2018 College Touchbacks Avoided (STOP Rank) Leaders

STOP (Saved Touchbacks Over Projection) is FootballKickingStats.com's touchback rating: how many touchbacks a punter avoided. Every punt gets an expected touchback chance: how often that season's punts from the same 5-yard stretch of the field went into the end zone. Add those chances up over a punter's season and subtract his real touchbacks. A punter who kicks often from midfield and keeps the ball out of the end zone climbs; one who punts from deep in his own end has few chances to gain or lose.

Higher is better. A STOP of +2.0 means two fewer touchbacks than an average punter would have had from the same spots. A short punt also avoids a touchback, so read it with net average. Blocked punts are left out. In 2018, Wade Lees (+3.8) led college football punters in touchbacks avoided (STOP rank), ahead of Brandon Heicklen (+3.5) and Davis Price (+3.4). 123 punters qualify (minimum 30 punts). The median qualified punter had +0.1.

Final 2018 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	STOP	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Wade Lees	Maryland	+3.8	67	40.9	39.2	29	43%	3%	41%	+5.6
2	Brandon Heicklen	San Diego State	+3.5	63	42.1	39.6	28	44%	2%	30%	+10.2
3	Davis Price	Colorado	+3.4	48	38.4	37.2	22	47%	0%	48%	−3.5
4	Steven Coutts	California	+3.1	63	41.8	39.1	32	51%	3%	29%	+7.7
5	Drue Chrisman	Ohio State	+3.1	53	43.3	42.6	27	53%	2%	41%	+12.3
6	Owen White	Navy	+2.9	53	41.6	38.5	20	38%	0%	15%	+1.0
7	Jacob Herbers	Minnesota	+2.7	51	41.2	41.0	20	39%	0%	51%	+7.4
8	Corey Dunn	Iowa State	+2.6	50	40.0	37.9	20	40%	2%	25%	−0.9
9	Cody Grace	Arkansas State	+2.6	58	40.3	40.0	22	38%	2%	52%	+4.2
10	Grant Carlson	Boston College	+2.6	68	40.0	37.0	27	41%	3%	25%	−0.3
11	Reid Budrovich	USC	+2.6	58	39.4	35.5	18	32%	4%	33%	−10.2
12	Daniel Rodriguez	Oregon State	+2.6	55	41.9	39.9	12	22%	0%	51%	+2.6
13	Hunter Lent	North Carolina	+2.5	50	39.9	39.1	17	34%	0%	27%	+3.3
14	Mason King	Louisville	+2.4	64	40.6	36.5	22	32%	3%	36%	−9.4
15	Rhys Byrns	Louisiana	+2.2	46	40.1	37.0	19	40%	2%	43%	−7.0
16	Tucker Day	Mississippi State	+2.1	41	38.2	37.0	14	34%	0%	44%	−6.5
17	Sebastian Riella	Florida Atlantic	+2.1	38	38.1	34.8	5	14%	0%	31%	−14.2
18	Jack Sheldon	Central Michigan	+2.0	89	40.4	35.5	20	22%	3%	17%	−23.5
19	Clayton Stewart	Texas State	+1.9	69	37.9	34.4	23	33%	6%	22%	−6.1
20	Dane Roy	Houston	+1.8	55	42.3	40.4	24	44%	2%	42%	+5.2
21	Ryan Bujcevski	Texas	+1.7	58	40.2	37.4	18	32%	2%	28%	−5.5
22	Magill Bauerle	Georgia Southern	+1.7	44	38.9	37.5	16	30%	4%	40%	+0.3
23	Joe Schopper	Purdue	+1.7	56	43.1	40.7	24	44%	4%	46%	+9.1
24	Bailey Flint	Toledo	+1.6	56	40.5	38.5	25	44%	4%	35%	−1.1
25	Stan Gaudion	Hawai'i	+1.6	42	40.6	38.9	12	29%	0%	18%	−5.1
26	James Smith	Cincinnati	+1.6	54	47.0	45.1	26	48%	2%	35%	+26.0
27	Rhett Almond	BYU	+1.6	54	40.3	39.4	20	38%	2%	24%	+2.2
28	Luke Magliozzi	UConn	+1.5	63	42.9	39.3	26	41%	3%	29%	+5.6
29	Aidan Alves	Liberty	+1.5	66	37.0	33.7	25	37%	6%	35%	−11.9
30	Matthew Trickett	Kent State	+1.5	35	38.7	35.6	13	37%	3%	35%	−10.5
31	George Georgopoulos	Massachusetts	+1.4	39	39.1	36.2	7	18%	0%	18%	−10.0
32	Dom Maggio	Wake Forest	+1.4	71	41.4	38.8	26	37%	4%	39%	−0.6
33	Colten Rastetter	Iowa	+1.4	46	39.6	36.5	20	43%	4%	9%	−7.0
34	Alex Rinella	Western Kentucky	+1.3	63	38.2	35.2	25	37%	6%	45%	−13.5
35	Reid Bauer	Arkansas	+1.2	56	38.9	36.9	13	23%	2%	39%	−6.7
36	Grant Tinnerman	Bowling Green	+1.1	35	37.0	36.8	6	17%	0%	14%	−4.4
37	Jake Collins	Northwestern	+1.1	72	40.7	38.0	28	39%	6%	36%	+5.8
38	Max Duffy	Kentucky	+1.1	51	44.8	40.2	26	51%	4%	25%	+5.1
39	Adam Korsak	Rutgers	+1.0	78	42.7	40.5	24	31%	4%	19%	+7.2
40	Zach Von Rosenberg	LSU	+0.8	50	45.6	44.0	17	35%	2%	49%	+11.1
41	Jamie Sackville	SMU	+0.8	67	39.7	37.9	22	33%	5%	30%	+0.2
42	Tyler Hunt	Michigan State	+0.8	36	40.1	37.0	15	42%	6%	28%	−1.1
43	Haydon Whitehead	Indiana	+0.8	51	40.0	37.0	19	37%	6%	40%	+0.4
44	Robert LeFevre	Marshall	+0.8	59	40.8	37.6	24	41%	7%	26%	+3.0
45	Patrick LeCorre	Ball State	+0.8	39	39.7	37.5	12	31%	5%	25%	−1.3
46	Jonn Young	East Carolina	+0.7	71	40.1	36.9	16	23%	3%	35%	−9.0
47	Clayton Howell	App State	+0.7	46	43.2	41.5	14	30%	2%	42%	+4.1
48	Corliss Waitman	South Alabama	+0.6	67	41.7	38.1	16	25%	5%	40%	−4.8
49	Davan Dyer	Louisiana Tech	+0.6	58	41.1	38.2	22	38%	7%	33%	−2.3
50	Taylor Hintze	Utah State	+0.6	40	39.6	38.5	9	23%	5%	30%	+0.6
51	Billy Kinney	West Virginia	+0.5	36	41.1	38.1	13	36%	6%	36%	+0.8
52	Austin Parker	Duke	+0.4	65	41.4	37.7	25	38%	6%	39%	−5.2
53	Matt Bonadies	Middle Tennessee	+0.4	52	41.5	38.8	23	46%	6%	40%	+2.9
54	Mitchell Crawford	UTEP	+0.4	72	39.8	37.3	20	28%	4%	31%	−2.4
55	Tommy Townsend	Florida	+0.4	50	45.1	42.0	23	47%	6%	45%	+12.7
56	Hayes Hicken	UNLV	+0.4	65	43.8	39.1	20	30%	5%	17%	+1.6
57	Matt Naranjo	Bowling Green	+0.3	31	41.2	40.3	9	29%	3%	13%	+2.3
58	Nick Gasser	Akron	+0.2	75	39.4	36.9	20	27%	5%	14%	−13.0
59	Blake Cusick	Fresno State	+0.2	62	42.1	40.5	32	52%	6%	29%	+11.7
60	Kyle Corbett	Charlotte	+0.2	55	41.0	34.8	8	16%	4%	17%	−19.4
61	Dominic Panazzolo	Texas Tech	+0.2	52	42.1	40.1	23	44%	8%	34%	+9.8
62	Dylan Klumph	Arizona	+0.1	44	42.2	39.1	16	36%	5%	32%	+2.0
63	Corey Fatony	Missouri	+0.1	47	44.0	40.5	24	51%	6%	14%	+3.7
64	Matt Ference	Northern Illinois	+0.1	83	40.1	37.6	35	42%	8%	23%	+3.5
65	Sterling Hofrichter	Syracuse	+0.1	61	43.3	39.3	28	46%	7%	36%	+4.7
66	Oscar Bradburn	Virginia Tech	+0.1	65	42.2	39.2	23	35%	6%	44%	+5.8
67	Blake Maimone	Oregon	+0.1	39	42.7	40.5	17	44%	8%	39%	+6.6
68	Drew Galitz	Baylor	0.0	50	42.5	39.4	19	37%	6%	45%	+4.8
69	Tim Zaleski	Wyoming	0.0	36	38.8	36.4	12	33%	8%	20%	−0.1
70	Derek Adams	Kent State	0.0	31	40.2	33.9	9	29%	3%	13%	−17.5
71	Kirk Christodoulou	Pittsburgh	0.0	68	41.6	37.8	20	29%	4%	17%	−6.4
72	Yannis Routsas	UTSA	−0.1	75	43.0	39.9	30	39%	5%	22%	+5.7
73	Pressley Harvin III	Georgia Tech	−0.1	31	44.3	40.8	12	39%	6%	17%	+5.4
74	Mac Loudermilk	UCF	−0.1	41	42.6	37.9	15	38%	8%	21%	+0.2
75	A.J. Cole III	NC State	−0.2	40	41.3	38.8	20	47%	9%	34%	−0.3
76	Joseph Charlton	South Carolina	−0.2	43	44.8	41.8	16	36%	5%	44%	+9.9
77	Will Spiers	Clemson	−0.3	55	39.6	36.9	15	28%	7%	39%	−7.5
78	Kyle Kramer	Miami (OH)	−0.4	65	41.9	38.5	36	55%	9%	32%	+4.0
79	Zac Everett	Southern Miss	−0.5	33	38.8	37.3	14	35%	8%	22%	−0.1
80	Alvin Kenworthy	North Texas	−0.5	50	42.4	38.5	22	43%	10%	41%	+0.4
81	Arryn Siposs	Auburn	−0.5	47	44.1	42.2	20	36%	7%	42%	+14.3
82	Adam Nunez	TCU	−0.6	35	38.6	35.9	16	46%	11%	23%	+0.3
83	Quinton Conaway	Nevada	−0.8	53	43.2	41.1	17	32%	6%	15%	+2.6
84	Stone Wilson	Florida International	−0.8	37	43.9	38.6	15	38%	8%	44%	+1.9
85	Bailey Cate	Old Dominion	−0.8	53	40.2	37.7	19	35%	9%	43%	+2.5
86	Michael Farkas	Ohio	−0.9	42	43.1	40.0	16	39%	7%	43%	−0.2
87	Quinn Skillin	Boise State	−0.9	45	39.0	32.9	20	43%	13%	36%	−6.8
88	Mac Brown	Ole Miss	−0.9	48	41.3	37.0	15	31%	8%	36%	−3.0
89	Jake Julien	Eastern Michigan	−0.9	66	43.6	38.1	23	35%	9%	16%	+4.1
90	Blake Hayes	Illinois	−0.9	62	43.6	36.6	25	39%	8%	13%	−4.6
91	Mitch Wishnowsky	Utah	−1.0	54	45.1	41.3	21	38%	7%	39%	+10.8
92	Joe Doyle	Tennessee	−1.0	66	41.0	39.1	25	38%	9%	38%	+7.1
93	Adam Williams	Memphis	−1.2	50	42.9	37.3	19	37%	10%	30%	−3.0
94	Kyle Greenwell	UAB	−1.3	56	40.3	37.7	17	30%	7%	43%	−1.0
95	Jared Porter	UL Monroe	−1.3	50	42.6	37.1	12	24%	6%	36%	−7.1
96	Brandon Wright	Georgia State	−1.4	51	48.2	42.7	22	45%	8%	4%	+9.5
97	Lester Coleman	Virginia	−1.5	47	42.1	39.7	20	43%	11%	24%	+7.9
98	Connor Bowler	Temple	−1.6	52	42.4	36.9	20	38%	12%	23%	−3.9
99	Tyler Sumpter	Troy	−1.6	51	44.8	41.9	15	29%	8%	30%	+14.1
100	Isaac Armstrong	Nebraska	−1.7	32	43.6	39.9	9	27%	9%	23%	+3.9
101	Logan Tyler	Florida State	−1.7	82	43.2	38.3	17	21%	6%	28%	0.0
102	Nick Mihalic	Western Michigan	−1.7	50	37.9	34.3	11	22%	10%	33%	−16.4
103	Charles Ouverson	Coastal Carolina	−1.8	49	43.2	40.3	13	27%	8%	36%	+3.6
104	Evan Finegan	Buffalo	−1.8	50	42.1	37.4	13	25%	8%	26%	−3.9
105	Michael Sleep-Dalton	Arizona State	−2.0	53	43.7	37.5	20	38%	11%	31%	−0.9
106	Payton Theisler	New Mexico State	−2.3	74	40.5	34.3	18	24%	10%	21%	−20.3
107	Tyson Dyer	New Mexico	−2.3	74	44.3	40.2	24	32%	8%	13%	+11.7
108	Parker Thome	Vanderbilt	−2.6	49	45.1	40.0	19	39%	12%	28%	+10.7
109	Stefan Flintoft	UCLA	−2.6	56	45.8	37.9	17	30%	11%	29%	−1.8
110	Bryce Crawford	San José State	−2.7	65	44.2	40.0	20	31%	9%	15%	−1.0
111	Kyle Thompson	Kansas	−2.9	69	43.3	39.4	26	37%	10%	17%	+5.2
112	Oscar Draguicevich III	Washington State	−2.9	40	46.0	41.3	12	32%	14%	25%	+3.6
113	Ryan Wright	Tulane	−3.5	43	44.1	39.4	12	32%	13%	43%	+0.3
114	Tyler Newsome	Notre Dame	−3.9	45	44.4	38.6	16	36%	16%	24%	−1.8
115	Thomas Bennett	Tulsa	−4.2	53	46.6	40.0	13	25%	11%	12%	−5.7
116	Ryan Stonehouse	Colorado State	−4.7	65	48.3	38.3	16	25%	13%	11%	+1.0
117	Jake Camarda	Georgia	−4.9	38	43.2	37.4	11	30%	22%	35%	−0.5
118	Trent Schneider	South Florida	−5.0	68	42.6	37.5	15	24%	14%	24%	−0.8
119	Jake Bailey	Stanford	−5.1	59	44.0	39.9	26	44%	17%	30%	+17.1
120	Blake Gillikin	Penn State	−5.4	60	43.1	37.7	20	33%	15%	21%	+5.1
121	Will Hart	Michigan	−5.6	39	47.6	39.9	17	44%	23%	8%	+7.5
122	Braden Mann	Texas A&M	−6.3	47	51.1	44.9	21	45%	19%	22%	+26.2
123	Jack Fox	Rice	−7.5	80	45.5	40.6	30	37%	16%	23%	+11.1

All 2018 College punter rankings

Touchbacks Avoided (STOP Rank) in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

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