University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
2018 Football Roster
Byrns, Rhys
Jersey Number 47
Rhys Byrns
- Position:
- Punter
- Ht./Wt.:
- 6-0 / 175
- Class:
- Freshman
- Hometown:
- Rye, Australia
- High School:
- Padua College
Bio
• 2021 First Team All-Sun Belt
• 2021 Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team.
• 2021 Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List
• 2021 Athlon Sports Sun Belt Preseason First Team Specialist
• 2020 Second Team All-Sun Belt
• 2019 Second Team All-Sun Belt
• 2019 First Team All-Louisiana
2021 Season (Junior)
Ranked first in the Sun Belt and 11th in the nation with 46.30 yards per punt average … Punted six times for 284 yards (47.3 avg.) including a 55 yarder in the championship game against App State (Dec. 4) … Had a big day punting the rock at Troy (Nov. 13), recording six boots for 295 yards and a long of 70 and pinned three balls inside the 20-yard line … The 70-yard punt was Byrns’ longest of the season and tied for the second- longest of his career … Matched a career high with seven punts for 289 yards, placing five balls inside the 20-yard line against Georgia Southern (Sept. 25) … Matched a career-high with four punts over 50 yards against South Alabama (Oct. 2) …Punted four times for 212 yards, placing two balls within the 20-yard line, against Texas (Sept. 4) … Hit five punts for 220 yards, pinning two inside the 20-yard line and hitting one over 50 yards, at Liberty (Nov. 20) … Had three punts for 148 yards, including a long of 56 yards, against App State (Oct. 12) … Punted three times totaling 139 yards, including a game-high 61 yarder against Georgia State (Nov. 4).
2020 Season (Junior)
Saw action in all 11 games as Louisiana’s punter…Notched 36 punts for 1,567 yards…Pinned 14 balls inside the 20 yard line while only having two touchbacks…Sent four balls over 50 yards…Named Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference…Punted five times for 210 yards in the opener against Iowa State…Following his big day, he was named the Sun Belt Special Teams Player of the Week, the second time he has earned the honor in his career…Punted a season-high seven times at Georgia State, tying a career high, for 315 yards and averaged 45.0 yards…Recorded a 74-yard punt against UAB (Oct. 23) to help seal the win, the sixth-longest punt in school history and just the ninth punt in program history that went for over 70 yards…The big boot helped him to an average of 48.0 yards against the Blazers, his best of the year…Averaged 47.0 yards per punt at Texas State (Oct. 31), his second highest average of the season, pinning one ball inside the 20 and producing a 52-yard punt, his third-longest of the year...Started the season on the Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List.
2019 Season (Sophomore)
Handled all of Louisiana’s punting duties during the 2019 season…Earned Sun Belt Conference Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference and First Team All-Louisiana honors…Notched 45 punts for 1,991 yards…Placed 16 of those punts inside the 20-yard line and sent eight of them over 50 yards…Averaged 44.2 yards per punt, the school record for the best punter average in a single season…Had a career game against Appalachian State on Oct. 9, recording four, 50+-yard punts and placing four punts inside the 20-yard line, both career highs…Following his performance against Appalachian State, he was named the Sun Belt Special Teams Player of the Week…He became the first Ragin’ Cajun to earn that weekly honor since Kyle Pfau on Oct. 29, 2018…Byrns set a career high for his longest punt in Louisiana’s victory over Ohio on Sept. 21 by booting the ball 70 yards…His success came despite limited action after having two games where he punted just once and not punting at all in Louisiana’s dominant victories over Texas Southern (Sept. 14) and Coastal Carolina on (Nov. 7).
2018 Season (Freshman)
Was the primary punter, averaging 40.1 yards per punt in 53 attempts…Tallied 21 punts within the 20-yard line…Tied for the second longest punt in the conference at 68 yards and booted six balls of 50-plus yards.
High School
Went to Pauda College in Mornigton, Victoria, Australia…Ranked as the sixth best punter and a five-star recruit in the 2018 class on Prokicker.com…Member of the Prokicker Australia class of 2018.
Personal
From Rye, Victoria, Australia…Son of Mandy and Wes Byrns…Has two brothers and two sisters…Kinesiology major.
• 2021 Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team.
• 2021 Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List
• 2021 Athlon Sports Sun Belt Preseason First Team Specialist
• 2020 Second Team All-Sun Belt
• 2019 Second Team All-Sun Belt
• 2019 First Team All-Louisiana
2021 Season (Junior)
Ranked first in the Sun Belt and 11th in the nation with 46.30 yards per punt average … Punted six times for 284 yards (47.3 avg.) including a 55 yarder in the championship game against App State (Dec. 4) … Had a big day punting the rock at Troy (Nov. 13), recording six boots for 295 yards and a long of 70 and pinned three balls inside the 20-yard line … The 70-yard punt was Byrns’ longest of the season and tied for the second- longest of his career … Matched a career high with seven punts for 289 yards, placing five balls inside the 20-yard line against Georgia Southern (Sept. 25) … Matched a career-high with four punts over 50 yards against South Alabama (Oct. 2) …Punted four times for 212 yards, placing two balls within the 20-yard line, against Texas (Sept. 4) … Hit five punts for 220 yards, pinning two inside the 20-yard line and hitting one over 50 yards, at Liberty (Nov. 20) … Had three punts for 148 yards, including a long of 56 yards, against App State (Oct. 12) … Punted three times totaling 139 yards, including a game-high 61 yarder against Georgia State (Nov. 4).
2020 Season (Junior)
Saw action in all 11 games as Louisiana’s punter…Notched 36 punts for 1,567 yards…Pinned 14 balls inside the 20 yard line while only having two touchbacks…Sent four balls over 50 yards…Named Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference…Punted five times for 210 yards in the opener against Iowa State…Following his big day, he was named the Sun Belt Special Teams Player of the Week, the second time he has earned the honor in his career…Punted a season-high seven times at Georgia State, tying a career high, for 315 yards and averaged 45.0 yards…Recorded a 74-yard punt against UAB (Oct. 23) to help seal the win, the sixth-longest punt in school history and just the ninth punt in program history that went for over 70 yards…The big boot helped him to an average of 48.0 yards against the Blazers, his best of the year…Averaged 47.0 yards per punt at Texas State (Oct. 31), his second highest average of the season, pinning one ball inside the 20 and producing a 52-yard punt, his third-longest of the year...Started the season on the Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List.
2019 Season (Sophomore)
Handled all of Louisiana’s punting duties during the 2019 season…Earned Sun Belt Conference Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference and First Team All-Louisiana honors…Notched 45 punts for 1,991 yards…Placed 16 of those punts inside the 20-yard line and sent eight of them over 50 yards…Averaged 44.2 yards per punt, the school record for the best punter average in a single season…Had a career game against Appalachian State on Oct. 9, recording four, 50+-yard punts and placing four punts inside the 20-yard line, both career highs…Following his performance against Appalachian State, he was named the Sun Belt Special Teams Player of the Week…He became the first Ragin’ Cajun to earn that weekly honor since Kyle Pfau on Oct. 29, 2018…Byrns set a career high for his longest punt in Louisiana’s victory over Ohio on Sept. 21 by booting the ball 70 yards…His success came despite limited action after having two games where he punted just once and not punting at all in Louisiana’s dominant victories over Texas Southern (Sept. 14) and Coastal Carolina on (Nov. 7).
2018 Season (Freshman)
Was the primary punter, averaging 40.1 yards per punt in 53 attempts…Tallied 21 punts within the 20-yard line…Tied for the second longest punt in the conference at 68 yards and booted six balls of 50-plus yards.
High School
Went to Pauda College in Mornigton, Victoria, Australia…Ranked as the sixth best punter and a five-star recruit in the 2018 class on Prokicker.com…Member of the Prokicker Australia class of 2018.
Personal
From Rye, Victoria, Australia…Son of Mandy and Wes Byrns…Has two brothers and two sisters…Kinesiology major.
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