2026 College Fair Catch Percentage Leaders

The share of a punter's punts that the returner fair caught instead of running back. Public play-by-play does not record hang time, so the fair-catch rate is the best available stand-in: a punt that hangs long enough for the coverage team to arrive leaves the returner no choice but to wave for a fair catch.

Higher usually means better hang time, though a returner who is no threat also calls for more fair catches. College punts whose play text does not say how they ended are left out of the count. In 2026, Fuller Shurtz (92.3%) led college football punters in fair catch percentage, ahead of Hamish Adams (77.8%) and Chase Ridley (75.0%). 130 punters qualify (minimum 15 punts). The median qualified punter had 43.8%. This season is in progress (through Week 7), so the numbers change each week.

Data through Week 7 of the 2026 season, updated October 24, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	FC %	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	Points
1	Fuller Shurtz	BYU	92.3%	18	44.4	44.2	5	28%	0%	+7.9
2	Hamish Adams	Sacramento State	77.8%	35	41.1	40.9	16	47%	0%	+2.0
3	Chase Ridley	Arizona	75.0%	15	41.5	38.9	6	40%	13%	+1.1
4	Gavin Rush	Arkansas	73.9%	27	40.5	38.2	9	32%	0%	−4.5
5	Nick Verdugo	Fresno State	73.7%	25	42.0	40.5	17	68%	0%	+4.2
6	Ewan Baulch	Nevada	70.6%	19	42.6	39.9	5	26%	5%	+4.3
7	Jack Smith	Clemson	69.6%	30	38.6	37.6	13	43%	0%	−2.2
8	Jackson Waller	NC State	69.2%	26	42.0	40.9	10	38%	4%	+1.9
9	Jackson Ross	Tennessee	66.7%	28	44.8	40.6	14	50%	7%	+2.5
10	Jimmy Gregg	Syracuse	66.7%	17	42.2	39.6	6	35%	6%	−0.3
11	Oscar Doyle	Boise State	66.7%	16	43.8	42.6	6	38%	6%	+3.4
12	Aidan Flintoft	Stanford	65.7%	43	43.0	40.6	13	30%	2%	+3.4
13	Ethan Hyams	Wake Forest	64.3%	21	45.2	44.0	8	38%	5%	+3.7
14	Tommy Warner	UConn	62.5%	27	41.3	41.4	10	40%	4%	+5.1
15	Max Fletcher	Cincinnati	62.5%	21	46.3	44.4	11	52%	10%	+7.3
16	Billy Gowers	Indiana	61.1%	20	38.5	36.9	11	55%	0%	+1.7
17	Bryan Hansen	West Virginia	60.0%	28	42.9	40.0	10	36%	11%	−0.6
18	Brody Richter	New Mexico State	60.0%	26	40.3	38.4	10	37%	0%	−1.9
19	AJ Winsor	Oregon State	60.0%	18	42.7	40.1	8	44%	0%	+4.5
20	Michael Kern	New Mexico	60.0%	17	40.1	38.5	9	53%	6%	+2.1
21	Dylan Joyce	Miami	60.0%	16	44.6	36.8	5	31%	6%	−0.7
22	Nick McLarty	Arizona State	59.1%	23	42.0	32.2	4	17%	13%	−11.3
23	Boston Everitt	Iowa	58.8%	27	43.0	41.6	17	61%	7%	+4.5
24	Simon McClannan	Kansas State	58.8%	18	46.8	41.1	11	61%	11%	+3.5
25	Markus Meincke	Toledo	57.9%	22	42.0	40.5	9	41%	0%	+0.4
26	Brunno Reus	Missouri	57.7%	33	44.8	40.9	14	42%	18%	+6.2
27	Felix Visser	Florida International	56.3%	20	38.6	36.7	7	35%	5%	−3.7
28	Edward Phillipson	Massachusetts	55.6%	32	45.1	38.1	12	34%	6%	−1.0
29	Alec Clark	Florida	55.6%	22	47.4	42.1	12	55%	5%	+1.8
30	Alex Asparuhov	Alabama	55.6%	23	43.1	41.3	13	59%	0%	+7.2
31	Cal Joseph	Sam Houston	55.3%	45	44.2	39.9	18	40%	9%	+1.8
32	Sam Crossan	Liberty	55.0%	25	40.9	37.4	11	44%	12%	+1.2
33	Mac Chiumento	Texas	55.0%	24	43.0	38.9	8	33%	4%	−4.7
34	Hudson Kaak	Auburn	54.5%	27	40.3	39.4	14	52%	0%	+2.1
35	Conor Donaghy	Jacksonville State	54.5%	16	47.3	45.9	9	56%	0%	+7.1
36	Nathan Tiyce	Penn State	54.2%	31	41.1	37.4	11	35%	13%	−3.8
37	Cam Brown	Michigan	54.2%	30	41.9	39.3	13	43%	7%	+4.5
38	Roland Podesta	Coastal Carolina	53.3%	35	42.4	40.2	13	37%	9%	+1.5
39	Bailey Ettridge	Oregon	52.6%	24	46.9	46.0	9	38%	4%	+8.0
40	Josh Cupitt	Delaware	51.9%	34	42.0	39.7	17	50%	0%	+1.8
41	Tomas O'Halloran	East Carolina	51.9%	29	46.9	42.9	11	38%	3%	+4.9
42	Matt Choules	UNLV	50.0%	30	42.3	38.5	15	50%	7%	+0.5
43	Alex Smith	Georgia Southern	50.0%	29	42.7	33.8	8	28%	10%	−13.9
44	Pierse Stainton	Miami (OH)	50.0%	29	43.8	38.6	16	55%	21%	+2.1
45	Archie Wilson	Nebraska	50.0%	26	44.2	42.3	10	38%	8%	+2.9
46	Ian Kelly	Charlotte	50.0%	26	45.0	39.4	10	38%	4%	−5.9
47	Jacob Ulrich	Oklahoma	50.0%	19	44.4	41.5	4	21%	5%	+2.4
48	Joe McGuire	Ohio State	50.0%	19	43.8	39.5	10	53%	11%	+3.7
49	Nikola Dugandzic	Northwestern	50.0%	19	38.8	35.3	7	37%	5%	−3.9
50	Magnus Haines	Ohio	50.0%	18	43.3	39.1	8	44%	6%	+0.9
51	Jakob Anderson	Rutgers	50.0%	15	45.9	43.2	4	27%	13%	+3.7
52	Landon Rehkow	Utah State	48.0%	31	42.1	38.7	15	48%	6%	+4.3
53	Dusty Zimmer	Southern Miss	48.0%	28	40.0	38.4	9	32%	0%	+2.6
54	Matt McKenzie	Kennesaw State	47.8%	30	44.3	39.8	11	38%	3%	−0.2
55	Tom Weston	Minnesota	47.1%	25	41.5	36.9	12	44%	0%	−1.5
56	Dante Atton	Temple	47.1%	23	42.5	40.8	9	39%	0%	+1.1
57	Palmer Williams	Baylor	47.1%	22	51.4	43.5	7	32%	32%	+5.2
58	Ethan Pulliam	Mississippi State	47.1%	18	41.7	38.9	7	39%	11%	+4.1
59	Wade McSparron	SMU	45.5%	15	44.2	39.5	7	47%	7%	−0.2
60	Angus Davies	California	44.4%	32	41.0	37.6	11	35%	3%	−5.5
61	Grant Chadwick	LSU	44.4%	22	38.7	35.5	10	45%	0%	−1.9
62	Joseph Castle	Akron	44.0%	32	41.6	35.8	12	36%	3%	−8.3
63	Bryce McFerson	Maryland	44.0%	30	41.6	36.5	11	37%	0%	−8.4
64	Harrison Tuck	Memphis	44.0%	30	40.8	39.2	10	36%	0%	−2.0
65	Matthew Gill	Kansas	43.8%	20	39.9	37.1	3	15%	5%	−1.2
66	Mason Love	South Carolina	43.8%	18	42.7	42.1	5	28%	0%	+0.3
67	Oscar Bird	Ole Miss	43.8%	18	46.8	43.5	7	39%	6%	+6.0
68	William Hudlow	Tulane	42.9%	32	46.9	43.5	11	34%	16%	+10.2
69	Aleksi Pulkkinen	South Alabama	42.9%	21	37.9	36.9	8	38%	0%	−2.8
70	Will Karoll	Texas Tech	42.9%	20	50.8	48.5	10	50%	5%	+9.9
71	Daniel Vuckovic	Arkansas State	42.1%	23	39.2	37.8	10	43%	4%	−1.1
72	Max Tulen	Tulsa	41.9%	36	42.9	39.6	11	30%	6%	−2.1
73	Bart Edmiston	Wyoming	41.7%	27	48.0	40.9	11	41%	15%	+8.2
74	Evan Crenshaw	Troy	41.7%	26	46.1	41.0	11	42%	8%	−5.5
75	Stewart McDonald	Missouri State	40.9%	23	41.2	36.0	7	30%	4%	−3.6
76	Jake Stoeckel	Kent State	40.7%	30	42.8	39.6	12	40%	7%	+0.8
77	Ian Brandt	Old Dominion	40.0%	35	42.3	36.0	6	17%	11%	−12.2
78	Mason Golding	Louisiana	40.0%	28	40.1	34.5	14	50%	0%	−10.4
79	Luke Goater	South Florida	40.0%	24	45.5	42.5	13	54%	8%	+4.9
80	Dylan Drennan	Purdue	40.0%	20	47.0	43.8	7	35%	5%	+4.1
81	Makenzie Ryan	UL Monroe	39.3%	33	41.4	31.8	7	22%	3%	−23.5
82	John Hoyet Chance	TCU	38.9%	25	43.5	41.5	15	60%	0%	+1.9
83	Alex Bacchetta	Georgia Tech	38.9%	21	43.3	37.0	7	32%	5%	−1.3
84	Daniel Hull	Eastern Michigan	38.5%	32	44.1	39.7	11	33%	6%	0.0
85	Trent Carrizosa	San José State	37.5%	35	42.9	36.3	17	49%	9%	−1.4
86	Sean West	Wisconsin	37.5%	23	43.1	39.6	14	61%	9%	+1.3
87	Will Duncan	Air Force	37.5%	15	46.1	40.7	7	47%	7%	+2.4
88	Gehrig Heil	Hawai'i	37.0%	35	43.4	40.3	16	46%	3%	+3.7
89	Ryan Millmore	Western Michigan	36.4%	27	43.7	40.4	12	44%	7%	+2.7
90	Gabe Russo	Pittsburgh	36.4%	24	44.0	42.7	9	36%	8%	+4.1
91	Drew Miller	Georgia	35.3%	19	46.1	38.7	7	37%	32%	+1.1
92	Niall Hayes	Louisville	35.0%	25	40.0	38.0	7	28%	4%	−5.1
93	Curtis Gerrand	UCLA	35.0%	23	45.2	39.6	11	50%	5%	+0.3
94	Cole Stumbaugh	Ball State	33.3%	33	43.2	36.7	12	36%	6%	−3.6
95	Hunter Green	Washington	33.3%	33	47.9	42.1	10	31%	6%	+3.9
96	Caile Hogan	UTSA	33.3%	27	41.4	37.8	10	36%	4%	−3.3
97	Cooper Heimbach	Marshall	33.3%	29	46.0	39.7	11	39%	7%	+0.8
98	Tyler White	Texas A&M	33.3%	25	49.5	45.8	7	29%	13%	+11.5
99	Atticus Bertrams	UCF	33.3%	22	46.3	39.3	7	32%	18%	+1.1
100	Daniel Hughes	Florida State	33.3%	21	44.0	42.6	10	48%	0%	+4.5
101	Jonah DuPont	Iowa State	33.3%	22	44.4	39.2	4	19%	0%	+0.8
102	Rhys Dakin	Michigan State	33.3%	17	51.0	41.1	7	39%	29%	−0.5
103	Jaxson Dunn	App State	32.1%	35	41.9	40.4	12	34%	3%	+3.9
104	Jake Ference	Northern Illinois	32.0%	29	41.8	34.4	6	21%	11%	−13.7
105	Declan Duley	Central Michigan	31.0%	32	43.9	37.2	11	34%	6%	0.0
106	Thomas O'Hara	Kentucky	30.8%	17	40.7	37.5	4	24%	6%	−2.0
107	Orion Phillips	Utah	30.8%	16	42.3	42.3	8	50%	0%	+1.5
108	Patrick Rea	James Madison	30.4%	32	43.2	40.3	18	56%	6%	+5.3
109	Ethan Stumpf	Buffalo	29.7%	44	45.5	38.9	13	30%	14%	+1.2
110	Daniel Sparks	Virginia	29.6%	36	51.1	43.7	16	44%	6%	+0.9
111	Nathan Totten	Virginia Tech	29.4%	24	41.4	35.3	9	39%	9%	−5.8
112	Jackson Smith	Western Kentucky	29.0%	39	43.7	38.7	9	23%	10%	+0.7
113	James Wagenseller	Army	28.6%	20	46.5	43.9	9	45%	5%	+5.6
114	Oliver Straw	UAB	27.8%	21	45.4	41.4	12	57%	0%	+0.7
115	Tashi Dorje	San Diego State	25.0%	36	46.1	40.0	14	39%	6%	+1.1
116	Ryan Kingston	Bowling Green	24.0%	33	40.1	32.7	11	32%	6%	−9.7
117	Bryce LaFollette	Boston College	23.8%	23	41.0	31.1	2	9%	17%	−9.2
118	Aeron Burrell	North Carolina	23.8%	21	42.8	36.8	10	48%	0%	−2.2
119	Max Dean	Washington State	23.3%	40	43.4	38.2	12	32%	8%	−5.9
120	Damon Greaves	Colorado	22.2%	29	45.3	37.9	13	45%	7%	−3.0
121	Aaron Bickerton	North Dakota State	22.2%	24	45.5	37.9	9	38%	13%	−1.0
122	Lexington Matthews	Louisiana Tech	22.2%	19	44.7	40.0	7	37%	11%	+1.4
123	Christian Teeter	Georgia State	22.2%	15	43.5	34.5	6	40%	0%	−7.7
124	Ashton Logan	Middle Tennessee	20.7%	34	49.2	38.4	12	35%	18%	−1.3
125	Nathan Sutcliffe	Colorado State	16.7%	21	42.9	37.4	5	25%	5%	−3.6
126	Liam Dougherty	Houston	16.7%	16	45.6	39.5	8	50%	13%	+1.7
127	Tyler Ebel	Vanderbilt	15.0%	27	47.0	39.7	11	41%	8%	−3.2
128	Brady Braun	UTEP	14.8%	32	40.7	35.3	9	28%	6%	−11.7
129	Kade Reynoldson	Duke	11.1%	26	45.9	39.7	13	48%	12%	+3.1
130	Charlie Durkin	Rice	9.5%	28	45.5	39.9	8	29%	7%	−1.9

All 2026 College punter rankings

Fair Catch Percentage in other seasons: 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

More 2026 College punter leaderboards

Other 2026 College rankings

Loading the interactive stats…