2021 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 2021, Tom Hutton (-0.0) topped college football punters in return yards allowed per punt, ahead of Charles Ouverson (0.0) and Jordy Sandy (0.1). 119 punters qualify (minimum 30 punts). The median qualified punter had 1.9.

Final 2021 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Ret yds/punt	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Tom Hutton	Oklahoma State	-0.0	66	42.2	40.4	27	41%	9%	52%	+6.5
2	Charles Ouverson	Coastal Carolina	0.0	38	37.2	36.2	13	34%	5%	42%	−5.1
3	Jordy Sandy	TCU	0.1	43	43.3	41.8	12	28%	7%	61%	+2.0
4	Jake Julien	Eastern Michigan	0.2	46	45.9	43.6	14	30%	11%	50%	+6.4
5	Nathan Snyder	Ball State	0.4	52	42.7	41.7	23	45%	4%	63%	+5.0
6	Paxton Brooks	Tennessee	0.4	39	44.2	42.2	17	44%	8%	66%	+2.2
7	Jordan Stout	Penn State	0.5	62	46.5	45.0	35	57%	5%	42%	+22.6
8	Josh Smith	Kent State	0.5	51	36.4	35.0	15	29%	6%	38%	−12.3
9	Cameron Dicker	Texas	0.5	47	46.8	44.1	13	27%	6%	44%	+13.4
10	Ryan Hanson	Arkansas State	0.6	68	44.0	42.1	23	35%	2%	43%	+6.3
11	Mason Fletcher	Cincinnati	0.6	45	42.7	41.3	17	38%	4%	49%	+8.7
12	Mark Crawford	Minnesota	0.6	44	41.6	40.6	21	48%	2%	36%	+6.3
13	Oscar Chapman	Auburn	0.7	51	44.8	42.6	22	43%	8%	51%	+10.9
14	Issac Power	Baylor	0.7	44	46.2	42.9	18	41%	14%	41%	+15.0
15	Ryan Wright	Tulane	0.7	51	47.5	44.8	16	33%	10%	49%	+15.0
16	Kirk Christodoulou	Pittsburgh	0.7	53	41.1	38.5	24	45%	9%	47%	+1.7
17	Jamieson Sheahan	California	0.8	53	43.1	41.6	14	26%	4%	60%	−2.5
18	Bailey Rice	Charlotte	0.8	40	42.2	40.6	15	38%	5%	48%	+1.8
19	Brad Robbins	Michigan	0.8	43	46.4	44.1	16	38%	7%	43%	+11.9
20	Jonn Young	East Carolina	0.8	48	43.0	40.5	19	40%	4%	55%	+3.9
21	Tory Taylor	Iowa	0.9	76	45.9	41.6	36	47%	15%	30%	+13.1
22	Adam Korsak	Rutgers	0.9	70	45.9	45.3	38	54%	0%	49%	+21.5
23	Will Hart	San José State	0.9	67	44.4	41.6	31	46%	10%	40%	+7.3
24	Laine Wilkins	Houston	1.0	55	42.3	39.9	22	40%	7%	44%	−0.3
25	Joshua Sloan	UTEP	1.1	60	40.2	37.2	23	40%	7%	43%	−8.2
26	Luke Elzinga	Central Michigan	1.1	50	41.1	37.7	20	40%	8%	33%	−4.9
27	Xavier Subotsch	App State	1.1	48	40.8	39.4	26	55%	2%	48%	+1.6
28	Blake Hayes	Illinois	1.2	68	45.1	43.3	35	53%	3%	33%	+12.8
29	Ben Griffiths	USC	1.3	44	45.0	41.1	17	40%	12%	55%	+5.9
30	Carson King	Fresno State	1.3	52	41.6	39.3	24	46%	6%	37%	−0.9
31	Rhys Byrns	Louisiana	1.3	54	46.2	44.0	25	47%	6%	38%	+11.4
32	Lou Hedley	Miami	1.3	49	44.7	43.0	21	44%	2%	38%	+9.0
33	William Przystup	Nebraska	1.3	31	43.4	39.1	6	19%	10%	26%	−6.3
34	Luke Akers	UCLA	1.4	34	43.1	37.1	6	19%	23%	35%	−1.2
35	Tyler Sumpter	West Virginia	1.4	45	43.6	39.8	14	31%	13%	31%	+1.1
36	Trenton Gill	NC State	1.4	65	44.4	41.7	36	55%	8%	44%	+7.4
37	Grant McKinniss	Missouri	1.4	48	41.4	38.7	28	62%	0%	41%	−4.0
38	James Burnip	Alabama	1.5	42	39.1	36.8	16	37%	0%	40%	−7.2
39	Mac Brown	Ole Miss	1.5	38	44.0	39.4	15	39%	16%	35%	+6.2
40	Lucas Dean	UTSA	1.5	44	45.4	43.1	21	48%	5%	31%	+7.7
41	Seamus O'Kelly	Texas State	1.5	60	38.4	37.1	20	33%	2%	53%	−8.8
42	Will Spiers	Clemson	1.5	58	42.1	39.4	28	47%	3%	43%	+2.8
43	Michael Hayes II	Georgia State	1.5	56	42.0	38.4	15	28%	9%	29%	−4.0
44	Mark Vassett	Louisville	1.5	47	41.6	39.7	19	41%	2%	50%	+2.9
45	Kyle Ostendorp	Arizona	1.6	58	49.2	44.0	19	33%	19%	19%	+18.6
46	Zach Harding	Army	1.6	35	44.1	40.5	16	46%	11%	31%	+5.9
47	Andrew Osteen	UCF	1.6	66	41.1	38.7	19	29%	2%	43%	−6.1
48	Tom Snee	Oregon	1.6	41	42.8	38.7	17	41%	8%	26%	+3.1
49	Matthew Shipley	Hawai'i	1.6	55	41.5	37.5	18	33%	8%	55%	−8.2
50	Jay Bramblett	Notre Dame	1.6	51	44.1	41.3	16	31%	6%	37%	+2.6
51	Mason Hunt	Southern Miss	1.6	71	43.6	39.7	22	33%	6%	48%	+4.9
52	Nik Constantinou	Texas A&M	1.6	51	46.6	43.3	23	44%	4%	39%	+15.0
53	Devyn McCormick	UL Monroe	1.7	69	41.2	37.8	25	38%	6%	37%	−2.7
54	Colin Goodfellow	Kentucky	1.7	31	46.0	41.3	11	35%	16%	29%	+2.1
55	Reid Bauer	Arkansas	1.7	53	43.2	39.7	13	24%	6%	44%	−3.6
56	Robert LeFevre	Marshall	1.7	53	40.3	38.7	18	34%	4%	44%	−2.5
57	Stephen Kotsanlee	Utah State	1.8	49	42.6	40.3	18	38%	4%	37%	+2.5
58	Jeremy Crawshaw	Florida	1.9	46	44.0	39.8	20	43%	13%	45%	+5.2
59	Joe Doyle	Memphis	1.9	41	46.0	40.9	18	43%	10%	32%	+7.7
60	Kyle Greenwell	UAB	1.9	57	43.0	39.1	17	30%	11%	48%	−1.4
61	Eddie Czaplicki	Arizona State	1.9	42	43.3	40.1	19	45%	7%	32%	+8.1
62	Joe McFadden	UConn	2.0	61	39.8	38.1	13	21%	2%	33%	−13.2
63	Aaron Rodriguez	New Mexico	2.0	81	42.8	39.3	18	23%	9%	40%	−1.0
64	Bryce Baringer	Michigan State	2.0	56	48.6	43.8	19	34%	14%	22%	+8.5
65	Austin McNamara	Texas Tech	2.0	38	48.4	43.9	17	45%	13%	54%	+15.0
66	Ivan Mora	Wake Forest	2.1	47	43.7	40.6	17	37%	4%	36%	+2.7
67	Alex Mastromanno	Florida State	2.1	61	42.7	40.9	18	30%	0%	63%	−1.5
68	Anthony Beck II	Georgia Southern	2.2	64	45.0	42.0	26	41%	3%	47%	+10.7
69	Nick Haberer	Washington State	2.2	45	42.7	38.3	15	33%	7%	50%	−4.3
70	Dom Dzioban	Miami (OH)	2.2	49	39.0	36.8	17	35%	0%	44%	−3.8
71	Matthew Hayball	Florida Atlantic	2.3	61	45.7	42.1	31	53%	10%	36%	+4.4
72	Ty Zentner	Kansas State	2.3	39	44.3	40.5	19	49%	10%	31%	+4.0
73	Michael Turk	Oklahoma	2.4	33	51.3	44.9	14	41%	12%	23%	+5.6
74	Bailey Flint	Toledo	2.4	57	40.0	36.4	20	36%	9%	41%	−15.3
75	Avery Atkins	LSU	2.5	59	42.4	38.7	20	34%	5%	45%	−4.5
76	Lachlan Wilson	Tulsa	2.5	59	46.0	40.0	23	40%	14%	33%	+3.4
77	Matt Naranjo	Bowling Green	2.5	65	41.6	38.1	21	32%	6%	5%	−9.9
78	Andrew Stokes	South Florida	2.6	56	39.0	36.3	18	33%	4%	27%	−20.9
79	Joel Velazquez	Boise State	2.6	51	43.1	39.7	19	38%	6%	42%	+6.8
80	Jake Camarda	Georgia	2.6	40	47.1	41.4	14	35%	15%	28%	+0.5
81	James Evans	Indiana	2.7	69	41.9	38.4	15	22%	6%	28%	−8.8
82	Julian Diaz	Nevada	2.7	45	44.3	41.2	11	26%	7%	30%	+1.2
83	Jacob Finn	Virginia	2.8	41	44.2	40.4	12	29%	7%	29%	+0.4
84	Peter Moore	Virginia Tech	2.8	59	45.1	40.3	24	41%	10%	39%	+2.4
85	Ethan Duane	Old Dominion	2.8	54	39.6	37.0	17	33%	4%	32%	−8.3
86	Kai Kroeger	South Carolina	2.9	57	42.8	39.8	25	44%	4%	43%	+1.9
87	Luke Magliozzi	Troy	3.0	61	42.5	37.4	17	28%	8%	41%	−8.2
88	Ryan Rehkow	BYU	3.0	39	48.7	42.7	16	41%	15%	26%	+6.4
89	Andy Vujnovich	Wisconsin	3.0	46	45.8	41.3	17	36%	6%	30%	+3.4
90	Derek Adams	Northwestern	3.0	58	41.5	38.0	17	29%	0%	51%	−13.6
91	Matt Araiza	San Diego State	3.2	76	51.4	44.6	38	48%	19%	17%	+26.2
92	Evan Silva	UNLV	3.3	52	40.2	37.0	16	33%	4%	46%	−10.1
93	Charlie Mendes	Rice	3.4	59	42.7	36.9	17	27%	8%	12%	−12.7
94	Porter Wilson	Duke	3.4	61	44.8	41.0	23	38%	5%	29%	+3.9
95	Josh Carlson	New Mexico State	3.4	71	41.5	38.2	20	29%	4%	40%	−6.4
96	Ralph Fawaz	Wyoming	3.4	55	42.4	39.6	21	38%	2%	38%	−3.6
97	David Shanahan	Georgia Tech	3.4	61	41.5	35.6	19	31%	13%	30%	−14.1
98	George Georgopoulos	Massachusetts	3.5	64	44.8	41.6	20	38%	2%	14%	0.0
99	Brendan Hall	SMU	3.5	36	41.7	36.2	10	28%	3%	44%	−6.6
100	Jack Brooks	South Alabama	3.6	53	43.2	39.3	12	29%	5%	33%	−0.5
101	Harrison Smith	Vanderbilt	3.7	73	42.5	38.6	17	23%	4%	30%	−7.4
102	Grant Carlson	Boston College	3.8	52	44.2	39.3	22	42%	8%	26%	+1.5
103	Cesar Barajas	Louisiana Tech	3.8	54	41.5	37.9	25	47%	4%	41%	−3.5
104	Jack Ansell	Purdue	3.8	39	37.9	34.9	11	28%	0%	48%	−11.4
105	Kyle Ulbrich	Middle Tennessee	3.9	62	44.5	39.6	25	42%	8%	30%	+0.9
106	Ethan Slike	Akron	3.9	49	43.0	39.7	12	28%	2%	28%	−6.6
107	Ryan Sanborn	Stanford	4.1	60	43.3	37.3	21	36%	7%	27%	−2.6
108	Ben Kiernan	North Carolina	4.1	40	43.3	37.3	12	29%	5%	38%	−11.0
109	James Williams	Syracuse	4.2	40	38.4	35.1	9	23%	0%	31%	−11.8
110	Riley Riethman	Navy	4.2	44	42.7	37.7	12	27%	5%	19%	−8.5
111	Reis Vernon	Kansas	4.3	49	40.4	35.4	11	22%	4%	38%	−22.4
112	Nick Mihalic	Western Michigan	4.4	44	42.5	36.6	14	33%	10%	26%	−6.7
113	Bernardo Rodriguez	North Texas	4.8	56	42.9	37.2	16	30%	9%	9%	−7.8
114	Race Porter	Washington	4.9	53	48.5	42.8	20	42%	6%	23%	+9.6
115	Adam Barry	Temple	5.5	63	42.0	37.2	16	25%	2%	44%	−15.6
116	Matt Ference	Northern Illinois	5.5	45	44.4	37.0	9	20%	13%	29%	−8.7
117	Tommy Heatherly	Florida International	5.7	75	46.9	39.8	26	38%	18%	16%	+0.1
118	Ryan Stonehouse	Colorado State	6.0	58	50.9	41.8	25	45%	20%	11%	+5.5
119	Josh Watts	Colorado	7.6	66	47.8	38.5	20	31%	11%	23%	+0.9

All 2021 College punter rankings

Return Yards Allowed per Punt in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

More 2021 College punter leaderboards

Other 2021 College rankings

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