Sept. 18, 2008

HOUSTON, Texas - Joining his specialist mate, junior Ben Bell, University of Houston junior punter Chase Turner on Thursday was named to the Ray Guy Award Watch List, as announced by the Greater Augusta Sports Council in Augusta, Ga. The award is given to the nation's top collegiate punter.

Turner joins Bell (Lou Groza Award), center Carl Barnett (Rimington Trophy) and defensive end Phillip Hunt (Nagurski Award, Lombardi Trophy and Hendricks Award) as Cougars named to preseason and early season watch lists.

An honorable mention, All-Conference USA selection by the head coaches in 2007, Turner currently averages 43.7 yards per punt with three inside the 20-yard line and three over 50 yards. Last season, Turner posted a 42.7-yard average on 45 punts, while placing six inside the 20-yard line. He had eight games last season where he averaged over 40 yard a punt, including two games with a 50-plus-yard average.

The watch list will be narrowed to ten 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.

The award's namesake, Ray Guy, arguably the greatest punter to play football, is excited about this year's prospects. "The award is becoming more competitive every year. 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 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. A national selection committee made up of sports writers, college football coaches, sports information directors, and past Ray Guy Award winners determines the Ray Guy Award. 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.

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.

The National College Football Awards Association was founded in 1997 as a coalition of major collegiate football awards. The purpose of the NCFAA is to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of college football's various awards. The NCFAA also encourages professionalism and the highest standards possible for administration of college football awards and the selection of their winners.

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