From
his extraordinary high school accomplishments to the NFL's
All-Time Team, Ray Guy's unparalleled
career has provided him an unlimited resource of experiences
that will encourage and inspire. At every level of competition,
Ray developed his God-given ability through his work ethic,
passion for the game, and devotion to his team.
Beginning in a small town in southeastern Georgia, Ray
did more than pave a career - he pioneered one. Drafted
right out of high school to play professional baseball,
Ray chose to continue on his football career path at the
University of Southern Mississippi. That decision led
him to become the first punter in the history of college
football to be inducted in to the College Football
Hall of Fame.
Then in 1973, Oakland Raider Head Coach, John Madden and
his staff made a unanimous and historical decision. They
chose to make Ray the first punter ever selected in the
first round of the NFL Draft. It was a stroke of genius.
Ray never missed a game in a 14 year career and he never....never
had a punt returned for a touchdown. No one in the history
of football, has ever punted a ball as consistently high
and as consistently well. When Ray launched his booming
kicks, they often hung in the air for so long that the
NFL invented a new statistic known as "hang time"
to measure them.
Most importantly, Ray elevated his team. He constantly
sacrificed his punting average for hang time and placement
so his team could win the battle of field position. Invariably
the Raiders won three Super Bowls during his career. And
in 1992, Ray was accorded the honor of becoming the first
pure punter to be nominated for the NFL Hall of Fame.
Ray Guy can take any listener down the path that led to
his success. To this day he travels the entire US sharing
his experiences with thousands of athletes and teaching
them how to kick and punt footballs at the Ray Guy
Kicking Academy. He is constantly engaging with the
media through talk shows, interviews and public appearances.
You can see him each December during ESPN's nationally
televised college award show personally presenting the
award given to the best punter in college football –
the Ray Guy Award.
