AUGUSTA, Ga. – James Madison redshirt junior punter Ryan Hanson has been selected to the preseason watch list for the 2023 Ray Guy Award, the Augusta Sports Council announced on Wednesday morning.

Created in 2000, the Ray Guy Award honors the nation’s top collegiate punter in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and Hanson becomes JMU’s first watch-list nominee for the accolade. Hanson is one of 50 candidates to make the initial list.

Hanson, a transfer from Arkansas State, was a 2021 Third Team All-Sun Belt punter. Last season, he averaged 43.7 yards per punt on his 48 attempts. For his career, he averages 43.1 yards per punt and has 30 kicks over 50 yards, including a career-long 73-yarder versus Texas State in 2021.

He is one of three Sun Belt Conference punters honored, joining Old Dominion’s Ethan Duane and Texas State’s Seamus O’Kelly.

The Ray Guy Award committee will select 10 semifinalists in mid-November, and a national body of voters will name three finalists toward the end of the regular season. The nation’s top punter and winner of the 2023 Ray Guy Award will be unveiled in December during The Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN.

— JMU Athletics —