Nineteen punters from North Carolina college football teams averaged at least 40 yards per kick during the 2024 season.
None posted a better average than All-American Jeff Yurk from Elon. The competition wasn’t really close. The junior led the Old North State with an average of 47.9 yards per punt – 3.1 yards more than our statewide stat runner-up Juan Velarde of North Carolina Central.
Yurk, from Southern Pines (Pinecrest HS), finished as the FCS national leader in punting average. He was third-best among NCAA kickers from all divisions, edged out only by Florida State’s Alex Mastromanno (49.27) and Vanderbilt’s Jesse Mirco (48.04).
As you might expect, Yurk racked up on post-season awards. All-conference was only the start. The Walter Camp Football Foundation, the FCS Athletic Directors Association, the American Football Coaches Association, FCS Football Central, the Associated Press, Stats Perform and Phil Steele all named Yurk to their All-America teams. Only Phil Steele put him on the second team. He was first-team everywhere else.
Yurk didn’t just kick it long, he punted with precision. He put 19 of his 60 kicks inside the opponents’ 20, with only four reaching the end zone for touchbacks. His season long covered 72 yards against Albany. He had 26 kicks of 50 or more yards.
Yurk’s final punting average set a new Elon school record. For good measure, Yurk completed two of three pass attempts on fake punts during the season and made a tackle against North Carolina A&T.
Velarde had a strong year in special teams, in the classroom and in the community. In addition to finishing second in the state in punting average (44.8 yards per punt), Velarde won the prestigious Doris Robinson Award, which recognizes excellence in all three areas. The senior hails from Anderson, S.C. and played his high school football at T.L. Hanna.
Duke’s Kade Reynoldson earned Freshman All-America status from The Athletic after his stellar 2024 season. Reynoldson, from Australia, finished as the top FBS punter in our state in average (43.8 yards per kick). He also recorded the most punts in the Old North State – 75 across 13 games. His season long was 63 yards.
UNC Pembroke’s Seth Bowen led the D2 ranks in punting average (42.8 ypp), while North Carolina Wesleyan’s Braxtyn Green paced D3 punters (41.1 ypp).
Charlotte’s Michael O’Shaughnessy and Barton’s Andrew Bontekoe recorded the longest punts of the season among North Carolina teams. Each boomed 77-yarders. O’Shaughnessy also had a 73-yarder.
Here are the punting stat leaders across North Carolina football during the 2024 season. Keep scrolling for more Statewide Stat Leaders content:
2024 All-North Carolina Stat Leaders | Punting
| AVG | PLAYER (SCHOOL) | DIV | GAMES | PUNTS | YDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47.9 | Jeff Yurk (Elon) | FCS | 12 | 60 | 2871 |
| 44.8 | Juan Velarde (North Carolina Central) | FCS | 11 | 37 | 1658 |
| 43.8 | Kade Reynoldson (Duke) | FBS | 13 | 75 | 3285 |
| 43.6 | Caden Noonkester (NC State) | FBS | 13 | 47 | 2047 |
| 43.3 | Adam Zouagui (Davidson) | FCS | 11 | 33 | 1428 |
| 43.0 | Michael O'Shaughnessy (Charlotte) | FBS | 12 | 53 | 2281 |
| 43.0 | Ivan Mora (Wake Forest) | FBS | 12 | 52 | 2236 |
| 42.8 | Seth Bowen (UNC Pembroke) | D2 | 10 | 29 | 1242 |
| 41.9 | Devin Versteegen (Winston-Salem State) | D2 | 10 | 46 | 1929 |
| 41.9 | Stephen Brantley (Western Carolina) | FCS | 12 | 47 | 1967 |
| 41.8 | Nick Bigelow (Gardner-Webb) | FCS | 12 | 46 | 1922 |
| 41.4 | Conner Maynard (Appalachian State) | FBS | 11 | 29 | 1200 |
| 41.3 | Jack Brady (Campbell) | FCS | 12 | 48 | 1984 |
| 41.1 | Stewart Simmons (Lenoir-Rhyne) | D2 | 13 | 51 | 2097 |
| 41.1 | Tom Maginness (North Carolina) | FBS | 13 | 51 | 2097 |
| 41.1 | Braxtyn Green (NC Wesleyan) | D3 | 9 | 33 | 1357 |
| 41.0 | Andrew Bontekoe (Barton) | D2 | 11 | 48 | 1967 |
| 40.8 | Luke Larsen (East Carolina) | FBS | 13 | 52 | 2123 |
| 40.0 | Samuel Vargas (Brevard) | D3 | 8 | 24 | 960 |
| 39.7 | Christian Teeter (Wingate) | D2 | 11 | 44 | 1747 |
| 39.1 | Jacob Meneses (Johnson C. Smith) | D2 | 10 | 46 | 1797 |
| 38.6 | Darius Satterfield (Elizabeth City St) | D2 | 10 | 57 | 2201 |
| 38.0 | Hunter Bridges (Mars Hill) | D2 | 9 | 47 | 1787 |
| 37.6 | Kenneth Schoene (Methodist) | D3 | 10 | 55 | 2067 |
| 37.5 | DJ Page (North Carolina A&T) | FCS | 12 | 48 | 1801 |
| 36.6 | Nathan Roubik (Livingstone) | D2 | 10 | 46 | 1684 |
| 35.8 | Diego Coca-Hernandez (Shaw) | D2 | 10 | 41 | 1468 |
| 35.6 | Kylan Odean (Catawba) | D2 | 11 | 36 | 1281 |
| 35.6 | Xavier Chambers (Louisburg) | JUCO | 8 | 28 | 998 |
| 35.5 | Matthew Conord (Chowan) | D2 | 10 | 49 | 1739 |
| 35.4 | John Abernathy (Guilford) | D3 | 8 | 40 | 1415 |
| 34.1 | Josiah Boyd (Fayetteville State) | D2 | 9 | 49 | 1671 |
| 34.1 | Jesse Viens (Louisburg) | JUCO | 11 | 14 | 477 |
| 33.6 | Thomas Chapman (Greensboro) | D3 | 10 | 39 | 1309 |
| 33.4 | Raphael Louis (St. Andrews) | NAIA | 9 | 24 | 802 |
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