FAYETTEVILLE — Former Vanderbilt and Colorado punter Sam Loy has transferred to Arkansas.
Loy will be a third-year junior in 2019 after redshirting last season at Colorado, where he was recruited and coached by Daniel Da Prato, who is now a quality control analyst for the Razorbacks.
A team spokesperson said Friday that Loy will be eligible to play at Arkansas in the upcoming season.
In two seasons as a starter at Vanderbilt, Loy averaged 41 yards per punt and a net of 36 yards. He was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2016.
Loy transferred from Vanderbilt following the 2017 season for undisclosed reasons.
In high school, Loy was named Orange County Specialist of the Year at Santa Margarita Catholic in San Clemente, Calif. Kornblue Kicking Service, named for former Michigan punter Brandon Kornblue, rated as a five-star recruit.
Loy is capable of punting two ways - the traditional American style, and Australian rugby style made familiar to Arkansas fans by former punter Sam Irwin-Hill.
“What’s very uncommon is for somebody to be able to do both styles well,” Kornblue said in 2016, according to VanderbiltHustler.com. “There are very few guys who can do both. That’s what’s so unique about (Loy), and one of the reasons why he earned our No. 1 spot.”
Loy will give the Razorbacks a second option at the punter position. Sophomore Reid Bauer was Arkansas’ primary punter in 2018 when he averaged 38.9 yards per punt on 56 attempts.
Bauer was the team’s top punter in spring practice after Blake Johnson, a former scholarship punter, transferred earlier in the year.