SAN ANTONIO — The preseason honors for UTSA continue to roll in, as Lucas Dean has been named to the Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List and Hunter Duplessis has earned a place on the preseason watch list for the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award.
Both Roadrunners were semifinalists for the respective awards last season after helping lead UTSA to a 7-5 record and the program's second bowl appearance.
Dean is one of 51 FBS players, including one of six from Conference USA, on the preseason watch list for the Ray Guy Award, which is awarded annually to the nation's top collegiate punter.
The reigning C-USA Special Teams Player of the Year and a first-team all-conference honoree, Dean earned second-team All-America accolades from the Sporting News and he was Phil Steele's fourth-team All-America punter after a record-setting campaign in 2020. The Australian shattered the program's single-season punting average record with a 46.0 mark, which led the league and ranked sixth nationally.
A first-team Dave Campbell's Texas Football All-Texas College selection and the 2021 C-USA Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year, he registered 27 punts that pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line, including 15 inside the 10 and seven inside the 5 during his sophomore season. Of his 57 total punts, 40 were not returned and he recorded 21 punts of 50-plus yards, including a career-best 67-yarder at FAU. He was named Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week after averaging 45.0 yards on six punts with five inside the 20 and three of 50-plus yards against UAB.
The complete list of Ray Guy Award candidates will grow during the season and then be released on Nov. 2. In mid-November, the Ray Guy Award committee will meet to select the 10 semifinalists, who will be announced on Nov. 10. A national body of sports information directors, media representatives and previous Ray Guy Award winners will then vote for the top three finalists to be announced on Nov. 23. After the finalists are named, the voting body will cast ballots again to select the nation's top punter. The winner will be announced live during The Home Depot College Football Awards airing on ESPN on Dec. 9.
The Augusta Sports Council created the Ray Guy Award in 2000 to honor Thomson, Georgia, native and College and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Ray Guy. Among the statistics used to identify the winner is net punting average, number of times punt is downed or kicked out of bounds inside the opponents 20-yard line, total yardage punted, average returned yardage and percentage of punts not returned with particular emphasis placed on net punting average. The winner must display team leadership, self-discipline and have a positive impact on the team's success.
Meanwhile, Duplessis is one of 30 FBS players, including one of four from C-USA, on the preseason watch list for the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, which is awarded annually to the nation's top kicker.
An honorable mention All-American by Phil Steele and a first-team all-conference selection in 2020, Duplessis made 17 of 20 field goals and 40 of 41 extra points, marks that rank second on the school's single-season list. The San Antonio Cole High School product ranked ninth nationally in field goals made, 21st in field-goal percentage (.850) and 25th in field goals per game (1.42), and he scored a UTSA-record 91 points, good for second in C-USA.
Duplessis owned an FBS-best consecutive field goals made streak for five weeks until it was snapped at 23 in the win over Louisiana Tech. He was named C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week after making three field goals, including the game winner from 29 yards in the second overtime of the 51-48 win over Texas State, and he also went 3 for 3, including a 35-yarder in the fourth that proved to be the difference in the 37-35 win over Middle Tennessee.
Also a standout in the classroom, Duplessis was a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-District choice and a C-USA All-Academic Team selection.
Twenty semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award will be named on Nov. 4. A panel of more than 100 FBS head coaches, SIDs, media members, former Groza finalists and current NFL kickers selects the top three finalists for the award, announced on Nov. 23. That same group then selects the national winner, who will be unveiled on Dec. 9 during the The Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN.
The 30th Annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, presented by the Orange Bowl Committee, recognizes the three finalists during a celebration in Palm Beach County, culminating with a gala awards banquet at West Palm Beach's Kravis Center for the Performing Arts on Dec. 6.
The Award is named for National Football League Hall of Fame kicker Lou "The Toe" Groza, who played 21 seasons with the Cleveland Browns. Groza won four NFL championships with Cleveland and was named NFL Player of the Year in 1954. Although an All-Pro offensive lineman as well, Groza ushered in the notion that there should be a place on an NFL roster for a kicker.
For more information on the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award and to see the "Stars of the Week" throughout the season, please go to www.lougrozaaward.com. For even more updates on the best kicking performances throughout the season, follow @LouGrozaAward on Twitter.
The Lou Groza and Ray Guy Awards are members of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org and @NCFAA on Twitter to learn more about the association.
Season tickets for UTSA's 2021 home schedule are on sale now. Please call or text 210-458-UTSA (8872) or click here. Payment plans for all season ticket packages are available.
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