UNC Football: Ben Kiernan Named to Ray Guy Award Watch List

The UNC football punter and three-year letter-winner was a standout at Wakefield High School and rated the No. 11 punter in the class of 2019.

With the first game of the year just a month away, the preseason accolades and nominations keep coming for members of the North Carolina football program.

For the second time in his career, rising senior Ben Kiernan has been named to the Ray Guy Award watch list. Each year, the Ray Guy Award is presented to college football’s best punter at the FBS level.

https://twitter.com/UNCFootball/status/1552293199414042624

Kiernan has been the starting punter for all 38 career games as a Tar Heel, recording action in 36 contests. The Australia native averaged 43.7 yards per punt for the second consecutive season, accumulating 1,966 punting yards as a junior.

Kiernan was successful in pinning and limiting opponents, forcing 17 fair catches and tallying just two touchbacks in 2021. He recorded the longest punt of his career against Clemson in 2019, a 63-yard kick in the Tar Heels’ near upset of the Tigers.

Opposing offenses have faced an uphill battle in the field position department, as Kiernan has landed 41 punts inside the opponents’ 20-yard line during his career.

The special teams standout is on the verge of setting multiple North Carolina football records this season. Kiernan is 46 punts away from the record for consecutive attempts (185) without a blocked punt and seven games away from breaking the record for most games averaging 40+ yards per punt (31).

As the rising senior leads the UNC football special teams unit, he looks to become just the fourth ACC recipient of the Ray Guy Award and the first from the University of North Carolina.

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