84	Evan Rabon	Coastal Carolina	2.4	56	43.3	39.9	20	36%	5%	33%	+5.4
85	Tom Sheldon	North Carolina	2.4	45	45.8	42.5	15	34%	5%	36%	+6.4
86	Austin Parker	Duke	2.5	61	42.0	36.6	11	18%	15%	26%	−2.9
87	Michael Carrizosa	San José State	2.5	73	45.6	41.3	31	42%	7%	28%	+10.0
88	Brandon Heicklen	San Diego State	2.5	57	38.4	34.5	19	33%	5%	42%	−12.7
89	Sam Loy	Vanderbilt	2.6	64	40.2	36.5	17	27%	6%	27%	−11.5
90	Michael Sleep-Dalton	Arizona State	2.6	59	39.8	36.3	18	30%	2%	21%	−10.3
91	Will Spiers	Clemson	2.7	60	40.8	36.7	28	47%	7%	38%	−1.6
92	Trevor Daniel	Tennessee	2.8	70	47.5	43.3	31	44%	7%	21%	+20.6
93	Mason King	Louisville	2.8	39	44.1	39.9	8	20%	5%	24%	+0.6
94	Billy Kinney	West Virginia	2.9	61	40.0	35.9	20	33%	7%	43%	−12.2
95	Alan Luna	UTEP	2.9	79	44.1	39.3	28	36%	9%	23%	+3.1
96	Logan Tyler	Florida State	2.9	65	43.2	39.1	21	34%	6%	29%	+3.4
97	Joel Dixon	UAB	3.0	60	41.3	35.7	14	23%	8%	25%	−9.7
98	Thomas Bennett	Tulsa	3.0	61	42.3	36.8	17	28%	8%	14%	−8.9
99	Reid Budrovich	USC	3.0	49	42.5	37.5	19	38%	6%	31%	−2.6
100	Brad Robbins	Michigan	3.0	58	40.9	36.9	24	42%	7%	35%	−5.6
101	Lester Coleman	Virginia	3.1	71	44.0	38.1	31	43%	11%	20%	−7.8
102	Austin Seibert	Oklahoma	3.1	36	42.6	37.8	11	31%	8%	40%	−4.5
103	Ryan Anderson	Rutgers	3.2	79	44.4	38.9	21	27%	13%	13%	+0.3
104	Stan Gaudion	Hawai'i	3.2	58	42.1	38.8	20	34%	2%	25%	−9.8
105	Jack Sheldon	Central Michigan	3.3	72	43.6	38.5	26	36%	10%	7%	+1.7
106	Charlie Scott	Air Force	3.3	41	42.1	39.1	14	34%	0%	24%	−1.8
107	Tyler Sumpter	Troy	3.3	53	40.2	36.0	16	32%	6%	23%	−12.9
108	Harrison Heim	UL Monroe	3.3	58	41.9	37.4	23	40%	9%	26%	−1.0
109	Tyler Newsome	Notre Dame	3.4	59	43.5	37.9	16	27%	7%	29%	−1.7
110	Austin Barnes	East Carolina	3.5	50	44.0	39.4	17	35%	12%	29%	+0.8
111	Dylan Klumph	California	3.6	46	43.0	38.5	12	26%	7%	20%	−0.2
112	Nick Gasser	Akron	3.7	78	41.9	36.8	26	33%	4%	31%	−14.2
113	A.J. Cole III	NC State	3.7	53	43.8	37.9	23	43%	8%	26%	−5.8
114	Aidan Marshall	Auburn	3.8	38	39.4	34.1	9	24%	8%	43%	−5.2
115	Blake Cusick	Fresno State	3.9	64	42.4	37.2	20	32%	13%	35%	+1.0
116	Nathan Snyder	Ball State	3.9	50	37.3	31.6	14	29%	6%	25%	−32.0
117	Dom Maggio	Wake Forest	4.0	64	43.9	38.2	21	33%	9%	27%	−2.3
118	Stefan Flintoft	UCLA	4.0	52	42.8	38.8	18	35%	2%	41%	−0.3
119	Pressley Harvin III	Georgia Tech	4.1	50	44.1	39.7	21	42%	2%	27%	+5.3
120	Cole Moos	Kansas	4.3	83	39.6	35.3	24	29%	4%	26%	−29.9
121	Ryan Winslow	Pittsburgh	4.4	57	44.5	38.7	20	35%	9%	40%	−5.2
122	Johnny Townsend	Florida	4.6	64	47.5	41.5	29	45%	8%	18%	+11.2
123	Jack Fox	Rice	4.8	57	44.2	37.2	17	30%	13%	31%	−5.0
124	Cade Coffey	Idaho	5.8	66	44.6	36.7	27	41%	11%	13%	−12.2
125	Logan Laurent	Massachusetts	6.6	65	42.6	34.3	19	30%	9%	14%	−15.4

All 2017 College punter rankings

Return Yards Allowed per Punt in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

More 2017 College punter leaderboards

Other 2017 College rankings

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