Awards and Honors:
UAC Special Teams Player of the Week: Nov. 6 (2023)
Dean's List (S22)
Athletics Director's Honor Roll (F22, S23, F23)
2023: Played in all 12 games at punter and kickoff specialist… Punted for the first time in his collegiate career in the season opener at Southern Illinois (Sept. 2), averaging 40.17 yards on six punts with three fair catches and one punt downed inside the 20-yard line… Punted four times at Tennessee (Sept. 9) and recorded a tackle on punt coverage… Kicked off a career-high 10 times for 619 yards and matched his career high with six touchbacks against ETSU (Sept. 16)… Also recorded a solo tackle on kickoff coverage against ETSU… Recorded three fair catches on three punts and four touchbacks on four kickoffs at Stephen F. Austin (Sept. 23)… Totaled six touchbacks on nine kickoff attempts at Lindenwood (Sept. 30), in addition to punting four times for a 43.75-yard average, one fair catch, and two kicks downed inside the 20-yard line with a long punt of 52 yards – his first career 50-plus yard punt… Punted four times against Gardner-Webb (Oct. 14) with three kicks downed inside the 20-yard line, including a 56-yard punt that was downed at the six-yard line… Also recorded a solo tackle on kickoff coverage against Gardner-Webb… Punted five times for a career-best 49.40-yard average – an APSU single-game record – and matched his career high with six touchbacks on seven kickoff attempts at Southern Utah (Oct. 21)… Tallied three punts of 50-plus yards at Southern Utah with a long punt of 66 yards, which is tied for the sixth-longest punt in program history… Punted four times for a 48.25-yard average – tied for the fifth-best single-game mark in APSU history – with one kick downed inside the 20-yard line and a long punt of 58 yards against North Alabama (Oct. 28)… Kicked off six times for five touchbacks and punted seven times for five fair catches against Eastern Kentucky (Nov. 4) to earn UAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors… Also recorded a career-best four punts downed inside the 20-yard line – tied for the fourth-best single-game total in APSU history – including a career-long 83-yard punt that was downed on the four-yard line… His 83-yard punt at Eastern Kentucky was the longest in APSU history and was the second-longest in the FCS in 2023… Punted four times against Utah Tech (Nov. 11) and recorded two more kicks that were downed inside the 20-yard line… Kicked off three times for a career-best average of 65 yards with just one touchback and made a solo tackle on kickoff coverage against Central Arkansas (Nov. 18)… Also punted eight times against Central Arkansas, averaged 41.50 yards per kick with two punts downed inside the 20-yard line, two punts of 50-plus yards, and a long punt of 54 yards… Punted a career-high nine times in the FCS Playoffs First Round against Chattanooga (Nov. 25), averaging 38.89 yards per kick with two fair catches, one kicked downed inside the 20-yard line, two 50-plus yard punts, and a long punt of 57 yards…Finished the season with 58 punts for 2,474 yards, a 42.66-yard average, 16 fair catches, 17 punts downed inside the 20-yard line, and 11 punts of 50-plus yards… Also kicked off 74 times for 4,619 yards, a 62.4-yard average, and 47 touchbacks… Ranked 21st in the FCS, fifth in the UAC, and set the Austin Peay single-season record for punting average… Finished tied for the team lead with four total special teams tackles and led the Govs with three tackles on kickoff coverage.
2022: Played in all 11 games as the kickoff specialist… Had a career-best six touchbacks on six kickoffs in the season opener against Western Kentucky (Aug. 27)… Totaled a career-high 631 kickoff yards and four touchbacks on 10 attempts against Presbyterian (Sept. 3)… Made his first tackle on one of five kickoffs against Alabama A&M (Sept. 17)… Had four touchbacks and 389 kickoff yards on six attempts against Eastern Kentucky (Sept. 24)… Posted three touchbacks and a solo tackle on four kickoffs against Central Arkansas (Oct. 1)… Added four more touchbacks and 547 kickoff yards on nine attempts against Murray State (Oct. 15)… Made a tackle and forced a fumble on one of six kickoff attempts against Kennesaw State (Nov. 12)… Finished the season with 34 touchbacks on 65 kickoffs, totaling 4,064 yards… Averaged 62.5 yards per kickoff.
2021: Appeared in all 11 games for the Governors as a kickoff specialist… Had the first of two five-touchback outings against Morehead State (Sept. 18) with five balls kicked through the endzone on 10 attempts… Had a perfect day against Tennessee State (Oct. 2) with five touchbacks on five boots… Tallied 34 touchbacks on 69 kickoffs, totaling 4,148 yards (60.1 yards per kick).
Prior to Austin Peay: A transfer kicker from Central Florida… Redshirted during his freshman season in Orlando, Florida.
High School: Prepped at Dr. Phillips High School for head coach Rodney Wells… A kicker and punter that helped Dr. Phillips win its 12th-straight district title in his senior season… Also helped the Panthers reach the Florida 8A regional semifinals in his senior season… Was a member of Dr. Phillips’ 2017 Florida 8A State Championship team during his sophomore season.
Personal: Riley Parker Stephens is the son of Sharon and Hinson Stephens… Birthday is Feb. 4… A finance major.
