Following a win Saturday in which Houston dominated Rice in all three facets of the game, American Athletic Conference officials announced Monday that one Cougar has earned all-conference honors for week two.
Sophomore punter Dane Roy was awarded AAC Special Teams Player of the Week for the second time in his young career after punting just three times against the Owls. Roy’s punts sailed 40 yards on average with all three pinning Rice inside their own 20-yard line and one landing inside the 10.
Special teams sometimes goes unnoticed over the course of a game — especially a blowout — but head coach Major Applewhite recognizes the contributions the punting unit made Saturday.
“There were some great plays from a punt team standpoint,” Applewhite said at a news conference Monday ahead of the team’s tilt with Texas Tech.
Roy, a 28-year-old sophomore, joined the Cougars in 2016 after attending a kicking academy in his native Australia. The 6-foot-7-inch punter booted 59 punts while starting all 12 games of his freshman season.
Eleven punts — including a 53-yard career long — against Tulane on Nov. 12 earned Roy the AAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career.
Roy will next take the field against Texas Tech from TDECU Stadium on Saturday.
Congratulations, mate !