Zach Stipe
Associate AD / Communication
CINCINNATI – After breaking a pair of Cincinnati and American Athletic Conference records Saturday in the No. 20/19-ranked Bearcats’ 29-27 win at SMU on Saturday, the UC sophomore Mason Fletcher collected AAC special teams player of the week honors on Monday.
Fletcher made an incredible 84-yard punt return in the first quarter against the Mustangs, breaking Cincinnati’s 46-year-old rushing record by six yards, as well as the AAC record by five yards. The previous UC mark of 78 yards was set by Mike Connell in 1976.
The Melbourne, Australia native sent each of his three punts at least 50 yards with two coming inside the 20-yard line. His 65.0 GPA also shattered the UC and AAC marks. Current Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Kevin Huber tied UC’s old mark of 58.7 – set in 2007.
After his 84-yarder, the longest by any FBS player in 2022, Fletcher added a 57-yard boot to the 8-yard line and a 54-yarder with less than three minutes left in the game that put SMU back behind. in itself 18.
84-Yard PUNT 😳 pic.twitter.com/trrp4yQMIV
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 22, 2022
On the season, Fletcher ranks third in the nation with an average of 47.7 points. He has made 16 of his 31 punts inside the 20 with 10 of 50 yards.
He is now a two-time AAC Special Teams Player of the Week honoree. A member of the Ray Guy Award Watch List, Fletcher was also named the National Punter of the Week following UC’s win over Tulsa earlier this season.
// COE ADDS HONORABLE AAC RATINGS
Cincinnati senior forward Ryan Coe also broke a record Saturday at SMU, becoming the first Bearcat to make five field goals in a game, including a 52-yarder and a 44-yarder. Coe made three in the third quarter alone.
// LIMITED ONE GAME TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE
There are still a limited number of single game tickets available for the East Carolina and Tulane games. Tickets can be purchased here.
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