Iowa Hawkeyes’ Punter Tory Taylor Caps off Historical Season as 1st Hawkeye to Secure Ray Guy Award

Taylor’s name won’t only go down in the Iowa history books as his 46.2 yard career average is the best mark in the history of the Big Ten. This career average will set the record for punters with 250 career attempts if he keeps pace in the Citrus Bowl.

Taylor beat out fellow punters Matthew Hayball of the Vanderbilt Commodores and Alex Mastromanno of the Florida State Seminoles. Before winning this award, Taylor was already named the Big Ten Punter of the Year for the second time in his career. In an article from The Gazette, Taylor gives credit to the rest of the special teams unit.

“I know I’m the one that is going to receive the award from an individual standpoint, but there’s a lot more that goes into it,” Taylor said. “(Long snapper) Luke Elkin, who’s sitting behind me — he deserves this just as much as me, as well as the other guys on the punt unit.”

Tory Taylor Helped the Iowa Hawkeyes Win Football Games

The field position battle is a prominent aspect of any Kirk Ferentz coached football team. It is said that you need two of three things to win a football game: offense, defense and special teams. The Hawkeyes had one of the best defenses in the nation and their defensive coordinator Phil Parker has a Broyles Award (best assistant coach) to prove it.

Iowa had one of the worst offenses in the country, and that is where Taylor comes in. Taylor punted an FBS-high 86 times, and of those 86 punts 30 ended up inside the 20, 12 ended up inside the 10 and six were downed inside the five. Taylor’s ability to pin opposing offenses deep in their own territory played a large role in the Hawkeyes’ 10 wins this season.

When it was all said and done, the Hawkeyes had 1,000 more yards punting then they did on total offense. Taylor’s 4,119 yards punting set a school record for most punting yards in a season, and it was the third time in a row taylor set that record. The Hawkeyes finished dead last in total offense, yet they finished first in the nation in punting.

Iowa Hawkeyes’ Tory Taylor Made Punting Popular in Iowa City

With not much to hang their hat on when the Iowa Hawkeyes have the ball, fans have gravitated to the masterful punting of Tory Taylor. So much so, that the phrase “punting is winning” is something that Hawkeye fans repeat ad nauseum.

Taylor will have the chance to break the all-time record for single-season punting yards at the Citrus Bowl. Taylor needs just 19 yards to break Michigan State punter Johnny Pingel’s record of 4,138 yards in a season. The Hawkeyes will take on the Tennessee Volunteers in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day at 1 p.m.

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