2024 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 2024, Alex Smith (+3.5) led college football punters in touchbacks avoided (STOP rank), ahead of James Rendell (+2.9) and Alec Bevelhimer (+2.8). 124 punters qualify (minimum 30 punts). The median qualified punter had 0.0.

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

Rk	Player	Team	STOP	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Alex Smith	Georgia Southern	+3.5	54	42.8	41.9	20	38%	0%	59%	+8.0
2	James Rendell	Notre Dame	+2.9	37	41.9	39.8	16	43%	0%	26%	+3.3
3	Alec Bevelhimer	Miami (OH)	+2.8	55	41.1	40.2	25	47%	0%	53%	+8.6
4	Emile Sebafundi	Coastal Carolina	+2.5	47	40.4	38.7	19	40%	2%	46%	−2.1
5	Nick Barr-Mira	Mississippi State	+2.5	44	44.6	41.6	21	48%	0%	35%	+4.3
6	Ryan Millmore	Western Michigan	+2.4	49	40.3	39.0	23	48%	0%	55%	−4.9
7	Adam Jacklin	UTEP	+2.4	58	39.4	37.4	13	22%	0%	31%	−13.7
8	Paddy Turner	Colorado State	+2.4	44	40.4	40.0	20	45%	0%	17%	−1.7
9	Dante Atton	Temple	+2.0	75	40.5	39.5	27	36%	1%	46%	+1.4
10	Eddie Czaplicki	USC	+1.9	40	48.5	45.8	26	65%	3%	35%	+18.0
11	Mark Crawford	Minnesota	+1.9	50	43.3	41.1	17	35%	2%	29%	−0.4
12	John Henderson	Bowling Green	+1.7	48	40.8	40.3	24	50%	2%	53%	+2.3
13	Luke Larsen	East Carolina	+1.7	51	40.9	38.6	19	38%	4%	49%	−3.7
14	Caile Hogan	UTSA	+1.6	53	40.8	40.0	21	40%	2%	46%	−2.6
15	Lucas Borrow	Hawai'i	+1.5	48	45.5	41.5	15	32%	2%	18%	+4.1
16	Jack Wilson	Ohio	+1.5	55	41.0	37.1	19	35%	2%	33%	−12.5
17	Nathan Torney	Louisiana	+1.4	30	39.5	39.3	8	27%	0%	50%	−1.6
18	Fraser Masin	Ole Miss	+1.4	34	46.2	43.9	17	50%	3%	42%	+10.6
19	Ethan Duane	Buffalo	+1.4	63	42.2	40.0	20	32%	0%	44%	+0.2
20	Grant Chadwick	Middle Tennessee	+1.4	51	43.6	41.0	22	43%	2%	43%	+1.0
21	Aidan Flintoft	Stanford	+1.4	43	42.9	39.3	19	44%	0%	25%	−2.1
22	Luke Elzinga	Oklahoma	+1.4	57	45.2	42.4	24	44%	4%	34%	+13.0
23	Josh Smith	Kent State	+1.4	83	41.8	37.6	30	39%	1%	45%	−10.9
24	Jack Culbreath	Wyoming	+1.3	66	40.4	38.2	27	41%	3%	41%	−1.4
25	Aidan Swanson	Clemson	+1.3	53	41.5	39.3	19	36%	4%	46%	−0.4
26	Ivan Mora	Wake Forest	+1.2	52	43.0	41.0	23	44%	4%	45%	+7.8
27	Robert Cole	Troy	+1.2	44	36.9	35.3	12	27%	2%	52%	−14.8
28	Sam Vander Haar	BYU	+1.2	33	42.9	41.0	15	45%	3%	56%	+7.2
29	Jack Dawson	Jacksonville State	+1.1	48	42.1	40.3	18	38%	4%	55%	−0.4
30	Brian Buschini	Nebraska	+1.1	44	44.7	36.7	17	39%	5%	41%	−5.0
31	Tom Maginness	North Carolina	+1.1	45	41.5	37.8	12	28%	2%	44%	−3.4
32	Ryan Heicher	Arkansas State	+1.1	54	42.9	39.4	22	41%	4%	55%	−1.5
33	Jack Burgess	Texas Tech	+1.1	43	42.1	37.6	17	40%	5%	49%	−5.8
34	Mark Vassett	Colorado	+1.0	49	43.8	38.0	18	37%	4%	28%	−6.5
35	Luke Akers	Northwestern	+0.9	41	43.1	39.7	16	40%	3%	42%	+0.9
36	Joe McGuire	Ohio State	+0.8	32	42.3	40.6	12	38%	3%	64%	0.0
37	Mitch McCarthy	UCF	+0.8	40	44.1	40.7	18	45%	5%	70%	+1.6
38	Joshua Sloan	Memphis	+0.7	45	43.4	41.4	17	38%	4%	50%	+4.2
39	George Eberle	New Mexico State	+0.7	62	44.7	39.4	22	36%	5%	28%	−2.7
40	Clay Lawrence	Fresno State	+0.7	55	40.7	37.4	21	38%	7%	53%	−3.8
41	Jackson Ross	Tennessee	+0.6	46	44.4	40.4	22	48%	7%	33%	+6.0
42	Aleksi Pulkkinen	South Alabama	+0.6	44	40.5	39.5	16	36%	5%	51%	−4.3
43	Jack McCallister	Washington	+0.6	36	44.0	36.5	14	38%	6%	26%	−8.3
44	Makenzie Ryan	UL Monroe	+0.5	58	39.2	37.0	18	32%	7%	38%	−8.8
45	Oliver Straw	West Virginia	+0.5	33	43.7	41.1	17	52%	6%	26%	+6.8
46	Riley Thompson	Penn State	+0.5	36	42.9	41.2	15	42%	6%	61%	+3.5
47	Sawyer Evans	North Texas	+0.4	44	41.0	40.3	12	28%	2%	63%	−0.9
48	Ethan Craw	TCU	+0.4	39	42.3	38.6	18	46%	8%	54%	−1.3
49	Will Karoll	Tulane	+0.4	37	43.2	39.9	11	30%	5%	48%	+3.3
50	Keelan Crimmins	Purdue	+0.4	64	44.9	41.8	19	30%	3%	41%	+2.7
51	Michael Kern	Texas	+0.4	31	40.5	37.1	7	23%	6%	53%	−3.8
52	Jadon Cardell	Sam Houston	+0.3	59	40.9	37.8	20	34%	7%	29%	−5.0
53	Angus Davies	Tulsa	+0.3	68	43.0	38.1	19	28%	4%	24%	−12.1
54	Oscar Chapman	Auburn	+0.3	41	42.5	40.8	13	33%	3%	55%	+0.8
55	Simon McClannan	Kansas State	+0.3	43	42.0	37.5	16	37%	5%	40%	−8.1
56	Guy Gillespie	Nevada	+0.1	46	40.3	38.2	21	46%	7%	36%	−1.0
57	Devin Bale	Arkansas	+0.1	37	44.9	42.4	12	32%	5%	26%	+9.6
58	Caden Noonkester	NC State	+0.1	46	43.3	39.8	17	38%	4%	48%	+3.2
59	Michael Salgado-Medina	Arizona	+0.1	39	43.3	39.1	17	44%	5%	41%	+2.0
60	Cole Maynard	Western Kentucky	+0.1	49	42.9	39.6	19	39%	4%	37%	+1.4
61	Alex Mastromanno	Florida State	0.0	57	48.6	45.0	22	39%	4%	32%	+22.6
62	Emilio Duran	Toledo	0.0	52	42.0	40.0	23	46%	6%	32%	+8.8
63	Avery Book	Akron	0.0	65	43.4	40.4	24	37%	3%	15%	+1.0
64	Atticus Bertrams	Wisconsin	0.0	55	45.3	42.6	18	34%	6%	31%	+8.2
65	Caleb Junko	Pittsburgh	0.0	53	43.8	41.2	15	28%	4%	26%	+1.3
66	Stephen Kotsanlee	Utah State	−0.1	48	42.6	41.0	12	27%	2%	47%	−2.3
67	Aaron Rodriguez	New Mexico	−0.1	41	42.7	36.2	20	51%	8%	17%	+0.2
68	Brody Richter	UCLA	−0.2	40	42.8	38.9	15	38%	8%	37%	−5.0
69	Hugh Robertson	Illinois	−0.2	37	40.8	37.8	19	50%	8%	50%	−5.1
70	Riley Riethman	Navy	−0.2	52	45.7	39.5	23	44%	8%	24%	+6.3
71	Tom Foley	Northern Illinois	−0.2	38	38.5	36.7	13	34%	8%	64%	−8.7
72	Trent Carrizosa	San José State	−0.2	38	41.9	39.9	9	24%	5%	37%	−1.5
73	Jakob Anderson	Rutgers	−0.3	46	42.4	38.8	17	40%	7%	56%	−1.6
74	Jeremy Crawshaw	Florida	−0.3	56	45.9	43.2	25	45%	7%	36%	+18.3
75	Bryce McFerson	Maryland	−0.3	52	45.1	41.9	25	48%	6%	41%	+3.6
76	Mitchell Tomasek	Eastern Michigan	−0.3	47	41.4	39.2	15	33%	7%	22%	+1.1
77	James Ferguson-Reynolds	Boise State	−0.3	39	43.8	38.0	17	44%	8%	35%	−3.0
78	James Burnip	Alabama	−0.4	48	44.9	43.7	22	47%	6%	43%	+11.9
79	Connor Stutz	UConn	−0.4	58	43.1	39.7	18	33%	7%	19%	+2.2
80	Ryan Hanson	James Madison	−0.4	45	43.0	38.8	18	39%	9%	23%	+0.8
81	Kanyon Floyd	Arizona State	−0.5	36	40.6	37.0	12	36%	9%	50%	−1.5
82	David Chapeau	Central Michigan	−0.5	55	41.8	37.4	15	27%	5%	33%	−9.9
83	Damon Greaves	Kansas	−0.5	33	42.4	38.5	6	19%	6%	32%	−4.4
84	Daton Montiel	Florida International	−0.6	57	39.4	36.4	19	33%	7%	38%	−5.9
85	Jack Bouwmeester	Utah	−0.6	60	44.7	39.9	25	41%	7%	37%	+3.4
86	Tommy Doman	Michigan	−0.7	49	42.6	39.2	16	33%	6%	46%	−3.3
87	Kade Reynoldson	Duke	−0.7	70	43.8	41.1	28	40%	9%	45%	+9.4
88	Andrew Stokes	South Florida	−0.7	62	44.9	42.6	25	40%	6%	22%	+14.5
89	Bryce Lofton	Southern Miss	−0.8	61	44.5	41.2	15	25%	5%	38%	+5.9
90	Daniel Sparks	Virginia	−0.8	57	44.6	42.2	18	32%	5%	38%	+14.7
91	Patrick Foley	UAB	−0.9	39	43.3	36.6	10	25%	8%	22%	−3.6
92	David Shanahan	Georgia Tech	−0.9	46	43.3	37.2	17	37%	9%	14%	−4.2
93	Brian Cooey Jr.	Ball State	−0.9	48	41.5	36.2	19	39%	8%	31%	−5.9
94	Tyler Perkins	Iowa State	−1.0	34	45.0	42.1	10	29%	6%	37%	+6.1
95	Jacob Ulrich	Kennesaw State	−1.0	75	46.0	39.9	33	44%	7%	27%	+10.0
96	Alex Bacchetta	Rice	−1.0	50	41.2	37.7	13	26%	6%	49%	−9.4
97	Josh Green	Oregon State	−1.0	33	47.2	41.8	16	48%	9%	29%	+6.2
98	James Allen	Georgia State	−1.1	51	44.5	34.8	13	26%	8%	22%	−16.2
99	Luke Bauer	Missouri	−1.1	44	41.5	38.3	14	32%	9%	38%	−0.1
100	Max Morgan	Liberty	−1.2	37	43.1	39.7	14	38%	11%	48%	+1.5
101	Rhys Dakin	Iowa	−1.2	60	44.2	41.2	30	51%	8%	50%	+9.0
102	Jack Stonehouse	Syracuse	−1.3	32	45.9	40.2	11	35%	10%	27%	+0.7
103	Patrick Rea	Louisiana Tech	−1.3	64	39.4	35.8	23	36%	11%	38%	−9.7
104	Logan Lupo	Florida Atlantic	−1.3	47	44.5	40.3	13	27%	9%	27%	+1.3
105	Michael O'Shaughnessy	Charlotte	−1.4	53	43.0	40.1	16	31%	8%	44%	−6.0
106	Peter Moore	Virginia Tech	−1.5	54	45.1	41.4	20	38%	8%	40%	+8.6
107	Tyler White	Texas A&M	−1.5	42	45.1	41.9	24	57%	14%	57%	+10.4
108	Aidan Laros	Kentucky	−1.5	32	43.8	41.9	12	38%	9%	31%	+3.0
109	Liam Dougherty	Houston	−1.6	57	41.9	39.1	20	35%	9%	39%	+1.5
110	Jesse Mirco	Vanderbilt	−1.7	47	48.0	42.8	20	43%	11%	19%	+11.6
111	Brett Thorson	Georgia	−1.9	42	47.6	44.0	23	55%	12%	33%	+14.1
112	Mason Fletcher	Cincinnati	−1.9	42	42.6	38.0	12	29%	10%	32%	−6.2
113	Hudson Kaak	Oklahoma State	−2.0	31	43.1	40.9	12	35%	12%	45%	+3.6
114	CJ Kolodziey	Massachusetts	−2.1	56	41.0	37.1	13	24%	9%	20%	−10.6
115	Alec Clark	Marshall	−2.2	55	42.4	38.2	20	38%	13%	40%	−1.2
116	Ryan Eckley	Michigan State	−2.6	43	47.9	40.7	8	19%	10%	15%	−2.1
117	Seamus Hall	Old Dominion	−3.0	61	41.6	38.1	21	34%	11%	45%	−2.3
118	Isaac Pearson	SMU	−3.0	40	44.1	37.2	11	28%	15%	18%	−10.7
119	Kai Kroeger	South Carolina	−3.3	45	47.6	42.6	20	45%	14%	39%	+10.7
120	Palmer Williams	Baylor	−3.3	41	49.6	44.9	17	43%	13%	13%	+16.7
121	Tyler Pastula	San Diego State	−3.7	58	46.1	40.7	20	35%	14%	30%	+4.4
122	Lachlan Wilson	California	−4.0	51	45.0	40.2	18	38%	15%	32%	+3.4
123	Ross James	Oregon	−4.6	33	46.5	41.2	9	27%	18%	35%	+3.7
124	Marshall Nichols	UNLV	−4.8	44	44.9	39.5	19	42%	18%	17%	+3.6

All 2024 College punter rankings

Touchbacks Avoided (STOP Rank) in other seasons: 2026 2025 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

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