Max Duffy

Classroom

Duffy graduated in December 2019 with a degree in psychology and is currently working on a master’s degree in kinesiology and health promotion with aspirations of becoming a sports psychologist. He is on track to receive his master’s degree in May 2021. Duffy was named to the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll and the Dean’s List in 2019.

Character

At 27 years old and the oldest player on the team, Duffy takes his role as a leader very seriously. He’s professional and mature in how he handles himself on and off the field and his teammates voted him one of 10 team captains prior to the 2020 season because of this. The former Australian Rules football star could have come into this program with an ego and sense of entitlement but instead he’s humble, puts his head down and goes to work, and most importantly, he uses his platform for good. He wants to do things the right way and his work ethic is second to none.

Community

Prior to COVID-19, Duffy was volunteering at the Kentucky Children’s Hospital weekly as part of the “Tuesdays with the Wildcats’ program, a community service event created by former Wildcat C.J. Conrad. When the pandemic hit in March 2020 and he could no longer do in-person visits with the kids, Duffy and fellow Wildcat Luke Fortner teamed up with the KCH to set up a program called “In the Huddle with KCH,” where they taped a video of themselves from their homes answering questions from kids who submitted through the KCH Facebook Page. The video was posted to Facebook every Tuesday morning to replace what would have been their in-person visit.

In addition to “In the Huddle with KCH,” Duffy and Fortner took it one step farther by volunteering each week to make Zoom calls with patients at KCH, offering words of encouragement. The duo continues to volunteer each week on Zoom. Christina Briggs, the senior market development manager at KCH said “each patient gets individual time to speak with Duffy and his teammates during these highly anticipated calls which brings such joy to the patients (and parents, too). Like the in-person visits, these interactions help to break up the monotony of days spent in the hospital – especially during a worldwide pandemic with restrictions prohibiting a rotation of visitors. We are so lucky to have players like this involved with our children.”

Competition

Duffy was the 2019 Ray Guy Award winner for the nation’s top punter. He also was a first-team All-American as he led the nation in punting, averaging 48.1 yards per punt. He currently ranks third in the SEC and sixth nationally in punting, averaging 46.9 yards. Duffy has already been named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week and earned a Ray’s 4 honor in 2021-21, and once again is a candidate for the Ray Guy Award.