New Husky Punter Puts Foot Into It With Late Dad In Mind

Hunter Green is a new punter for the University of Washington, a transfer from San Diego State, and from Northern Colorado before that, but he hardly needs a guided tour of Montlake. He's got Husky football in his bloodlines.

He's the son of the late Phil Green, who was a walk-on punter and a defensive back from Anchorage, Alaska, for legendary coach Don James' national championship team in 1991 and for James' final team in 1992.

The elder Green was 55 when he died on July 19, 2025, following a seven-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. or Lou Gehrig's disease.

He lived long enough to see Hunter play college football for Northern Colorado and become a first-team All-Big Sky selection and a third-team FCS All-American in 2024, but he passed away not knowing his son would bring his career full circle to his own UW career.

"Obviously this place is very special to me and very special to my family, especially my pop," Hunter Green said. "Coming back here is like coming back home."

His dad took him to Huskies games, where they met up with former teammates of Phil and he spoke reverently about James and the lessons learned from him.

Hunter Green has grown up to become an elite punter, someone who averaged 47 yards a kick while launching 66 of them for San Diego State.

He has a 6-foot-4, 230-pound frame, extra large for someone in the kicking game, standing an inch taller and weighing 30 pounds heavier than his father.

The late Phil Green, former UW football player, shown with his family. | UW Athletics

Hunter Green, who has a season of eligibility remaining, also is embracing the coming season with another man in mind, the late Ray Guy, who passed away in 2022 at age 72 from a pulmonary disease.

Guy is considered the greatest punter who ever played at all levels, for Southern Miss (1970-72) and in the NFL for the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders (1973-86).

The college game's top punter award is named for Guy and Hunter Green has his eyes set on it.

"Ultimately, I want to win the Ray Guy," Green said.

He figures he has the long snapper in veteran Ryan Kean necessary to make this happen and he no doubt feels good about his punting ability.

"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."

As he begins this quest, Hunter Green will wear jersey No. 93, which belonged to his father when he was a Husky. Previously, he brought awareness to ALS with his punting efforts to honor his dad. Punting for the UW certainly is another way to do it.

"That's a connection I can have with him, that we both played here," he said.