Sept. 5, 2011
2011 College Football National Performers of the Week (Sept. 5, 2011)
Bronx, N.Y. -
Fordham University junior punter Patrick Murray (Ramsey, N.J./Don Bosco Prep) was honored by the College Football Performance Awards by being named the NCAA FCS Punter of the Week it was announced today. This is the third College Football Performance Award garnered by Murray over the past two years.
In Fordham's season-opener at Connecticut, a 35-3 loss, Murray punted five times for 249 yards, an average of 49.8 yards/punt, currently tops in the NCAA FCS. His long was a 63-yarder and one of his five punts was downed inside the UConn 20.
Murray also handled the place kicking duties for the Rams on Saturday, connecting on his lone field goal attempt, a 28-yarder.
Earlier this summer, Murray was named to the 2011 College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) Punter Award Watch List.
Murray handled just about all of the kicking duties for the Rams last fall, including placekicking, punting and kickoffs. He led the Patriot League and was 38th in the NCAA in punting, averaging 39.3 yards/kick. He punted 49 times for 1,928 yards and landed 20 of his 49 punts inside the opponent's 20 and had ten punts of 50-yards or longer.
As a placekicker, Murray connected on 12 of his 21 field goal attempts, with a long of 48 yards - the third longest field goal in Fordham history. He also converted 22 of his 24 PATs. Murray was second in the Patriot League and tied for 39th in the NCAA FCS in field goals/game (1.09) and led the team and was third in the Patriot League in scoring with 58 points (5.3 points/game).
A 2009 First Team All-Patriot League selection (the Rams were not eligible for All-Patriot League awards last year), Murray led the Patriot League and ranked tenth in the NCAA FCS with a 41.9 yards/punt average, the fourth best single season average in Fordham history. He had eight punts that traveled more than 50 yards and seven that landed inside the opponent's 20.
The Rams will open their home schedule on Saturday, September 17th, as they host the Columbia University Lions on Jack Coffey Field at 1:00 p.m. in the annual Liberty Cup game. The contest will also be Fordham's 2011 Homecoming game.
