MANHATTAN, Kan. – Coming off a game in which he set a new career high in average, Kansas State punter Simon McClannan has been named to the Ray’s 8 list as one of the best eight punters of the week, the Ray Guy Award announced on Monday.
McClannan is now in the running for being named the Ray Guy Punter of the Week, which will be announced on Tuesday. It is the second time in as many seasons that McClannan has been named to the Ray’s 8 list, as he went on to earn Ray Guy Punter of the Week honors after the UCF game last season.
A native of Omaha, Nebraska, McClannan tallied a 53.3-yard average on three punts – including two that landed inside the 20-yard line – in K-State's 31-20 victory over Tulane. Due to McClannan’s execution, the Green Wave’s average starting field position after McClannan’s punts was the 13-yard line. His average against Tulane was the fifth-best nationally in a game this season (minimum 3 punts) and the best in the Big 12, while it was a new career high. His previous high in punting average was 51.3 yards in last year’s season-finale against Colorado.
Although McClannan did have one touchback against Tulane, it came on a career-long punt of 66 yards, which tied for K-State’s 12th-longest punt in the Big 12 era (since 1996) and was the longest by a Wildcat in three seasons.
McClannan enters this week’s game against Cincinnati ranked fifth in school history and 19th nationally among active players with a career punting average of 42.85 yards.
The Wildcats open Big 12 play at Cincinnati on Saturday in a 6 p.m. (CT) contest that will be shown on ESPN2.