This season, Austin Rehkow has punted the ball over a mile — literally. In 42 punts, the sophomore from Spokane’s Central Valley High School has accumulated 2,007 yards. With that total, he currently leads the nation in punting average with 47.8 yards per punt.
With those numbers it’s no surprise Rehkow is one of the three finalists for the Ray Guy Award, which is given annually to the nation’s top collegiate punter.
Idaho coach Paul Petrino said Rehkow is worthy and deserves the award.
“Austin has done an excellent job of continuing to improve his skills as a punter,” he said. “He does a great job of placing his punts to help us control field position. He is consistent and dependable.”
The other two finalists are Alabama’s JK Scott and Utah’s Tom Hackett.
Scott’s 46.8 yards per punt (43 punts for 2,014 yards), is good for second in the nation in punting average. Hackett is right behind him with an average of 46.5, but has punted the ball 73 times for 3,396 — almost two miles.
The winner will be announced Dec. 11, on the Home Depot College Football Awards Show, which is televised on ESPN from Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Last year, Memphis punter Tom Hornsey won the award. With 62 punts for 2,800 yards, he finished with an average of 45.2 yards per punt. Hornsey also had a long of 79 yards.
This season against Georgia State, Rehkow had a punt of 73 yards, which was a career-best for him. For good measure, Rehkow also blasted a 69-yard punt against Arkansas State — both of which are in the top-25 for longest punt this season. Out of his 42 punts, 18 have been 50 yards or longer.
Along with the strong leg, Rehkow has also displayed an accurate leg with 15 punts downed inside the 20-yard line.
As a freshman last season, Rehkow earned a spot on the 2013 Walter Camp All-American Team. He also took over the top-spot in Idaho’s record book with his 47.8 yards per punt average, which was also the NCAA freshman record.