Alex Raynor Named SEC Special Teams Player of the Year

It was not a banner year for the Wildcats, but as Steve Spurrier might say, Kentucky did have one heck of a kicker. Alex Raynor has been selected as the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year by the league’s coaches.

A Kennesaw, GA native, he began his career at Georgia Southern. He caught Jay Boulware’s eye after hitting 18-20 kicks during the 2022 season. He was even better during his two seasons at Kentucky.

Raynor went 10-11 in 2023. This year he broke his previous school record by netting 93.8% of his field goals. He made his first 15 field goals of the season before missing an attempt on a botched operation at Texas. That snapped his school-record streak of 18 consecutive made field goals.

Raynor took care of all of the scoring for the Wildcats against top-ranked Georgia. He hit four field goals in a one-point loss, including a school-record 55-yarder. It was the first of two SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for the Kentucky kicker.

This offseason he’s already been named First-Team All-SEC by the league’s coaches. He is one of three finalists for the Lou Groza Award, given each year to the nation’s top kicker. The winner will be announced tomorrow night live on ESPN at the Home Depot College Football Awards.

As for the other awards, Dylan Sampson cleaned up as SEC Offensive Player of the Year, while Clark Lea was named Coach of the Year for Vanderbilt’s dramatic turnaround in 2024.

2024 SEC Football Individual Awards

Offensive Player of the Year
Dylan Sampson, Tennessee

Defensive Player of the Year 
Kyle Kennard, South Carolina

Special Teams Player of the Year
Alex Raynor, Kentucky

Freshman of the Year
LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina

Newcomer of the Year
Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt

Jacobs Blocking Trophy
Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas 
Will Campbell, LSU

Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Brady Cook, Missouri

Coach of the Year
Clark Lea, Vanderbilt

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