Jedd Fisch hopes that one of Washington's best players this season will see the field as little as possible. "I don't talk about punters very much, or the new punt rule, because I don't like to punt," Fisch told the media after Saturday's scrimmage. "I think we punted one of the least [often] in college football last year. I love our punters. We're booming it, and hopefully Hunter [Green] goes out there, and when we need him, we use him. But our goal is to punt the least amount in college football and convert the most amount on third down or first down in college football." Fisch's comments come one day after Green was named to the Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List, one of 21 punters and one of two punters from the Big Ten to make the list. (Maryland's Bryce McFerson was the other.) They also come eleven days after special teams coordinator Chris Petrilli said of Green: "He's phenomenal. He's an NFL talent. If he keeps his head down and grinds, he could have a real special story when this is all said and done. He's a phenomenal pro-style punter, big leg. I love his footwork. He's super dedicated to his craft, which I appreciate. I can ask a lot of him and he just kind of answers the bell. He's special."
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, who has said since arriving on Montlake that one of his goals is to win the Ray Guy, has comfortably looked like the better punter of the two between him and 2025 starter Luke Dunne in fall practices. Dunne is the starting holder, however, which has allowed Green to focus on punting and improving on metrics that already ranked near the top of national leaderboards last season when he was at San Diego State. Dunne attempted only 34 punts last season, tied for 121st-most in FBS last season, while Green was tied for 19th-most with 62. Ray Guy winner Brett Thorson at Georgia attempted 46, tied for 82nd-most. In other recent years, 2024 winner Eddie Czaplicki at USC attempted 43 punts, 2023 winner Tory Taylor at Iowa led FBS with 93 attempts, 2022 winner Adam Korsak at Rutgers attempted 75 (tied for fifth-most), and 2021 winner Matt Araiza at San Diego State tied for the FBS lead with 81 attempts. Nobody in the last decade has won the award with fewer attempts than Czaplicki, which would require Washington to punt, on average, 0.75 more times per regular season game to get Green to 43 attempts. But Fisch wants to punt less, not more, which puts Washington's team goals a bit at odds with Green's personal ones. Green told the media in the spring that his recognition as the Ray Guy winner would be a favorable outcome for the Huskies' overall fortunes as well, however. "[Wanting to win the award] sounds bad, because I feel like that's a personal goal and I don't want to just be focused on myself," Green said in April. "But if I'm pinning the team back, if I'm smoking the ball, hitting bombs, I'm putting the other team in bad position, which puts our team in even better position."
Petrilli's assertion that Green is an NFL talent is not an unfounded one, either. He was graded as the nation's top punter by NFL evaluators, sources with knowledge of those grades told Huskies Wire, with a borderline draftable grade, a rarity for a punter. That puts him in a relatively small club of players on Montlake expected to head to the NFL after this season, including offensive tackle Drew Azzopardi, safety Alex McLaughlin, linebacker Xe'ree Alexander, and cornerback Emmanuel Karnley. Those aren't necessarily the same players as Washington's best - guys like offensive lineman John Mills or linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale are not draft-eligible, and quarterback Demond Williams Jr. seems equally as likely to declare for the NFL draft or return in 2027 - but they are the ones that will draw NFL scouts to Montlake this season. Those scouts looking for special teams help may leave the Huskies' press box this season glad that they at least got a free meal, as the trip may have been wasted otherwise. Washington fans may wind up surprised when a little-used player hears his name called in late April as an NFL draft pick. But nobody in the building on Montlake will be stunned. Jedd Fisch just doesn't like to punt. This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington football's punter is an important weapon in 2026