2019 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 2019, Jacob Herbers (0.0) topped college football punters in return yards allowed per punt, ahead of Zac Collins (0.1) and Colton Spangler (0.1). 124 punters qualify (minimum 30 punts). The median qualified punter had 1.8.

Final 2019 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Ret yds/punt	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Jacob Herbers	Minnesota	0.0	38	38.0	37.3	20	54%	3%	36%	−1.0
2	Zac Collins	Purdue	0.1	33	39.0	38.3	7	21%	3%	24%	−2.3
3	Colton Spangler	Maryland	0.1	45	40.1	39.1	13	29%	4%	43%	−1.8
4	Joel Whitford	Washington	0.2	41	44.8	43.7	16	39%	5%	46%	+10.0
5	Sterling Hofrichter	Syracuse	0.2	69	43.9	43.2	30	44%	3%	48%	+18.2
6	Will Spiers	Clemson	0.2	38	42.3	40.5	9	24%	5%	46%	+4.7
7	Tommy Townsend	Florida	0.3	40	44.5	42.3	19	48%	10%	46%	+7.0
8	Tom Hutton	Oklahoma State	0.3	53	38.3	37.7	22	42%	2%	40%	−1.7
9	Tommy Heatherly	Florida International	0.3	51	42.6	41.1	18	35%	6%	28%	+2.5
10	Derek Adams	Kent State	0.4	57	43.3	41.7	21	38%	5%	31%	+9.7
11	Isaac Armstrong	Nebraska	0.5	59	40.9	39.4	23	39%	5%	15%	+3.2
12	Benjamin Lennon	Utah	0.5	37	39.7	37.5	18	49%	3%	50%	+1.3
13	Tyler Sumpter	Troy	0.5	42	41.4	39.1	15	35%	9%	46%	−0.6
14	Mitchell Crawford	UTEP	0.5	62	39.5	38.3	16	26%	3%	21%	−2.5
15	Sam Loy	Arkansas	0.5	56	39.5	37.6	20	36%	7%	52%	−3.0
16	Issac Power	Baylor	0.5	64	39.6	38.6	18	29%	2%	41%	−5.1
17	Xavier Subotsch	App State	0.6	64	42.5	40.0	27	42%	9%	31%	+4.9
18	Blake Gillikin	Penn State	0.6	59	42.0	40.0	28	49%	7%	22%	+5.7
19	Drue Chrisman	Ohio State	0.7	40	44.1	39.7	17	45%	21%	37%	+9.6
20	Jordy Sandy	TCU	0.7	61	38.4	36.1	24	39%	8%	36%	−6.5
21	Zac Everett	Southern Miss	0.7	46	39.8	38.5	17	37%	7%	24%	−2.7
22	Chris Barnes	Rice	0.8	34	45.0	44.2	11	32%	0%	26%	+7.5
23	Ben Griffiths	USC	0.8	48	41.4	39.5	23	48%	6%	53%	+5.4
24	Austin McNamara	Texas Tech	0.9	59	45.0	42.5	20	34%	8%	39%	+10.6
25	Kyle Greenwell	UAB	0.9	63	42.0	39.0	22	34%	8%	34%	−0.7
26	Adam Nunez	Rice	0.9	32	40.4	38.2	18	56%	6%	34%	+2.6
27	Ryan Bujcevski	Texas	1.0	30	41.4	38.4	10	33%	10%	40%	+0.3
28	Andrew Osteen	UCF	1.0	53	42.5	38.7	11	21%	10%	42%	+0.2
29	Trevor Denbow	SMU	1.0	36	38.7	36.1	8	22%	8%	11%	−6.0
30	Haydon Whitehead	Indiana	1.1	47	42.1	39.1	22	47%	11%	30%	+2.9
31	Robert LeFevre	Marshall	1.1	61	40.9	38.2	24	39%	8%	21%	−0.4
32	Zach Von Rosenberg	LSU	1.1	39	42.7	40.4	18	49%	8%	46%	+5.4
33	Owen White	Navy	1.1	36	43.1	41.4	18	50%	3%	29%	+7.4
34	Ryan Galovich	Wyoming	1.1	61	42.2	39.6	16	26%	8%	31%	+5.6
35	Daniel Kubiuk	Northwestern	1.1	42	38.3	36.7	13	31%	2%	22%	−10.0
36	Blake Cusick	Fresno State	1.1	52	42.5	40.0	20	38%	8%	31%	+5.6
37	Jay Bramblett	Notre Dame	1.1	59	39.6	38.1	21	36%	2%	39%	−3.0
38	Michael Farkas	Ohio	1.1	47	41.7	38.9	22	47%	9%	37%	+3.4
39	Josh Growden	West Virginia	1.2	68	42.1	40.1	18	26%	4%	45%	+4.1
40	Ryan Sanborn	Stanford	1.2	52	40.5	37.8	23	43%	4%	36%	+0.4
41	Cody Grace	Arkansas State	1.3	62	44.4	41.5	26	42%	8%	32%	+11.8
42	Michael Sleep-Dalton	Iowa	1.4	54	42.0	39.2	26	48%	7%	39%	+4.2
43	Matt Ference	Northern Illinois	1.4	65	43.0	40.8	23	35%	5%	23%	+6.2
44	Ryan Wright	Tulane	1.4	46	40.6	37.1	16	35%	11%	15%	−5.0
45	Reeves Mundschau	Oklahoma	1.4	33	42.2	40.2	12	36%	3%	52%	+1.2
46	Max Duffy	Kentucky	1.4	47	48.6	45.6	28	60%	9%	14%	+22.0
47	James Smith	Cincinnati	1.4	68	42.7	41.4	27	42%	2%	51%	+14.0
48	Tommy Martin	Florida State	1.4	64	39.0	37.3	18	28%	2%	51%	−9.5
49	Luke Magliozzi	UConn	1.4	63	42.4	39.4	23	37%	8%	29%	+3.1
50	Adam Williams	Memphis	1.4	41	45.7	41.0	15	41%	11%	17%	+7.9
51	Jake Camarda	Georgia	1.5	54	47.4	42.8	24	45%	17%	17%	+12.4
52	Seamus O'Kelly	Texas State	1.5	65	38.3	36.2	17	28%	5%	33%	−15.6
53	Adam Barry	Temple	1.5	59	38.0	35.9	17	29%	3%	16%	−11.6
54	Bailey Cate	Old Dominion	1.5	66	39.9	36.9	23	35%	3%	26%	−8.0
55	Steven Coutts	California	1.6	44	38.5	37.0	12	27%	0%	49%	−5.1
56	Joe Rivera	Iowa State	1.6	49	40.0	37.2	24	49%	6%	17%	−3.2
57	Rhys Byrns	Louisiana	1.6	41	44.1	41.1	14	34%	7%	37%	+6.4
58	Anthony Beck II	Georgia Southern	1.6	59	41.6	39.0	18	31%	5%	39%	−1.7
59	Michael Turk	Arizona State	1.7	59	46.0	42.3	33	56%	10%	32%	+16.7
60	Lou Hedley	Miami	1.8	55	44.3	41.1	19	35%	7%	22%	+9.5
61	Jonah Wieland	Akron	1.8	79	37.7	35.8	18	23%	1%	29%	−18.9
62	Ryan Stonehouse	Colorado State	1.8	49	46.4	42.6	15	31%	10%	17%	+12.7
63	Joel Velazquez	Boise State	1.8	51	39.5	36.8	15	29%	6%	29%	−8.5
64	Harrison Smith	Vanderbilt	1.9	77	43.0	39.8	32	43%	5%	27%	+5.6
65	Blake Hayes	Illinois	1.9	72	44.8	42.8	30	42%	3%	11%	+9.1
66	Mason King	Louisville	1.9	54	42.5	38.9	19	35%	9%	24%	+1.3
67	Adam Korsak	Rutgers	2.0	76	43.8	41.5	33	43%	3%	37%	+9.1
68	Brady Farlow	Louisiana Tech	2.0	48	37.3	34.8	14	29%	4%	41%	−9.4
69	Matt Aragon	Arizona	2.0	37	39.4	35.8	10	27%	8%	22%	−9.7
70	Myles Prosser	Coastal Carolina	2.0	42	39.3	36.8	15	36%	2%	29%	−2.7
71	Matt Hayball	Florida Atlantic	2.0	63	43.1	40.0	22	35%	6%	41%	+1.7
72	Dane Roy	Houston	2.1	54	46.9	44.0	31	61%	4%	12%	+12.4
73	Aidan Alves	Liberty	2.1	48	42.2	38.5	13	27%	8%	35%	−2.9
74	Jack Brooks	South Alabama	2.1	67	42.2	40.1	23	35%	0%	34%	+2.0
75	George Georgopoulos	Massachusetts	2.1	79	39.4	36.6	21	27%	4%	17%	−18.7
76	Nash Griffin	Virginia	2.2	51	41.2	37.5	23	45%	8%	33%	−1.7
77	Grant Carlson	Boston College	2.2	58	42.8	39.5	19	33%	5%	18%	−0.5
78	Ben Kiernan	North Carolina	2.3	60	41.3	37.9	13	22%	7%	34%	−4.1
79	Trenton Gill	NC State	2.3	56	47.6	42.1	17	30%	13%	29%	+6.0
80	Anthony Lotti	Wisconsin	2.3	44	39.7	35.5	17	40%	7%	35%	−5.9
81	Tyson Dyer	New Mexico	2.3	59	46.1	42.5	35	59%	7%	22%	+10.4
82	Kyle Ulbrich	Middle Tennessee	2.3	46	41.4	36.9	11	23%	7%	41%	−8.8
83	Matt Naranjo	Bowling Green	2.4	71	40.4	37.6	25	36%	4%	26%	−7.4
84	Jake Julien	Eastern Michigan	2.4	45	43.0	39.0	16	36%	9%	17%	+3.0
85	Jonn Young	East Carolina	2.4	60	40.6	36.6	18	31%	8%	32%	−3.4
86	Alvin Kenworthy	North Texas	2.5	50	43.7	39.2	23	46%	10%	27%	+1.8
87	John Haggerty	Western Kentucky	2.5	42	46.2	43.0	18	43%	5%	15%	+15.7
88	Connor Bowler	Charlotte	2.6	41	41.5	35.7	10	23%	7%	24%	−18.9
89	Lucas Dean	UTSA	2.6	65	40.8	38.6	16	25%	0%	31%	−8.7
90	Wade Lees	UCLA	2.6	49	42.9	40.0	23	48%	2%	49%	+7.1
91	Devin Anctil	Kansas State	2.6	53	45.0	39.7	15	28%	15%	25%	+6.8
92	Brandon Heicklen	San Diego State	2.6	67	45.4	41.1	33	49%	9%	26%	+10.6
93	Will Hart	Michigan	2.6	46	45.1	39.4	11	24%	15%	24%	+2.7
94	Thomas Cluckey	Toledo	2.7	33	42.1	37.1	7	21%	6%	12%	−3.8
95	Austin Parker	Duke	2.7	66	45.7	40.7	25	38%	9%	30%	+4.7
96	Jared Porter	UL Monroe	2.7	54	43.8	39.0	21	39%	11%	41%	−1.2
97	Tucker McCann	Missouri	2.8	68	43.2	39.7	27	40%	4%	24%	+3.2
98	Brady Buell	Central Michigan	2.8	47	42.2	37.7	13	28%	9%	17%	−6.9
99	Alex Galland	San José State	2.8	47	39.7	35.7	20	43%	6%	21%	−6.6
100	Thomas Bennett	Tulsa	2.8	61	43.0	38.2	22	37%	10%	25%	−2.0
101	Brandon Wright	Georgia State	2.8	40	42.5	38.8	12	32%	5%	16%	−6.8
102	Oscar Bradburn	Virginia Tech	2.8	51	46.7	41.9	21	41%	12%	33%	+9.2
103	Jake Hartbarger	Michigan State	2.9	59	43.1	38.6	19	33%	10%	16%	+3.6
104	Nick Mihalic	Western Michigan	2.9	47	41.9	36.9	8	17%	11%	30%	−5.3
105	Joseph Charlton	South Carolina	2.9	68	47.7	43.4	30	44%	7%	39%	+18.1
106	Pressley Harvin III	Georgia Tech	3.0	80	44.8	40.0	21	27%	8%	25%	+0.2
107	Payton Theisler	New Mexico State	3.1	63	42.1	38.9	18	29%	2%	21%	−0.5
108	Blake Maimone	Oregon	3.1	55	43.9	38.2	19	35%	13%	18%	+0.8
109	Quinton Conaway	Nevada	3.3	57	42.9	37.6	15	25%	5%	11%	−8.2
110	Tucker Day	Mississippi State	3.3	46	42.5	37.9	13	28%	7%	20%	+0.8
111	Kyle Kramer	Miami (OH)	3.3	72	43.2	38.3	31	43%	8%	27%	−2.4
112	Kyle Thompson	Kansas	3.4	57	44.5	39.6	19	35%	4%	19%	+0.3
113	Daniel Rodriguez	Oregon State	3.5	58	42.7	38.6	18	31%	3%	39%	−4.9
114	Trent Schneider	South Florida	3.6	71	46.0	40.2	20	28%	11%	11%	−2.7
115	Alex Kinney	Colorado	3.6	59	44.4	39.6	29	49%	7%	42%	+2.6
116	Kirk Christodoulou	Pittsburgh	3.7	52	42.7	36.8	21	40%	8%	35%	−3.2
117	Christopher Bartolic	Utah State	3.9	41	42.0	37.4	15	37%	5%	18%	−6.4
118	Mac Brown	Ole Miss	3.9	57	44.3	38.2	18	32%	11%	28%	−4.1
119	Dom Maggio	Wake Forest	4.3	68	46.8	39.0	30	45%	16%	18%	+5.5
120	Arryn Siposs	Auburn	4.4	57	43.8	38.9	19	35%	4%	44%	−3.0
121	Nathan Snyder	Ball State	4.6	48	41.7	34.0	19	37%	6%	27%	−18.0
122	Jake Oldroyd	BYU	4.9	38	43.4	37.6	12	32%	5%	22%	−8.2
123	Braden Mann	Texas A&M	5.0	53	47.7	41.4	24	46%	8%	16%	+5.1
124	Hayes Hicken	UNLV	6.6	66	43.3	34.8	15	23%	8%	14%	−20.5

All 2019 College punter rankings

Return Yards Allowed per Punt in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

More 2019 College punter leaderboards

Other 2019 College rankings

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