Oct. 20, 2003

WACO, Texas - Baylor freshman punter Daniel Sepulveda has been added to the Ray Guy Award Watch List, the Augusta [Ga.] Sports Council announced Monday. Sepulveda joins 37 other punters vying for the award which annually honors the nation's top punter.

Unknown outside of Baylor's camp at the beginning of the season, Sepulveda leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks ninth nationally with 45.3 yards per punt. In 49 punts, Sepulveda has tallied 2,221 yards with 14 punts of 50-plus yards and two punts of 60-plus yards. He has also placed 13 punts inside the 20 with three punts inside the five and two coffins. Sepulveda's average is just off the school record of 46.35, established by Ty Atteberry in 1996.

Last week against Kansas, Sepulveda had punts of 60 and 61 yards, the last of which was a career long. He became the first Baylor punter with a kick of 60-plus yards since Kyle Atteberry's 61-yarder against at Kansas State in 1999. Sepulveda's punting has made Baylor the Big 12's top-ranked punting team in terms of net yards per punt. The Bears average 40.1 yards per punt, 13th nationally.

Sepulveda has also caught the eye of Matt Hayes, a columnist for The Sporting News. In the publication's latest issue, Sepulveda was selected as the punter for Hayes' Dream Team, a collection of difference-makers this season.

Baylor special teams coach Mark Nelson is no stranger to having a punter considered for the Ray Guy Award. Last season, Nelson's punter at Kentucky, Glen Pakulak, was a finalist along with Tennessee's Dustin Colquitt and winner Mark Mariscal of Colorado.

Sepulveda joins Florida's Eric Wilbur as the only freshmen on the 38-man watch list, which will be pared to 10 semifinalists in early November.