Senior punter Daniel Hughes transferred from the New Mexico Lobos to play for Florida State in 2026. He's coming off a season in which he was an honorable mention All-Mountain West selection, which has landed him on the Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List.
The Ray Guy Award is presented to the nation's top FBS punter. It was first given to Kevin Stemke of the Wisconsin Badgers in 2000. No FSU punter has ever won the honor, but Alex Mastromanno finished as the runner-up in 2023 and 2024.
Hughes had a very good season for New Mexico in 2025. He averaged 45.4 yards per punt on 41 attempts with 13 punts landing inside the 20-yard line. Hughes also booted 13 punts over 50 yards last season.
Florida State has a few other players that are on preseason watch lists. Wide receiver Duce Robinson is on the Maxwell and Wuerffel Trophy Watch List, and kicker Gabe Panikowski is on the Groza Award Watch List.
𝗥𝗮𝘆 𝗚𝘂𝘆 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁
— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) August 14, 2026
The Ray Guy Award is presented by the Augusta Sports Council to the nation’s best punter
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This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: FSU punter Daniel Hughes named to Ray Guy Award Watch List