Temple University Athletics
Jeff Wathne Named to Ray Guy Award Watch List
9.17.08 | Football
Sept. 17, 2008
AUGUSTA, Ga. - Temple sophomore Jeff Wathne (Ledgewood, N.J.) is one of 46 football players named to the watch list for the 2008 Ray Guy Award, presented annually to the nation's top collegiate punter, the Greater Augusta Sports Council announced.
"The award is becoming more competitive every year," said Ray Guy, the award's namesake. "And to me that means teams are placing a higher degree of importance on the role of the punter. It's a real honor to be associated with such a fine group of individuals who place more importance on the success of their team, than their own achievements."
The watch list will be narrowed to 10 semi-finalists in early-November. The national voting body will then vote for the top three finalists, and ultimately the winner. The top three finalists will be announced in late-November, and the winner of the Ray Guy Award, which is affiliated with the National College Football Awards Association, will be presented live on ESPN during the ESPNU-Home Depot College Football Awards Show on December 11, 2008.
Wathne handled Temple's punting and kickoff duties in 2007 as a true freshman. After three games this fall as a sophomore, Wathne has already shown tremendous improvement. In three games he has 14 punts for 610 yards (43.6 average), including a 52-yarder. He has one touchback and five of the 11 punts were inside the 20. His 316 punting yards and 45.1 average against Connecticut are career highs. His current 43.57 average ranks No. 20 nationally.
Off the field, Wathne is heavily involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. During his only week off over the summer, he volunteered at a children's camp.
Additionally, Wathne has been involved with several community service events in Philadelphia. The Criminal justice major spoke to 150 youths at the AWANA Church of Open Door along with TU alum Don Bitterlich, he assisted in the team's Bone Marrow Donor Drive (setting a national record for potential donors signed up by a collegiate team), he helped in the city's Diamond Street Clean-up efforts, and he spoke to the Temple University "Engineers of Tomorrow" group.
Temple travels to No. 16/15 Penn State on Saturday, Sept. 20 for a Noon game at Beaver Stadium. The game will be televised live nationally by the Big Ten Network.
About the Ray Guy Award
The Greater Augusta Sports Council created the Ray Guy Award to honor Thomson, Georgia-native and College Football Hall of Fame inductee Ray Guy, arguably the greatest punter to play football. The award was first presented in 2000.
The Ray Guy Award is determined by a national selection committee made up of sports writers, college football coaches, sports information directors, and past Ray Guy Award winners. Among the statistics used to identify the Ray Guy Award winner are total yardage punted, number of times a punt is downed or kicked out of bounds inside the opponents 20-yard line, net average, average returned yardage, and percentage of punts not returned.
It is also of importance for the award winner to display team leadership, self-discipline, and to have a positive impact on the team's success.
About the Greater Augusta Sports Council
The Greater Augusta Sports Council (GASC) is a 501-c-3 not-for-profit organization established in 1992 to market the Augusta-area as a major amateur sports destination. Annually, the organization attracts, supports, and creates numerous competitions and activities, at all levels of participation.
