Dickie Dunaway (1992) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Dickie Dunaway

Induction:
1992

Dickie Dunaway established himself as one of the best punters in Southern Miss history during his brilliant career that spanned the 1965, 1966 and 1967 seasons.
   Although he was small (5-9, 159) he possessed one of the strongest and most powerful legs to have ever punted the football for the Golden Eagles.
   His booming kicks sailed high and never seemed to want to come down and his kicking skills were one of the best weapons the Southern defense had.
   Dunaway came to Southern Miss from Gulfport, Mississippi and actually began his career as a wingback, but his outstanding kicking abilities quickly surfaced and he became one of the first to specialize as a punter.
   He would handle all the punting duties for Southern during the 1965 season, kicking 63 times for a 41.1 yard average. He was known for his high hanging kicks and opponents were able to return only 27 of his kicks that year for just 253 yards. His ability to knock the ball down inside the 20-yard line kept opponents pinned up all season long and was an asset to a Southern defense that ranked among the nation’s best that year. He ranked 18th in the nation that season in punting and 14 times kicked punts for 50 yards or more. That 1965 team finished 7-2 that year.
   By 1966 Dunaway had not only established himself as one of the best punters the Golden Eagles had ever had, but also one of the best in the country. He again handled all the punting duties that year, kicking 78 times for a 40.5 yard average. Only half of those could be returned by the opposition and just for 403 yards. Once again Dunaway finished in the top 20 in the country in punting and even threw a pass that year on a fake punt and completed it for 17 yards. Again his booming and accurate kicks aided the Southern defense as they allowed only 163.7 yards per game. The 1966 team finished 6-4.
   Dunaway’s final year (1967) was his finest as he handled all the punting duties for a third straight year, this time kicking 58 times for a 41.9 yard average. That opponents returned only 31 of those for 322 yards. Once again Dunaway ranked among the nation’s top punters as he had a hand in the Golden Eagles finishing 6-3, including the school’s first ever win over Mississippi State.
   When Dunaway finished his career his punting average of 41.07 was the best in school history and even 30 years later only two players after ever recorded a better career average. Dunaway finished his career with 199 punts (6th best at USM) for 8,173 yards (6th best at USM). Only once in his career did he have a punt blocked and only 49-percent of his punts were ever returned.
   One of the great traditions at Southern Miss down through the years has always been the great kickers that the school has produced and one of the foundations of that rich tradition is Dickie Dunaway, a small guy, who put up big numbers as a punter.