2024 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 2024, Caile Hogan (-0.1) topped college football punters in return yards allowed per punt, ahead of Aleksi Pulkkinen (0.2) and John Henderson (0.2). 124 punters qualify (minimum 30 punts). The median qualified punter had 2.2.

Final 2024 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Ret yds/punt	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Caile Hogan	UTSA	-0.1	53	40.8	40.0	21	40%	2%	46%	−2.6
2	Aleksi Pulkkinen	South Alabama	0.2	44	40.5	39.5	16	36%	5%	51%	−4.3
3	John Henderson	Bowling Green	0.2	48	40.8	40.3	24	50%	2%	53%	+2.3
4	James Burnip	Alabama	0.2	48	44.9	43.7	22	47%	6%	43%	+11.9
5	Tom Foley	Northern Illinois	0.3	38	38.5	36.7	13	34%	8%	64%	−8.7
6	Nathan Torney	Louisiana	0.3	30	39.5	39.3	8	27%	0%	50%	−1.6
7	Sawyer Evans	North Texas	0.3	44	41.0	40.3	12	28%	2%	63%	−0.9
8	Tyler White	Texas A&M	0.3	42	45.1	41.9	24	57%	14%	57%	+10.4
9	Paddy Turner	Colorado State	0.5	44	40.4	40.0	20	45%	0%	17%	−1.7
10	Riley Thompson	Penn State	0.7	36	42.9	41.2	15	42%	6%	61%	+3.5
11	Alex Smith	Georgia Southern	0.7	54	42.8	41.9	20	38%	0%	59%	+8.0
12	Makenzie Ryan	UL Monroe	0.8	58	39.2	37.0	18	32%	7%	38%	−8.8
13	Dante Atton	Temple	0.9	75	40.5	39.5	27	36%	1%	46%	+1.4
14	Guy Gillespie	Nevada	1.0	46	40.3	38.2	21	46%	7%	36%	−1.0
15	Kai Kroeger	South Carolina	1.1	45	47.6	42.6	20	45%	14%	39%	+10.7
16	Jack Dawson	Jacksonville State	1.1	48	42.1	40.3	18	38%	4%	55%	−0.4
17	Marshall Nichols	UNLV	1.1	44	44.9	39.5	19	42%	18%	17%	+3.6
18	Andrew Stokes	South Florida	1.2	62	44.9	42.6	25	40%	6%	22%	+14.5
19	Brett Thorson	Georgia	1.2	42	47.6	44.0	23	55%	12%	33%	+14.1
20	Emilio Duran	Toledo	1.2	52	42.0	40.0	23	46%	6%	32%	+8.8
21	Kade Reynoldson	Duke	1.3	70	43.8	41.1	28	40%	9%	45%	+9.4
22	Joshua Sloan	Memphis	1.3	45	43.4	41.4	17	38%	4%	50%	+4.2
23	Liam Dougherty	Houston	1.3	57	41.9	39.1	20	35%	9%	39%	+1.5
24	Joe McGuire	Ohio State	1.3	32	42.3	40.6	12	38%	3%	64%	0.0
25	Stephen Kotsanlee	Utah State	1.3	48	42.6	41.0	12	27%	2%	47%	−2.3
26	Oscar Chapman	Auburn	1.4	41	42.5	40.8	13	33%	3%	55%	+0.8
27	Alec Bevelhimer	Miami (OH)	1.4	55	41.1	40.2	25	47%	0%	53%	+8.6
28	Max Morgan	Liberty	1.4	37	43.1	39.7	14	38%	11%	48%	+1.5
29	Seamus Hall	Old Dominion	1.4	61	41.6	38.1	21	34%	11%	45%	−2.3
30	Ivan Mora	Wake Forest	1.4	52	43.0	41.0	23	44%	4%	45%	+7.8
31	Aidan Swanson	Clemson	1.5	53	41.5	39.3	19	36%	4%	46%	−0.4
32	Hudson Kaak	Oklahoma State	1.5	31	43.1	40.9	12	35%	12%	45%	+3.6
33	Emile Sebafundi	Coastal Carolina	1.5	47	40.4	38.7	19	40%	2%	46%	−2.1
34	Luke Larsen	East Carolina	1.6	51	40.9	38.6	19	38%	4%	49%	−3.7
35	Sam Vander Haar	BYU	1.6	33	42.9	41.0	15	45%	3%	56%	+7.2
36	Alec Clark	Marshall	1.6	55	42.4	38.2	20	38%	13%	40%	−1.2
37	Jeremy Crawshaw	Florida	1.6	56	45.9	43.2	25	45%	7%	36%	+18.3
38	Ryan Millmore	Western Michigan	1.6	49	40.3	39.0	23	48%	0%	55%	−4.9
39	Devin Bale	Arkansas	1.7	37	44.9	42.4	12	32%	5%	26%	+9.6
40	Logan Lupo	Florida Atlantic	1.7	47	44.5	40.3	13	27%	9%	27%	+1.3
41	Luke Bauer	Missouri	1.8	44	41.5	38.3	14	32%	9%	38%	−0.1
42	Michael O'Shaughnessy	Charlotte	1.8	53	43.0	40.1	16	31%	8%	44%	−6.0
43	Ryan Hanson	James Madison	1.8	45	43.0	38.8	18	39%	9%	23%	+0.8
44	Patrick Rea	Louisiana Tech	1.8	64	39.4	35.8	23	36%	11%	38%	−9.7
45	Rhys Dakin	Iowa	1.9	60	44.2	41.2	30	51%	8%	50%	+9.0
46	Keelan Crimmins	Purdue	1.9	64	44.9	41.8	19	30%	3%	41%	+2.7
47	Oliver Straw	West Virginia	2.0	33	43.7	41.1	17	52%	6%	26%	+6.8
48	Aidan Laros	Kentucky	2.0	32	43.8	41.9	12	38%	9%	31%	+3.0
49	Fraser Masin	Ole Miss	2.0	34	46.2	43.9	17	50%	3%	42%	+10.6
50	Jack Culbreath	Wyoming	2.0	66	40.4	38.2	27	41%	3%	41%	−1.4
51	Daton Montiel	Florida International	2.0	57	39.4	36.4	19	33%	7%	38%	−5.9
52	Mark Crawford	Minnesota	2.0	50	43.3	41.1	17	35%	2%	29%	−0.4
53	Daniel Sparks	Virginia	2.1	57	44.6	42.2	18	32%	5%	38%	+14.7
54	Robert Cole	Troy	2.1	44	36.9	35.3	12	27%	2%	52%	−14.8
55	Clay Lawrence	Fresno State	2.1	55	40.7	37.4	21	38%	7%	53%	−3.8
56	Caleb Junko	Pittsburgh	2.1	53	43.8	41.2	15	28%	4%	26%	+1.3
57	Kanyon Floyd	Arizona State	2.1	36	40.6	37.0	12	36%	9%	50%	−1.5
58	Ross James	Oregon	2.2	33	46.5	41.2	9	27%	18%	35%	+3.7
59	Tyler Pastula	San Diego State	2.2	58	46.1	40.7	20	35%	14%	30%	+4.4
60	Mitchell Tomasek	Eastern Michigan	2.2	47	41.4	39.2	15	33%	7%	22%	+1.1
61	Atticus Bertrams	Wisconsin	2.2	55	45.3	42.6	18	34%	6%	31%	+8.2
62	Michael Kern	Texas	2.2	31	40.5	37.1	7	23%	6%	53%	−3.8
63	Tyler Perkins	Iowa State	2.2	34	45.0	42.1	10	29%	6%	37%	+6.1
64	Hugh Robertson	Illinois	2.2	37	40.8	37.8	19	50%	8%	50%	−5.1
65	Ethan Craw	TCU	2.3	39	42.3	38.6	18	46%	8%	54%	−1.3
66	Luke Elzinga	Oklahoma	2.3	57	45.2	42.4	24	44%	4%	34%	+13.0
67	Tommy Doman	Michigan	2.3	49	42.6	39.2	16	33%	6%	46%	−3.3
68	Jack Stonehouse	Syracuse	2.3	32	45.9	40.2	11	35%	10%	27%	+0.7
69	Brody Richter	UCLA	2.3	40	42.8	38.9	15	38%	8%	37%	−5.0
70	Palmer Williams	Baylor	2.3	41	49.6	44.9	17	43%	13%	13%	+16.7
71	James Rendell	Notre Dame	2.4	37	41.9	39.8	16	43%	0%	26%	+3.3
72	Will Karoll	Tulane	2.4	37	43.2	39.9	11	30%	5%	48%	+3.3
73	Bryce McFerson	Maryland	2.4	52	45.1	41.9	25	48%	6%	41%	+3.6
74	Trent Carrizosa	San José State	2.4	38	41.9	39.9	9	24%	5%	37%	−1.5
75	CJ Kolodziey	Massachusetts	2.5	56	41.0	37.1	13	24%	9%	20%	−10.6
76	Eddie Czaplicki	USC	2.5	40	48.5	45.8	26	65%	3%	35%	+18.0
77	Jakob Anderson	Rutgers	2.6	46	42.4	38.8	17	40%	7%	56%	−1.6
78	Bryce Lofton	Southern Miss	2.6	61	44.5	41.2	15	25%	5%	38%	+5.9
79	Peter Moore	Virginia Tech	2.6	54	45.1	41.4	20	38%	8%	40%	+8.6
80	Lachlan Wilson	California	2.7	51	45.0	40.2	18	38%	15%	32%	+3.4
81	Grant Chadwick	Middle Tennessee	2.9	51	43.6	41.0	22	43%	2%	43%	+1.0
82	Cole Maynard	Western Kentucky	2.9	49	42.9	39.6	19	39%	4%	37%	+1.4
83	Adam Jacklin	UTEP	2.9	58	39.4	37.4	13	22%	0%	31%	−13.7
84	Alex Bacchetta	Rice	2.9	50	41.2	37.7	13	26%	6%	49%	−9.4
85	Mason Fletcher	Cincinnati	3.0	42	42.6	38.0	12	29%	10%	32%	−6.2
86	David Chapeau	Central Michigan	3.0	55	41.8	37.4	15	27%	5%	33%	−9.9
87	Damon Greaves	Kansas	3.1	33	42.4	38.5	6	19%	6%	32%	−4.4
88	Jackson Ross	Tennessee	3.1	46	44.4	40.4	22	48%	7%	33%	+6.0
89	Mitch McCarthy	UCF	3.2	40	44.1	40.7	18	45%	5%	70%	+1.6
90	Jack Bouwmeester	Utah	3.2	60	44.7	39.9	25	41%	7%	37%	+3.4
91	Luke Akers	Northwestern	3.2	41	43.1	39.7	16	40%	3%	42%	+0.9
92	Alex Mastromanno	Florida State	3.4	57	48.6	45.0	22	39%	4%	32%	+22.6
93	Ryan Heicher	Arkansas State	3.4	54	42.9	39.4	22	41%	4%	55%	−1.5
94	Caden Noonkester	NC State	3.4	46	43.3	39.8	17	38%	4%	48%	+3.2
95	Jesse Mirco	Vanderbilt	3.4	47	48.0	42.8	20	43%	11%	19%	+11.6
96	Jadon Cardell	Sam Houston	3.5	59	40.9	37.8	20	34%	7%	29%	−5.0
97	Nick Barr-Mira	Mississippi State	3.5	44	44.6	41.6	21	48%	0%	35%	+4.3
98	Brian Cooey Jr.	Ball State	3.6	48	41.5	36.2	19	39%	8%	31%	−5.9
99	Aidan Flintoft	Stanford	3.6	43	42.9	39.3	19	44%	0%	25%	−2.1
100	Connor Stutz	UConn	3.7	58	43.1	39.7	18	33%	7%	19%	+2.2
101	Michael Salgado-Medina	Arizona	3.7	39	43.3	39.1	17	44%	5%	41%	+2.0
102	Josh Green	Oregon State	3.8	33	47.2	41.8	16	48%	9%	29%	+6.2
103	Lucas Borrow	Hawai'i	4.0	48	45.5	41.5	15	32%	2%	18%	+4.1
104	Ethan Duane	Buffalo	4.1	63	42.2	40.0	20	32%	0%	44%	+0.2
105	Tom Maginness	North Carolina	4.1	45	41.5	37.8	12	28%	2%	44%	−3.4
106	Jack Burgess	Texas Tech	4.2	43	42.1	37.6	17	40%	5%	49%	−5.8
107	Avery Book	Akron	4.2	65	43.4	40.4	24	37%	3%	15%	+1.0
108	Simon McClannan	Kansas State	4.3	43	42.0	37.5	16	37%	5%	40%	−8.1
109	Jack Wilson	Ohio	4.4	55	41.0	37.1	19	35%	2%	33%	−12.5
110	Isaac Pearson	SMU	4.8	40	44.1	37.2	11	28%	15%	18%	−10.7
111	David Shanahan	Georgia Tech	4.8	46	43.3	37.2	17	37%	9%	14%	−4.2
112	George Eberle	New Mexico State	4.9	62	44.7	39.4	22	36%	5%	28%	−2.7
113	James Ferguson-Reynolds	Boise State	4.9	39	43.8	38.0	17	44%	8%	35%	−3.0
114	Brian Buschini	Nebraska	5.2	44	44.7	36.7	17	39%	5%	41%	−5.0
115	Ryan Eckley	Michigan State	5.3	43	47.9	40.7	8	19%	10%	15%	−2.1
116	Jacob Ulrich	Kennesaw State	5.4	75	46.0	39.9	33	44%	7%	27%	+10.0
117	Riley Riethman	Navy	5.4	52	45.7	39.5	23	44%	8%	24%	+6.3
118	Josh Smith	Kent State	5.5	83	41.8	37.6	30	39%	1%	45%	−10.9
119	Jack McCallister	Washington	5.7	36	44.0	36.5	14	38%	6%	26%	−8.3
120	Angus Davies	Tulsa	5.9	68	43.0	38.1	19	28%	4%	24%	−12.1
121	Mark Vassett	Colorado	6.0	49	43.8	38.0	18	37%	4%	28%	−6.5
122	Patrick Foley	UAB	6.4	39	43.3	36.6	10	25%	8%	22%	−3.6
123	Aaron Rodriguez	New Mexico	6.8	41	42.7	36.2	20	51%	8%	17%	+0.2
124	James Allen	Georgia State	7.8	51	44.5	34.8	13	26%	8%	22%	−16.2

All 2024 College punter rankings

Return Yards Allowed per Punt in other seasons: 2026 2025 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

More 2024 College punter leaderboards

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