UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State punter/placekicker Anthony Fera (Cypress, Texas) has been selected to the list of candidates for the Ray Guy Award, presented to the nation’s top punter.
On Oct. 28, Fera also was named one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-kicker Award. Fera, Nebraska’s Brett Maher and Oklahoma State’s Quinn Sharp are the nation’s only players who are Ray Guy Award candidates and semifinalists for the Lou Groza Place-kicker Award. The Cornhuskers visit Happy Valley on Nov. 12.
Fera was selected Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week twice in October after significant contributions in Penn State conference wins over Indiana and Purdue.
The Augusta Sports Council created the Ray Guy Award in 2000 to honor College Football Hall of Fame inductee, Ray Guy.
A redshirt sophomore, Fera is in his second year as the Nittany Lions’ punter and took over the placekicking duties six games ago for No. 16/15 Penn State (8-1, 5-0). He ranks in the top five in a trio of Big Ten categories, including fourth in punting with a 42.1 average on his 39 punts. Fera has landed 11 punts inside the 20-yard-line and has a long of punt of 69 yards.
In his first year as the Nittany Lions’ placekicker, Fera leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage. In his six games since taking over the field goal duties, he has connected on 12-of-14 attempts (85.7), with a career long of 40 yards, and has made all 13 of his PAT attempts. Fera is tied for second in the Big Ten in field goals made per game (1.50 fgpg), leads the Nittany Lions in scoring with 49 points and is averaging 65.4 yards on kickoffs, with nine touchbacks.
A prep All-American at St. Pius X, Fera is the first Nittany Lion since Chris Bahr in 1975 to be the starter for field goals, kick offs and punts.
The list of Ray Guy Award candidates will be narrowed to 10 semifinalists to be announced on November 11. Following the semi-finalists announcement, a national body of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sports information directors, coaches, media representatives, and previous Ray Guy Award winners will vote for the top three finalists, who will be announced on Nov. 21.
The presentation of the Ray Guy Award will be featured on The Home Depot College Football Awards live on Thursday, Dec. 8 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Penn State is idle this week and hosts No. 9 Nebraska (7-1, 3-1) in a huge Big Ten clash on Nov. 12. The kick time and TV are to be announced. The Cornhuskers host Northwestern Saturday before traveling to Beaver Stadium for the sold out Senior Day clash. Penn State and Nebraska will play annually as protected cross division rivals.