Sign up, and you can customize which countdowns you see. Sign up
Jun 8, 2012
3:17:19pm
2012 Preview: Special Teams
Part 4 - Special Teams

90424360_display_image.jpg?1320121431

The 2011 season turned out to be quite a roller coaster, as Jake Heaps entered the season as an entrenched starter, but struggled more and more as the year wore on. Enter Riley Nelson, and the Cougars managed a ten-win but turbulent season behind the once again split leadership. Now Heaps has transferred, and Nelson finally gets his chance as a senior to have the team all to himself, as the Cougars embark on their second year as an independent. The coming season features a more challenging schedule, particularly on the road, so the Cougs have their work cut out for them.

When considering players who would have started all season but were injured along the way and players who started at least six games, BYU has 13 full-year starters coming back in 2012. There are 6 returning starters on offense, while 7 starters return on defense, along with 8 other players who also started at least one game at some point during the 2011 season. There are also 2 return missionaries back who were multi-year starters prior to leaving.

Special Teams:

Special teams was a real mixed bag for BYU in 2011. Not only were some particular units a bit inconsistent, but specific players registered some great performances and some not so great. Probably the most notable occurrence was Cody Hoffman's kickoff return for a touchdown against Central Florida. BYU had not had a touchdown in that situation since 1998; the drought is finally over. J.D. Falslev also returned a punt for a touchdown against TCU. Riley Stephenson had a phenomenal bowl performance, but the punting unit probably cost the Cougars the game against TCU. And Justin Sorenson had a very up and down season, mostly down toward the end due to injury. With all the key players back from a year ago and another year of experience, with any luck the 2012 special teams will see some improvement or more consistency from a year ago.

Personnel:

BYU has the luxury of an experienced punter in senior Riley Stephenson. Last year, Stephenson averaged 42.2 yards per punt, with 15 punts over 50 yards and 20 punts placed within the opponent's twenty yard line. At placekicker, BYU has a now experienced starter returning in junior Justin Sorenson. Sorenson played in every game in 2011 as the starting placekicker and handling kickoff duties. Sorenson registered a perfect 48 for 48 on PATs, to go with 15 field goals in 25 attempts, and 17 touchbacks. Back for his senior season is deepsnapper Reed Hornung, and added 2 tackles in punt coverage.

The most experienced kick return player from last year is redshirt junior Cody Hoffman, who had an outstanding year in 2011. He returned 36 kickoffs for 879 yards and 1 touchdown, good for a 24.4 yard average. Other return players include redshirt sophomore Jordan Johnson, who returned 5 kicks for 99 yards, good for a 19.8 average, but struggled with fumble problems. Junior J.D. Falslev returned 3 kicks for 61 yards with a 20.3 yard average. Falslev is also the only returning player with punt return experience, having fielded 22 punts last year for 220 yard, with an 10 yard average and 1 touchdown on the year.

The sole player who returns with some playing experience is O'Neill Chambers, who played significant return minutes as a starter prior to his year off.

There are also no specific special teams players in the program but without playing time this year, as internet legend Drew Phillips never played a down for BYU following a redshirt year in 2010.

There are no new scholarship kickers or punters entering the program this year or returning from mission service. As always, all defensive backs, wide receivers, and running backs both incoming and currently in the program could potentially be tapped for special teams duty.

Projected Starters:

As far as the kick game and punt game are concerned, all players are back from a year ago. The 2012 prospectus lists Justin Sorenson as the kicker. Presumably he will handle both deep kicking and placekicking. Riley Stephenson will reprise his role as the punter. No backups are listed at either position, and no other kickers are on the roster. The lack of depth likely means that one would take over as the starter for the other in case of injury.

The return game will likely feature Cody Hoffman and J.D. Falslev, with Mike Hague serving as the other kick return player. As previously noted, typically any skill player who wants a shot gets a look in the return game.

The Cougars have, however, lost Matt Marshall as the holder. The prospectus lists his successor as backup quarterback James Lark.

Outlook:

The good news is that, contrary to last season, the Cougars are not hurting for experience when it comes to special teams. The bad news is that gaining that experience took a toll in the form of significant growing pains. Poor punt work essentially cost the Cougars a game against TCU, while placekicking became worse than an adventure toward the end of the season. A rate of 60% on field goals is simply not good enough. However, Stephenson ended the year in impressive fashion, and Sorenson's problems were injury related in an immediate post mission season. Fortuitously, the greatest return threats since James Dye return in the form of Hoffman and Falslev. Unfortunately, another worry is depth. The kickers need to stay healthy. But all things considered, the special teams ought to be good in 2012, but to be good they need to have a more consistent, injury free season from a year ago.

You can read Part 3, Defensive Line, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=8724450

Part 2, Linebackers, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=8719026

And Part 1, Defensive Backs, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=8714262
Blue thru and thru
Bio page
Blue thru and thru
Joined
Jun 12, 2002
Last login
Mar 29, 2024
Total posts
10,239 (0 FO)
Messages
Author
Time

Posting on CougarBoard

In order to post, you will need to either sign up or log in.