Andy Lee Named a Ray Guy Award Semifinalist
11/12/2003
The senior from South Carolina ranks among the nation's elite specialists.
University of Pittsburgh punter Andy Lee, who ranks among the country?s elite specialists, has been named one of 10 semifinalists for this year?s Ray Guy Award, annually presented to the top punter in college football.
Lee (Westminster, S.C./West-Oak) becomes Pittsburgh?s first-ever semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award. He leads the Big East Conference and ranks 11th nationally with a 44.8-yard punting average. Lee has 16 punts of 50-plus yards and 19 downed inside the 20 this season.
The senior is a heavy favorite to repeat as Big East Special Teams Player of the Year. He became the first Panthers player to earn the award last season and additionally was the first Pittsburgh punter to earn first team All-Big East.
Lee is finishing the 2003 season in a flurry, earning back-to-back Big East Special Teams Player of the Week honors on Oct. 27 and Nov. 3.
In the Panthers? 34-14 victory over Syracuse Oct. 25, he averaged 49.5 yards on six punts. He had four punts downed inside the 20, including one inside the 10-yard line and one on the 1-yard line. Three of his punts were 50 or more yards, with a long of 57.
A week later, Lee helped Pittsburgh defeat Boston College, 24-13, by averaging 45.2 yards on five punts. He placed two inside the 20, including one at the BC 8. Lee had a long of 61 yards, his second-longest punt of the year.
Pittsburgh is 7-2 overall and in first place in the Big East Conference with a 4-0 league mark. Ranked No. 16 by both major polls this week, the Panthers play at rival West Virginia (5-4, 3-1) Saturday, Nov. 15 in the 96th renewal of the ?Backyard Brawl.? The game will be nationally televised by ESPN2 and kick off at 7 p.m.
