Indiana Football Position Preview: Special Teams Combine Veterans, Inexperience

Next up in our Indiana football position preview series, the Indiana special teams unit. Jaylin Lucas is back for his sophomore year after earning first-team All-American honors as a kick returner, and James Evans returns for his third year as Indiana's punter. But with Charles Campbell gone, there's an open competition at kicker.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Special teams are often overlooked, but still crucially important to any football program.

Entering the 2023 season, Indiana has wide variance between top returning talent and inexperience throughout the special teams unit.

Continuing our Indiana football position preview series, we'll break down Indiana's outlook at punter, kicker, long snapper and return specialist.

Personnel

• Kick/punt returners: Jaylin Lucas, Omar Cooper Jr., Andison Coby, Noah Pierre
• Kickers: Nico Radicic, Chris Freeman, Alejandro Quintero
• Punters: James Evans, Alejandro Quintero
• Long snapper: Sean Wracher

Indiana punter James Evans (94) punts during the second quarter against Purdue on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind.  :: Nikos Frazier / Journal & Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK

All-American return man

During his true freshman season, Jaylin Lucas led the FBS with two kick-return touchdowns, as he blazed past the Rutgers and Michigan State coverage units. After earning first-team All-American honors in 2022, Lucas is a much more widely-known commodity heading into his sophomore season. That doesn't necessarily make him any easier to contain, but opponents will likely do their best to kick away from him and limit return chances. 

Indiana special teams coordinator Kasey Teegardin said he expects teams to do different things to keep the ball out of Lucas' hands, so he has to find creative ways as a coach to scheme against this. For Teegardin, it starts with what the other Hoosiers are doing. 

"[Lucas] is a dangerous weapon," Teegardin said. "We’ve got to find ways to get him the ball and get him returns. When those opportunities come, the other ten guys on the field have to do their job because he is so explosive. You can’t relax when he’s out there on the field. You’ve got to get the other ten guys blocking for him and using their techniques and making sure they’re giving him time to field the kicks and the punts. That’s really what it comes down to, because we know what he can do with the ball in his hands. It’s going to come down to the other ten guys that are going to be able to out-execute our opponent."

But no matter how often teams try to limit Lucas, he's still setting lofty aspirations for himself. 

"My goal is to have 8-10 return touchdowns," Lucas said. "I'm trying to be like Devin Hester. I'm trying to break a record this year." 

Kicking competition

When asked about Indiana's first team scrimmage on Aug. 12, coach Tom Allen said the field goal and extra-point kicking was "not to our standard." The Hoosiers are in the process of replacing longtime placekicker Charles Campbell, and the competition has experienced its ups and downs. 

Teegardin said Monday that true freshman Nico Radicic and Chris Freeman have started to separate themselves in the competition, which he considers to be "light years ahead of where it was two weeks ago." Freeman, like last year, will handle kickoff duties for Indiana, but he's competing with Radicic for Indiana's starting field goal and extra-point kicker. 

Out of Coppell, Texas, Radicic was ranked the No. 4 kicker in the nation among 2023 recruits, per Kohl's Professional Camps. Teegardin said Radicic has a chip on his shoulder and is an extremely confident young man, but they're still trying to slowly bring him along as he adapts to a new environment.

"Very pleased with [Radicic] so far," Teegardin said. "He comes from a big-time high school that plays some really good football down in Texas. He’s kicked in the All-American game, so he’s been in pressure situations, which you love. We’re going to put him in pressure situations, we put him in one [Monday], and he answered the call, which is what you expect."

"Chris [Freeman] has done a better much job recently in the past week and a half, Alex (Quintero) has been serviceable, as well," Teegardin said. "So, I feel really good about where we’re at right now moving forward with those three guys, and it’s exciting to see."

Freeman has been with the Hoosiers since the 2020 season, but outside of kickoffs, he's only attempted two extra points and he hasn't attempted a field goal at the college level. Radicic obviously doesn't have collegiate experience as a true freshman, and Quintero was the team's backup punter last year. Due to this inexperience, Teegardin has changed the practice schedule to keep the kickers on their toes.

"We've taken out the PAT, field goal period in practice, and now we just call it out," Teegardin said. "That's the best way you can simulate and put those guys in pressure situations."

Experienced punter, long snapper

James Evans is back for his third year at Indiana. The Auckland, New Zealand native has been the starting punter in all 24 games since the start of the 2021 season, and he's already etched his name in Indiana's record books.

Evans is the program's all-time punting average leader at 43.1 yards, and he owns 17 career punts inside the 10-yard line. Despite never playing football before joining the Hoosiers, Evans has quickly become a reliable punter.

Sean Wracher returns for his fifth season as Indiana's starting long snapper. He was named an honorable mention All-American by Rubio Long Snapping in 2022, and made the Patrick Mannelly Award watch list, an award given to top senior long snapper in the FBS, heading into the 2023 season.

The bottom line

Jaylin Lucas, the reigning first-team All-American return specialist, gives Indiana, by definition, the nation's top kick returner. He's looking to take on punt-returning duties this year, as well, but it wouldn't be surprising to see teams kick out of bounds or away from him as much as possible. James Evans and Sean Wracher give Indiana steady play at punter and long snapper, but regardless of who wins the starting kicker job, neither has experience at the collegiate level.

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