Waco, Tex. ? Daniel Sepulveda still isn’t sure why he started kicking with the Baylor punter one day as a freshman.

Sepulveda hadn’t punted since junior high and didn’t even know the proper technique. He was just kicking the ball around for fun. Plus, he had walked on at Baylor to be a linebacker like his older brother.

“If I would have understood then that if I were to actually win the punting job (and) that would be the only thing I would do, I probably wouldn’t have done it,” Sepulveda said. “That’s not me. I’m a football player.”

With the body (6-foot-3, 230 pounds) and mentality of a linebacker, Sepulveda instead became one of the best college players ever at a different position.

The senior is the NCAA’s best punter with a 46.2-yard average and didn’t miss a game after tearing a knee ligament during a pickup basketball game in April.

Sepulveda is a finalist to be the first two-time winner of the Ray Guy Award that goes to the best college punter, has the best career average (45.1) in the NCAA for anyone with at least 250 punts and is a top-rated NFL prospect. His 85 career punts of at least 50 yards are four short of another NCAA record.

Baylor's Daniel Sepulveda punts against Washington State during their game in Seattle, in this file photo from Sept. 16. Sepulveda leads the NCAA with a 46.2-yard average.

“He’s an amazing asset for us. He does so many things for us offensively when we struggle. He can flip the field,” quarterback Shawn Bell said. “He does so much more than people give him credit. He keeps bailing us out of jams.”

When Sepulveda had surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee April 27, the recovery time was supposed to be 5-6 months – which means he should just now be getting ready to punt in a game. While he doesn’t punt with his right leg, he does have to land on it.

“I doubted he could be ready by TCU,” coach Guy Morriss said. “He proved me wrong.”

Sepulveda had a 56-yard punt in that season opener, and has punts of at least that long in six games for the Bears (4-4), who play No. 23 Texas A&M tonight in a game matching teams tied for second place in the Big 12 South. A 78-yard kick against Kansas State matched his career best.

“He’s a kid that all the kids look up to with respect,” Morriss said.