Rinehart Rakes in Third Award of the Season

CLEVELAND - For the second straight week and the third time this season, Kent State junior punter Matt Rinehart (Dover, Ohio) has been named Mid-American Conference East Division Special Teams Player of the Week. The conference office made the announcement Monday, following Rinehart's stellar performance this past Saturday against Temple.

One week after averaging 52.0 yards on four punts, Rinehart averaged 48.4 yards on seven punts against Temple. He had a pair of punts downed inside the five yard line as the Flashes averaged an impressive 48.1 net, to improve to 18th in the nation in net punting.

"Matt's got the total package," Special Teams Coordinator Zance Vance said. "He's got really good hands, he is deceivingly athletic and he's very psychologically stable. He has leaped up to catch high snaps and is able to identify protection issues quickly."

One play in particular stood out to Vance against the Owls, when a rusher was coming right at Rinehart.

"Not only was he able to avoid the rush," Vance said. "He was able to re-set himself and get off a 47-yard punt."

Rinehart leads all MAC punters with a 43.4 yard average. He has also put 22 of his 53 punts inside the 20 yard line.

An All-MAC First Team selection last season, he is one of 51 punters in the nation that has been nominated for the Ray Guy Award.

The Golden Flashes (4-5, 3-3 MAC) host Army (5-4) Saturday at 2 p.m., with both sides looking to stay in the bowl hunt.