Australians dominate American college football, up for Ray Guy Award

It seems like Australians are beating Americans at their own game! Three young Aussies have been shortlisted as the finalists for the Ray Guy Award - presented to the best young punter in American college football.

In American football, a punter is the player who punts (kicks) the ball to the opponent after receiving it from the line of scrimmage. The award, dedicated to former three-time Super Bowl champion Ray Guy, gives particular emphasis on the net average, the number of punts and percentage of punts inside the 20-yard line.

According to Fox Sports, this year marks the first time all three finalists for the award were born in Australia. The three youngsters, namely Michael Dickson (Texas), Cameron Johnston (Ohio State) and Mitch Wishnowsky (Utah), came through the ProKick Australia program which was started by former AFL player Nathan Chapman.

The Pro Kick program helps young players with a background in Aussie Rules football transition their skills to college football (and later the NFL) in the United States.

Four years in a row...

Incidentally, Australians have won the Ray Guy award for three consecutive years. After Tom Hornsey (Memphis) claimed the award in 2013, Tom Hackett (Utah) won it in 2014 and 2015.

The winner of this year's award would be announced at the The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 8 in Atlanta, Georgia. The award ceremony would air on ESPN.

The Augusta Sports Council, via its official website, released a statement on the criterion used to shortlist the finalists. “The finalists were selected by a national voting body of Football Bowling Subdivision (FBS) coaches, sports information directors, national media and former Ray Guy Award winners. The voters will cast a second round of ballots to decide the winner. The candidates were evaluated on their overall statistics and contribution to their team.

“Particular emphasis was placed on net average, percentage of punts inside the 20-yard line, percentage of punts not returned and number of punts," read the statement.