The Washington Huskies' least surprising preseason accolade came to be Friday morning when senior punter Hunter Green found himself on the 2026 preseason Ray Guy Award watch list. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound transfer from San Diego State is one of 21 specialists to be named to the annual watch list. The Ray Guy Award, given each year to the best punter in college football since 2000, selects honorees by evaluating players based on both team and individual success, specifically net average, percentage of total punts inside the 20-yard line and percentage of punts not returned. Named after legendary Southern Mississippi graduate and three-time Super Bowl champion Ray Guy, the Huskies' first-year punter joined Maryland's Bryce McFerson as the lone two representatives from the Big Ten Conference on the list.
Congratulations to our 2026 Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List! 📰: https://t.co/JfAEhAwb0s Named for football's premier punter, the Ray Guy Award honors the nation's best punter in the FBS. #RayGuyAward | #RGA | @ncfaa | @ESPNCFBpic.twitter.com/WbJBqn0vXX — Ray Guy Award (@RayGuyAward) August 14, 2026 Green proved to be one of the best punters in the country last season for the Aztecs, finishing No. 6 in punt average (46.9 yards) and No. 13 in punt attempts (63) and earning second-team All-Mountain West honors. The fourth-year specialist, who spent the first three years of his career at Northern Colorado from 2022-24 after graduating from Lake Washington High School, will have steep competition for this year's award with two of the three semifinalists from 2025 returning in 2026 that were also named to the watch list, Troy fifth-year Evan Crenshaw and Baylor standout Palmer Williams. In his first full season at Northern Colorado in 2023, the son of ex-UW football player Phil Green--a member of the 1991 national championship team under the late coach Don James--excelled handling kickoffs, punts and even field goals for the FCS school to earned first-team All-Big Sky and FCS Freshman All-America honors. Green, who stated after transferring to UW from SDSU his goal is to etch his name on this year's Ray Guy Award, is the first Husky to be named to the award's preseason watch list since 2021 when Race Porter received the same honor. This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Football Punter Named to Preseason Ray Guy Award Watch List