2026 College Opponent Starting Field Position Leaders

The average yard line, counted from the receiving team's own goal line, where it took over after a punt, including the return. A touchback counts as the 20. Blocked punts are left out.

Lowest comes first: a 24.0 means opponents began, on average, at their own 24. It folds distance, placement and returns into one number. In 2026, John Hoyet Chance (17.1) topped college football punters in opponent starting field position, ahead of Tom Weston (17.5) and Boston Everitt (18.4). 130 punters qualify (minimum 15 punts). The median qualified punter had 25.9. 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	Opp start	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	John Hoyet Chance	TCU	17.1	25	43.5	41.5	15	60%	0%	39%	+1.9
2	Tom Weston	Minnesota	17.5	25	41.5	36.9	12	44%	0%	47%	−1.5
3	Boston Everitt	Iowa	18.4	27	43.0	41.6	17	61%	7%	59%	+4.5
4	Landon Rehkow	Utah State	19.1	31	42.1	38.7	15	48%	6%	48%	+4.3
5	Sam Crossan	Liberty	19.2	25	40.9	37.4	11	44%	12%	55%	+1.2
6	Rhys Dakin	Michigan State	19.2	17	51.0	41.1	7	39%	29%	33%	−0.5
7	Liam Dougherty	Houston	19.3	16	45.6	39.5	8	50%	13%	17%	+1.7
8	Alex Asparuhov	Alabama	19.3	23	43.1	41.3	13	59%	0%	56%	+7.2
9	Pierse Stainton	Miami (OH)	19.5	29	43.8	38.6	16	55%	21%	50%	+2.1
10	Jackson Ross	Tennessee	20.1	28	44.8	40.6	14	50%	7%	67%	+2.5
11	Orion Phillips	Utah	20.3	16	42.3	42.3	8	50%	0%	31%	+1.5
12	James Wagenseller	Army	20.4	20	46.5	43.9	9	45%	5%	29%	+5.6
13	Gabe Russo	Pittsburgh	20.4	24	44.0	42.7	9	36%	8%	36%	+4.1
14	Sean West	Wisconsin	20.7	23	43.1	39.6	14	61%	9%	38%	+1.3
15	Brunno Reus	Missouri	20.8	33	44.8	40.9	14	42%	18%	58%	+6.2
16	Max Fletcher	Cincinnati	20.9	21	46.3	44.4	11	52%	10%	63%	+7.3
17	Chase Ridley	Arizona	20.9	15	41.5	38.9	6	40%	13%	75%	+1.1
18	Luke Goater	South Florida	20.9	24	45.5	42.5	13	54%	8%	40%	+4.9
19	Nick Verdugo	Fresno State	20.9	25	42.0	40.5	17	68%	0%	74%	+4.2
20	Will Karoll	Texas Tech	20.9	20	50.8	48.5	10	50%	5%	43%	+9.9
21	Joe McGuire	Ohio State	21.1	19	43.8	39.5	10	53%	11%	50%	+3.7
22	Simon McClannan	Kansas State	21.4	18	46.8	41.1	11	61%	11%	59%	+3.5
23	Ethan Hyams	Wake Forest	21.9	21	45.2	44.0	8	38%	5%	64%	+3.7
24	Patrick Rea	James Madison	22.2	32	43.2	40.3	18	56%	6%	30%	+5.3
25	Tyler White	Texas A&M	22.3	25	49.5	45.8	7	29%	13%	33%	+11.5
26	Wade McSparron	SMU	22.3	15	44.2	39.5	7	47%	7%	45%	−0.2
27	Bailey Ettridge	Oregon	22.3	24	46.9	46.0	9	38%	4%	53%	+8.0
28	Will Duncan	Air Force	22.4	15	46.1	40.7	7	47%	7%	38%	+2.4
29	Michael Kern	New Mexico	22.5	17	40.1	38.5	9	53%	6%	60%	+2.1
30	Nathan Tiyce	Penn State	22.5	31	41.1	37.4	11	35%	13%	54%	−3.8
31	Jimmy Gregg	Syracuse	22.6	17	42.2	39.6	6	35%	6%	67%	−0.3
32	Curtis Gerrand	UCLA	22.7	23	45.2	39.6	11	50%	5%	35%	+0.3
33	Bart Edmiston	Wyoming	23.0	27	48.0	40.9	11	41%	15%	42%	+8.2
34	Ryan Millmore	Western Michigan	23.1	27	43.7	40.4	12	44%	7%	36%	+2.7
35	Markus Meincke	Toledo	23.2	22	42.0	40.5	9	41%	0%	58%	+0.4
36	Hamish Adams	Sacramento State	23.2	35	41.1	40.9	16	47%	0%	78%	+2.0
37	Magnus Haines	Ohio	23.3	18	43.3	39.1	8	44%	6%	50%	+0.9
38	Cam Brown	Michigan	23.5	30	41.9	39.3	13	43%	7%	54%	+4.5
39	Daniel Hughes	Florida State	23.5	21	44.0	42.6	10	48%	0%	33%	+4.5
40	Tyler Ebel	Vanderbilt	23.5	27	47.0	39.7	11	41%	8%	15%	−3.2
41	Palmer Williams	Baylor	24.0	22	51.4	43.5	7	32%	32%	47%	+5.2
42	Jake Stoeckel	Kent State	24.0	30	42.8	39.6	12	40%	7%	41%	+0.8
43	Matt Choules	UNLV	24.1	30	42.3	38.5	15	50%	7%	50%	+0.5
44	Damon Greaves	Colorado	24.2	29	45.3	37.9	13	45%	7%	22%	−3.0
45	Billy Gowers	Indiana	24.4	20	38.5	36.9	11	55%	0%	61%	+1.7
46	Josh Cupitt	Delaware	24.6	34	42.0	39.7	17	50%	0%	52%	+1.8
47	Kade Reynoldson	Duke	24.7	26	45.9	39.7	13	48%	12%	11%	+3.1
48	Daniel Sparks	Virginia	24.7	36	51.1	43.7	16	44%	6%	30%	+0.9
49	Hudson Kaak	Auburn	24.9	27	40.3	39.4	14	52%	0%	55%	+2.1
50	Archie Wilson	Nebraska	25.0	26	44.2	42.3	10	38%	8%	50%	+2.9
51	Cooper Heimbach	Marshall	25.1	29	46.0	39.7	11	39%	7%	33%	+0.8
52	Drew Miller	Georgia	25.2	19	46.1	38.7	7	37%	32%	35%	+1.1
53	Conor Donaghy	Jacksonville State	25.3	16	47.3	45.9	9	56%	0%	55%	+7.1
54	Cal Joseph	Sam Houston	25.3	45	44.2	39.9	18	40%	9%	55%	+1.8
55	Angus Davies	California	25.3	32	41.0	37.6	11	35%	3%	44%	−5.5
56	Jack Smith	Clemson	25.4	30	38.6	37.6	13	43%	0%	70%	−2.2
57	William Hudlow	Tulane	25.5	32	46.9	43.5	11	34%	16%	43%	+10.2
58	Dylan Drennan	Purdue	25.5	20	47.0	43.8	7	35%	5%	40%	+4.1
59	Fuller Shurtz	BYU	25.6	18	44.4	44.2	5	28%	0%	92%	+7.9
60	Alec Clark	Florida	25.6	22	47.4	42.1	12	55%	5%	56%	+1.8
61	Nathan Totten	Virginia Tech	25.6	24	41.4	35.3	9	39%	9%	29%	−5.8
62	Dante Atton	Temple	25.7	23	42.5	40.8	9	39%	0%	47%	+1.1
63	Edward Phillipson	Massachusetts	25.7	32	45.1	38.1	12	34%	6%	56%	−1.0
64	Matt McKenzie	Kennesaw State	25.8	30	44.3	39.8	11	38%	3%	48%	−0.2
65	Aaron Bickerton	North Dakota State	25.8	24	45.5	37.9	9	38%	13%	22%	−1.0
66	Jackson Smith	Western Kentucky	25.9	39	43.7	38.7	9	23%	10%	29%	+0.7
67	Gehrig Heil	Hawai'i	26.0	35	43.4	40.3	16	46%	3%	37%	+3.7
68	Ethan Stumpf	Buffalo	26.0	44	45.5	38.9	13	30%	14%	30%	+1.2
69	Mason Love	South Carolina	26.2	18	42.7	42.1	5	28%	0%	44%	+0.3
70	Brody Richter	New Mexico State	26.2	26	40.3	38.4	10	37%	0%	60%	−1.9
71	Jaxson Dunn	App State	26.2	35	41.9	40.4	12	34%	3%	32%	+3.9
72	Jackson Waller	NC State	26.3	26	42.0	40.9	10	38%	4%	69%	+1.9
73	Ian Kelly	Charlotte	26.5	26	45.0	39.4	10	38%	4%	50%	−5.9
74	Tommy Warner	UConn	26.5	27	41.3	41.4	10	40%	4%	63%	+5.1
75	Bryan Hansen	West Virginia	26.5	28	42.9	40.0	10	36%	11%	60%	−0.6
76	Tashi Dorje	San Diego State	26.6	36	46.1	40.0	14	39%	6%	25%	+1.1
77	Felix Visser	Florida International	26.9	20	38.6	36.7	7	35%	5%	56%	−3.7
78	Daniel Hull	Eastern Michigan	27.0	32	44.1	39.7	11	33%	6%	38%	0.0
79	Harrison Tuck	Memphis	27.1	30	40.8	39.2	10	36%	0%	44%	−2.0
80	Gavin Rush	Arkansas	27.1	27	40.5	38.2	9	32%	0%	74%	−4.5
81	Ewan Baulch	Nevada	27.1	19	42.6	39.9	5	26%	5%	71%	+4.3
82	Roland Podesta	Coastal Carolina	27.1	35	42.4	40.2	13	37%	9%	53%	+1.5
83	Ashton Logan	Middle Tennessee	27.2	34	49.2	38.4	12	35%	18%	21%	−1.3
84	Daniel Vuckovic	Arkansas State	27.2	23	39.2	37.8	10	43%	4%	42%	−1.1
85	Evan Crenshaw	Troy	27.4	26	46.1	41.0	11	42%	8%	42%	−5.5
86	AJ Winsor	Oregon State	27.5	18	42.7	40.1	8	44%	0%	60%	+4.5
87	Oscar Bird	Ole Miss	27.5	18	46.8	43.5	7	39%	6%	44%	+6.0
88	Max Tulen	Tulsa	27.5	36	42.9	39.6	11	30%	6%	42%	−2.1
89	Oliver Straw	UAB	27.6	21	45.4	41.4	12	57%	0%	28%	+0.7
90	Jakob Anderson	Rutgers	27.7	15	45.9	43.2	4	27%	13%	50%	+3.7
91	Lexington Matthews	Louisiana Tech	27.7	19	44.7	40.0	7	37%	11%	22%	+1.4
92	Ethan Pulliam	Mississippi State	27.8	18	41.7	38.9	7	39%	11%	47%	+4.1
93	Thomas O'Hara	Kentucky	27.9	17	40.7	37.5	4	24%	6%	31%	−2.0
94	Trent Carrizosa	San José State	27.9	35	42.9	36.3	17	49%	9%	38%	−1.4
95	Atticus Bertrams	UCF	28.0	22	46.3	39.3	7	32%	18%	33%	+1.1
96	Nikola Dugandzic	Northwestern	28.0	19	38.8	35.3	7	37%	5%	50%	−3.9
97	Caile Hogan	UTSA	28.0	27	41.4	37.8	10	36%	4%	33%	−3.3
98	Aidan Flintoft	Stanford	28.0	43	43.0	40.6	13	30%	2%	66%	+3.4
99	Declan Duley	Central Michigan	28.1	32	43.9	37.2	11	34%	6%	31%	0.0
100	Aeron Burrell	North Carolina	28.3	21	42.8	36.8	10	48%	0%	24%	−2.2
101	Grant Chadwick	LSU	28.4	22	38.7	35.5	10	45%	0%	44%	−1.9
102	Hunter Green	Washington	28.4	33	47.9	42.1	10	31%	6%	33%	+3.9
103	Ryan Kingston	Bowling Green	28.5	33	40.1	32.7	11	32%	6%	24%	−9.7
104	Alex Bacchetta	Georgia Tech	28.5	21	43.3	37.0	7	32%	5%	39%	−1.3
105	Aleksi Pulkkinen	South Alabama	28.5	21	37.9	36.9	8	38%	0%	43%	−2.8
106	Max Dean	Washington State	28.5	40	43.4	38.2	12	32%	8%	23%	−5.9
107	Charlie Durkin	Rice	28.5	28	45.5	39.9	8	29%	7%	10%	−1.9
108	Tomas O'Halloran	East Carolina	28.8	29	46.9	42.9	11	38%	3%	52%	+4.9
109	Jacob Ulrich	Oklahoma	28.8	19	44.4	41.5	4	21%	5%	50%	+2.4
110	Bryce McFerson	Maryland	28.9	30	41.6	36.5	11	37%	0%	44%	−8.4
111	Mason Golding	Louisiana	28.9	28	40.1	34.5	14	50%	0%	40%	−10.4
112	Dusty Zimmer	Southern Miss	29.0	28	40.0	38.4	9	32%	0%	48%	+2.6
113	Mac Chiumento	Texas	29.3	24	43.0	38.9	8	33%	4%	55%	−4.7
114	Cole Stumbaugh	Ball State	29.3	33	43.2	36.7	12	36%	6%	33%	−3.6
115	Nathan Sutcliffe	Colorado State	29.4	21	42.9	37.4	5	25%	5%	17%	−3.6
116	Joseph Castle	Akron	29.6	32	41.6	35.8	12	36%	3%	44%	−8.3
117	Matthew Gill	Kansas	30.2	20	39.9	37.1	3	15%	5%	44%	−1.2
118	Oscar Doyle	Boise State	30.3	16	43.8	42.6	6	38%	6%	67%	+3.4
119	Stewart McDonald	Missouri State	30.6	23	41.2	36.0	7	30%	4%	41%	−3.6
120	Niall Hayes	Louisville	30.8	25	40.0	38.0	7	28%	4%	35%	−5.1
121	Ian Brandt	Old Dominion	31.9	35	42.3	36.0	6	17%	11%	40%	−12.2
122	Alex Smith	Georgia Southern	32.1	29	42.7	33.8	8	28%	10%	50%	−13.9
123	Nick McLarty	Arizona State	32.1	23	42.0	32.2	4	17%	13%	59%	−11.3
124	Dylan Joyce	Miami	32.7	16	44.6	36.8	5	31%	6%	60%	−0.7
125	Jake Ference	Northern Illinois	33.5	29	41.8	34.4	6	21%	11%	32%	−13.7
126	Bryce LaFollette	Boston College	33.9	23	41.0	31.1	2	9%	17%	24%	−9.2
127	Christian Teeter	Georgia State	34.3	15	43.5	34.5	6	40%	0%	22%	−7.7
128	Brady Braun	UTEP	34.6	32	40.7	35.3	9	28%	6%	15%	−11.7
129	Makenzie Ryan	UL Monroe	34.7	33	41.4	31.8	7	22%	3%	39%	−23.5
130	Jonah DuPont	Iowa State	34.8	22	44.4	39.2	4	19%	0%	33%	+0.8

All 2026 College punter rankings

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