Michigan State's Bryce Baringer ripped off by Ray Guy voters, named Walter Camp All-American
East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State punter Bryce Baringer might have gotten snubbed, ripped off and robbed by the idiots who vote for the Ray Guy Award, but the Walter Camp Football Foundation got it right in selecting him as the first-team All-American at the punter position, Thursday night.
This is probably as good a time as any to start ignoring the postseason college football award shows because the dinks who decide those things must not watch football.
Baringer was named Big Ten Punter of the Year 10 days ago, but the Ray Guy Award voters chose second-team All-Big Ten punter Adam Korsak of Rutgers as the recipient of the Ray Guy Award.
The Ray Guy Award is apparently determined by a national selection committee of football writers, FBS college coaches, sports information directors and past Ray Guy Award winners.
According to the Ray Guy Award web site, nominees are evaluated on overall statistics with particular emphasis on net average, percentage of total punts inside the 20-yard line, and percentage of punts not returned.
Baringer was aces in all of those categories. Maybe the voters just don’t like guys who punt while wearing glasses.
Baringer, of Waterford, Mich. and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, leads the FBS in punting with a school-record 49.0-yard average, which is also the second-best single-season average in Big Ten history (Iowa’s Reggie Roby had a 49.8-yard average in 1981).
Michigan State also ranks No. 1 in the FBS in net punting (45.5-yard average) as Baringer had only four touchbacks this season while placing 22 of his 50 punts (44 percent) inside the 20, including eight inside the 10.
Baringer, a sixth-year senior, also had a Big Ten-best 24 punts of 50-plus yards (48 percent), including 10 of 60-plus yards.
Korsak does a good job with his rugby style punting, but Baringer is quite simply one of the top two punters in Big Ten history.
Baringer’s career punting average of 46.0 yards per punt (161 punts for 7,406 yards) is the best in Big Ten history (Reggie Roby of Iowa previously held the Big Ten career record with a 45.5 average from 1979-82).
Last season, Baringer set a school record with his 48.4-yard punting average, only to be eclipsed by this year’s 49.0-yard average.
Korsak ranked No. 8 in the Big Ten in punting with an average of 44.0 yards. You read that right. Even Mr. Magoo and three blind mice wouldn’t have gotten this one wrong, but the Ray Guy voters did.
Michigan State ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten in net punting at 45.5. Rutgers ranked No. 4 at 43.6.
Baringer was also named a first-team All-American earlier this week by CBS Sports.
Baringer is the sixth different Spartan punter to receive first-team All-America accolades and the first since the late Mike Sadler in 2013.
Baringer is preparing for the NFL Draft and has accepted an invite to the Reese’s Senior Bowl.
Past first-team Walter Camp All-American punters include:
2022 Bryce Baringer
2013 Mike Sadler
2004 Brandon Fields
1987 Greg Montgomery
1986 Greg Montgomery
1983 Ralf Mojsiejenko
1980 Ray Stachowicz
1979 Ray Stachowicz
