Michael Dickson had never watched a full game of football before suiting up against Notre Dame last year. A mere month before that, he fumbled with the pads on the first day of fall camp, unsure of how to put them on. When he dreamed of playing in the pros as a kid, it was the Australian Football League – not the NFL – that flashed through his mind.



In just his second year playing the sport, the sophomore punter's dominant performance has thrust him into consideration for the title of the nation's best punter as a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award. While he's admittedly still shaky on some of the more obscure football rules, Dickson is on pace to set a new school record with an average of 47.8 yards per kick.



"It's crazy the difference a year can make," Dickson said. "It feels so good to have this season after last year. I just always link it back to hard work. [Junior kicker] Mitchell Becker and I always talk about the correlation between hard work and success. We've seen with our own eyes how strong that correlation is."



If last year was a tidal wave of firsts for Dickson – his first year playing American football, first time living outside of his home country of Australia, first year in college – this year has been a continuation of the trend. His punting average ranks first in the Big 12 and third nationally. He's blazed a trail as the first Texas punter to be named a semifinalist for the Guy Award, boosting his resume with four punts soaring over 60 yards this season alone.



Ray Guy Award semifinalist Michael Dickson