Photo by Dave Winder
Photo
by Dave Winder
Murray State punter Steve Dawson has been named to the inaugural FCS Punter of the Year Preseason Watchlist by the Augusta Sports Council.
The 2019 season will be the first for the FCS Punter of the Year Award which is presented by the Augusta Sports Council. Based in Augusta, Georgia, the council is also home to the Ray Guy Award, which honors the nation's top FBS punter each year.
The FCS Punter of the Year Preseason Watchlist was chosen based on 2018 All-Americans, 2018 All-Conference selections, and conference nominations. Players were reviewed based on their eligibility and inclusion on their team's 2019 roster.
For Dawson, the honor completes a whirlwind first 365 days playing American football for the Aussie, who until last August had never played American football or been to American. In a little under year, Dawson went from virtual unknown to first-team All-OVC to Freshman All-America to preseason All-OVC and now finally to being named as one of the 28 best punters in the FCS.
Dawson punted the ball 54 times in 2019 for an average of 42.1 yards per punt. Of his 54 punts, 16 pinned opponents inside their own 20 and a league-high 10 went for 50 yards or more. His season-long punt of 66 came during the season-finale at Austin Peay.
The winner of The FCS Punter of the Year award will be chosen in the process loosely outlined below:
End of July: Preseason watchlist released, award announced
to the public
End of November: Committee will choose top 10 semi-finalists
Early
December: Voting Body will choose top 3 finalists
Mid-December: Second Round
of voting will determine winner
Early January: Winner announced