Erin Kido Deputy Athletic Director for Internal Operations/SWA | Eastern Michigan Athletics Website
Erin Kido Deputy Athletic Director for Internal Operations/SWA | Eastern Michigan Athletics Website
Eastern Michigan University senior punter Mitchell Tomasek has been named to the Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List for the second time in his career. The announcement was made by the Augusta Sports Council on Friday, August 2. The award honors the nation's top collegiate punter in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
Tomasek is one of three Mid-American Conference players named to the 33-man list.
Entering the 2024 season, Tomasek has established himself as one of Eastern Michigan's standout punters. With a career average of 45.0 yards per punt, he holds the top spot in EMU history and ranks 11th overall with a total of 5,219 yards. In 2023, Tomasek was named First Team All-MAC for the second consecutive year and received the EMU Special Teams MVP Award. His season included punting 67 times for 3,060 yards, averaging 45.7 yards per punt—the second-best in program history. Nearly one-third of his punts exceeded 50 yards, with 24 landing inside the 20-yard line. Tomasek's performance earned him recognition as MAC Special Teams Player of the Week three times and made him one of just three players nationally to record two punts over 70 yards in 2023.
The watch list includes candidates based on several criteria: last year's Ray Guy Award Semifinalist List, top NCAA Punters from last year, all-conference teams from last year and this preseason, all-American teams from last year, and eligible punters from last year's watchlist.
Nominations will open on August 3, expanding the pool of eligible candidates for this season. The complete list will be released on November 6. In mid-November, ten semifinalists will be selected and announced on November 15 by a committee comprising FBS sports information directors, media representatives, and previous Ray Guy Award winners. They will then vote for three finalists to be announced on November 26. Afterward, ballots will be cast again to select the nation's top punter who will be announced during The Home Depot College Football Awards airing live on ESPN in December.
Sixteen NCFAA members are unveiling preseason watch lists over a period of fifteen days as part of an effort to promote each award's preseason candidates.
For more information about NCFAA and its college football awards visit NCFAA.org or follow them on Twitter @NCFAA.
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