Virginia Tech punter A.J. Hughes has been named a candidate for the Ray Guy Award today per this Virginia Tech football tweet:
A.J. Hughes named a candidate for Ray Guy Award, given to nation's top punter … Soph leads the #ACC in avg; 8th in the country
— VT Football (@VT_Football) October 25, 2013
Hughes, as the tweet mentions, is having a stellar season, averaging 45.3 yards per punt on 43 punts. Also, as we said in our Duke Game Guide:
"A.J. Hughes leads all ACC punters with the most punts inside the 20 (13) and of the 50+ yard variety (15)."
As a freshman, Hughes averaged 40.6 yards per punt on 79 punts, shoring up what had been a problem area for the Hokies in 2011, including an 11-punt, 464-yard effort in the Russell Athletic Bowl against Rutgers that earned him a spot on USA Today and ESPN's all-bowl teams.
Hughes was not named to the pre-season watch list for the award, which included 25 candidates. For more on the award and how a winner is chosen, as well as timelines for the narrowing down of candidates, visit the Ray Guy Award's official website.
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