Florida Football: Jeremy Crawshaw is a reminder punters are people too

Jeremy Crawshaw didn’t actually have a lot to do for Florida football last season. Thanks in part to Billy Napier’s philosophy to go for it on fourth down, combined with the offense for the Gators being able to put up points, Florida only punted an average of 2.9 times per game last season, tied for the 9th lowest in all of college football.

But when Crawshaw did punt, he was extremely effective, and the New South Wales, Australia native has garnered individual attention heading into the 2023 season.

Florida Football: Ray Guy Award Watch List

Last year, Crawshaw was third in the country in yards per punt with 47.9 yards. With Bryce Baringer leaving for the NFL and Caleb Junko only getting part-time work last year, Crawshaw is the most accomplished returning punter for the 2023 season.

As a result, he is on the preseason watch list for the Ray Guy Award, given to the most outstanding punter in the country at the end of the season.

After redshirting in 2020, Crawshaw took over the punting duties in 2021 and was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team. Last year he had 35 punts, with 13 punts over 50 yards and 12 fair catches.

He only had one punt go for a touchback last season.

Crawshaw is also having some fun with the moniker that most people don’t care about the punter unless they screw up and helped unveil a new t-shirt yesterday to remind people that punters are indeed a part of the team as well.

Obviously, the less that Crawshaw has to take the field for the Gators, the better. But one of the reasons his performance tended to go unappreciated last season was that no matter when he booted the ball, Patrick Toney’s defense was prone to give those yards right back.

If Austin Armstrong can fix the defense this season, Crawshaw might just be the hidden weapon to get the Gators over the hump this season.