Local celebrity status, national award snub inspire Boise State punter to ‘prove himself’

It’s not often that a punter wins the hearts of fans, but James Ferguson-Reynolds has become something of a celebrity at Boise State.

A fan dressed in a kangaroo costume proudly waved a “JFR for Ray Guy” sign during Boise State’s win over Air Force last week, and the crowd at Albertsons Stadium erupted when he flipped the field with a 70-yard punt.

Fans on social media have created memes and illustrations in his honor, and his new walk-out song made its debut against Air Force. “Down Under” by the Australian band Men at Work — who had a string of hits in the 1980s — boomed through the stadium’s speakers whenever he trotted onto the field for a punt.

Do you come from a land down under,

Where women glow and men plunder?

Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder?

You better run, you better take cover.

Ferguson-Reynolds’ permed mullet and thick Australian accent make him stand out in a crowd, and his easy-going personality makes him easy to like, but his thunderous punts have helped him build a following in two seasons at Boise State.

The sophomore from Geelong — located just outside Melbourne in southeast Australia — said he’s been soaking in every moment of his newfound status.

“It gives me extra juice to go out there and do my job,” Ferguson-Reynolds said. “To hear the crowd pop after a punt is pretty awesome.”

Ferguson-Reynolds is averaging 50.08 yards per punt this season, which ranks No. 1 in the nation. He has two punts that covered at least 70 yards and 26 that covered at least 50. He also dropped 22 punts inside an opponent’s 20-yard line.

Ferguson-Reynolds did enough to earn first-team All-Mountain West honors and a spot as a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, which goes to the top punter in the country. He didn’t make the cut as a finalist, though. Interim coach Spencer Danielson called it an obvious snub.

“James absolutely deserves to be a finalist and have a shot to earn that award,” Danielson said.

Boise State special teams coach Demario Warren called it frustrating.

“He put together a great resume, a great season — one of the best in college football history,” Warren said. “I mean, he led the whole nation in punting and didn’t get that opportunity to even take the trip.”

The three finalists for the Ray Guy Award are Iowa’s Tory Taylor, Vanderbilt’s Matthew Hayball and Florida State’s Alex Mastromanno — all punters from Power Five conferences. Taylor averaged 47.67 yards per punt, Hayball 47.6 and Mastromanno 46.02. They’ll travel to Bristol, Connecticut, for the 33rd annual College Football Awards show on Friday, Dec. 8.

Ferguson-Reynolds admitted that he was surprised and disappointed not to be a finalist, but he also said he’s focused on a bigger prize — helping the team win a Mountain West championship. Boise State will try to win its first title since 2019 on Saturday against UNLV (1 p.m. Mountain time, Fox) at Allegiant Stadium.

“Numbers don’t lie, but I still have a job to do,” he said. “ We still have the championship game and a bowl game, and I’m going to go out and prove myself.”

In search of record fifth Mountain West championship, Boise State ‘fired up and ready’

Ferguson-Reynolds has proved himself plenty this year after admitting he was swimming upstream last year as a freshman.

It’s understandable. He was thousands of miles from home for the first time, he was still trying to acclimate himself to American football and he was dealing with the stress of his mother’s breast cancer diagnosis.

He had a lot on his plate, and the result was a few shanked punts. He still posted a respectable average (41.8 yards) and dropped 21 punts inside the 20 of Boise State’s opponents.

He said he’s feeling more at home and more like himself this year. His mother is also doing better and even got to attend a few games this year.

“There were a lot of nerves going out there last year,” he said. “I wasn’t trusting my teammates the way I should. This year, I let them do their job and they’ve done it well.”

Ferguson-Reynolds may not get a Ray Guy Award trophy to display on his mantle this year, but he still has a chance to help his team end the season with some hardware.

“It’s championship week and I still have a job to do,” he said.

BOISE STATE AT UNLV

When: 1 p.m. Mountain time, Saturday

Where: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas (65,000)

TV: Fox (Jason Benetti, Brock Huard, Allison Williams)

Radio: KBOI 670 AM/93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)

Records: Boise State 7-5, 6-2 MW; UNLV 9-3, 6-2 MW

Series: Boise State leads the all-time series 8-3.

Vegas line: Boise State by 2 points