South Alabama punter Jack Brooks was named to the Ray Guy Award preseason watch list, which honors the nation's top collegiate punter in the FBS, as announced by the Augusta Sports Council.
The 48 candidates on the list incorporate a broad spectrum of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) punters. The 2022 watch list was compiled based on the 2021 Ray Guy Award Semifinalist List, the top 10 NCAA Punters from 2021, the 2021 all-conference teams, the 2021 All-American teams, the 2022 preseason all-conference teams and eligible punters on the 2021 watch list.
Players will be added to the list throughout the fall and a complete list of candidates will be released on Nov. 2. In mid-November, the Ray Guy Award committee will meet to select the 10 semifinalists, who will be announced on Nov. 8. A national body of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sports information directors, media representatives and previous Ray Guy Award winners will then vote for the top three finalists to be announced on Nov. 18. After the finalists are named, the voting body will cast ballots again to select the nation's top punter, and the winner will be announced live during The Home Depot College Football Awards airing on ESPN in December 2022.
Brooks earned honorable mention all-Sun Belt Conference recognition after averaging a career-high 43.2 yards per punt, the third-highest mark on South's season record list, last fall. He was also named first-team all-conference by Pro Football Focus, while receiving fourth-team all-league accolades from Phil Steele Publications. The Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia, native had 13 kicks end inside the opposition's 20-yard line and 14 efforts of 50 or more yards. Brooks finished fourth in the league and was 39th in the nation in average yards per punt, and set a school game record with an average of 63 yards per kick in the season finale against Coastal Carolina.