One of Sterling Hofricther’s biggest challenges for the Syracuse Orange this season was living up to the achievements of Riley Dixon. The former SU punter has already established himself as a standout with the NFL’s Denver Broncos, and his “Heisman campaign” is unlikely to be forgotten any time soon. Hofrichter, a redshirt freshman, not only had to contend with that, but a bit of a position change, too. Primarily a kicker in high school, he’s basically been learning on the job as a punter for Syracuse.
And yet, he’s proven himself good enough to be a candidate for the Ray Guy Award, given to college football’s best punter. On the year, Hofrichter is averaging 42.1 yards per punt on 49 tries, for a total of 2,063 yards. He’s placed 13 of those inside the 20, and has 13 punts of 50 or more yards. Hofrichter is second in the ACC in terms of punting average.
For Hofricther, he’s been put in position to punt more times than most of the nation’s punters, yet still excels. While SU has punted more than all but 11 teams, the Orange’s average is still among the top 50 in the country.
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The Augusta Sports Council will narrow the list to 10 semifinalists on November 11. That list will be narrowed even further (to three finalists) on November 22. The winner will be announced on December 8.