Hunter the Punter Green Stands To Be One Of Nation's Best

He grew up just an extra-long punt from Husky Stadium, but Hunter Green didn't pull on a University of Washington uniform until this spring, when he was down to his fifth and final year of college football.

All of which seems a little odd because he's been one of the nation's top punters for the past two seasons -- and the UW didn't have him.

That, in football parlance, is what's known as bad-field position.

It's almost unconscionable that it took so long for Green to join the Huskies for multiple reasons.

Not only did he reside a mere10 miles away in Kirkland, Washington, and kick for Lake Washington High School, he was the son of a former Husky player, the late Phil Green, who was a walk-on place-kicker and a defensive back for Don James' teams.

Bow Down to the best leg in the Big Ten. @HunterGreen2022 | @TheAthletic Preseason 1st Team All-Big Ten ☔️ pic.twitter.com/Dfc8TsV34Y
— Washington Football (@UW_Football) July 27, 2026

In need of a punting upgrade, the Huskies have rectified this oversight by connecting all of the dots and pulling the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Green out of the transfer portal and away from San Diego State and bringing him home.

More people are noticing him. This week, The Athletic came up with a preseason All-Big Ten team that had him penciled in as the No. 1 punter. He has bigger goals though, such as winning the Ray Guy Award, which is given to the country's best.

"That sounds bad, because I feel like that's a personal goal, and I don't want to just be focused on myself," he said during spring ball. "But if I'm pinning the team back, if I'm smoking the ball, hitting bombs, I'm putting the other team in bad position, which puts our team in even better position."

Hunter Green gets airborne as he launches a Spring Game punt. | Dave Sizer photo

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the UW roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did in spring practice and what to expect from them going into fall camp.

Green averaged 47 yards per punt for San Diego State in 2025, ranking him sixth in the country, and 46.4 the season before for Northern Colorado, which left him third in the FCS nationwide.

Only one Husky punter in school annals has had an average better than either one of Green's top two -- Race Porter, who averaged 48.5 in 2021.

Hunter Green set a field-goal attempt for UW women's soccer coach Nicole Van Dyke. | Dave Sizer photo

To see a guy his size so limber and in full extension is a sight to behold. Yet Green has done much more than punt.

At Northern Colorado, he doubled as the place-kicker and converted 9 of 20 field-goal attempts, hitting a 53-yarder against Colorado State.

For his Big Sky team, Green also rushed the ball once for 12 yards, completed a pass that lost 5 yards and was credited with a tackle.

Hunter Green, far left, is shown with his family, including his late father, Phil, a former UW player himself. | Green

While returnee Luke Dunne averaged 40.1 yards on 34 punts and didn't have one blocked, he got rattled and shanked punts for 17 yards against Ohio State, 26 against Wisconsin and 29 against Oregon, all UW losses.

Field position wasn't always the Huskies' best friend. A confident Green now will get the opportunity to rectify that situation.

"So if I'm in the running for the Ray Guy Award, then we should be one of the more dominant special-teams units in the country," he said. "That's something that I think all comes together as a collective. I want to go out there and make people, when they're playing Washington, know that they're not going to get anything on a punt return."

What he's done: Green has appeared in 32 games at his two previous stops and averaged 45.9 on 177 career kicks. He hasn't had one blocked. His long is 72 yards,10 shy of the UW record. While his father lived long enough to see Hunter become the Northern Colorado punter, Phil Green died in July 2025 at 55 from ALS.

Starter or not: He's poised for a big season as the No. 1 guy in his hometown, looking to propel the Huskies into the national conversation and enhance his NFL hopes. The UW won't go anywhere without a reliable, long-distance punter.

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