Syracuse Football: Sterling Hofrichter named to Freshman All-America First Team

Syracuse punter Sterling Hofrichter was named to the CampusInsiders.com Freshman All-America First Team on Wednesday, SU Athletics announced.

The award is the third honor for the Orange punter. Hofrichter was previously named to the All-ACC Third Team by the conference’s coaches and was named as an All-ACC Honorable Mention by the media.

After being tasked with replacing former Syracuse legend Riley Dixon, Hofrichter got off to a rocky start this season, shanking a number of punts in his first few games. However, the big-legged punter eventually found his rhythm and became one of the cornerstones of a modestly-successful Orange special teams unit.

Hofrichter averaged 42.7 yards per punt this season, including a long of 65 yards. The redshirt-freshman led the ACC in both number of punts, 77, and total yards, 3,289. His 23 punts of 50 or more yards are tied for most in the ACC and his 24 punts inside the 20-yard line are second-most in the conference.

Hofrichter is the fifth Syracuse player in the last three years to be recognized by CampusInsiders, and the first to earn first-team Freshman All-America honors, according to SU Athletics.