Oklahoma Punter Michael Turk Lands Among Ray Guy Award Finalists

Oklahoma punter Michael Turk on Monday was named one of 10 semifinalists for the 2022 Ray Guy Award.

The award goes to the top punter in college football and is presented by the Augusta Sports Council.

Turk is a sixth-year senior from Dallas who began his college career at Lafayette, then spent three years at Arizona State. He’s in his second year at OU, where he’s handled all the punting duties over the last two seasons.

Turk leads the Big 12 and ranks No. 4 in the nation with a 46.5-yard average. Of his 57 punts this season, 19 have have been downed inside the 20-yard line, while 47 of his punts were not returned (82%). The 10 punts that were returned only averaged 3.0 yards per runback. He has 18 50-yarders, including season-longs of 63 and 67 in Saturday’s 28-13 win over Oklahoma State.

Despite playing in just 22 games at OU, Turk is tied with Jack Jacobs for second in program history with 14 punts of 60 yards or more. (Tress Way holds the record of 16.)

Turk has punted 92 times as a Sooner for 4,442 yards (48.3 average). He set the single-season OU record last year when he averaged 51.2 yards per punt, smashing the previous record of 47.8 set by Jacobs in 1940.

Turk also became engaged after Saturday's win when OU softball shortstop Grace Lyons accepted his proposal on the field following the game.