It’s been quite a season so far for Wyatt Pertuset, a wide receiver and punter for Capital University in Ohio, one of seven openly gay college football players this season.
Pertuset made news by becoming perhaps the first openly gay player to score a touchdown, and then had his accomplishment featured on ESPN. This weekend, he won an honor by being named Special Teams Player of the Week by the Ohio Athletic Conference, which plays in Division III.
“Pertuset was called upon to punt four times in last week’s matchup against Baldwin Wallace over Homecoming Weekend. He totaled 182 yards in his four punts and averaged 45.5 yards per boot, a new single-game high for the junior. He also set the mark for a new personal long when he cranked one punt 55 yards downfield. Three of his four punts also pinned the Yellow Jackets inside their own 20-yard line.”
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The junior has dropped more than a third of his punts inside the 20, a key barometer of a good punter.
Pertuset is proud of being known as a football player who is also gay.
“I want it to be one of those images in young minds, especially for the same age as me, who might be in the closet, to work hard and just play your heart out, not only for your team but for what you stand for,” Pertuset said after scoring his touchdown a month ago. “I want this to be a turning point that proves to people that we are great athletes as well.”
