Previewing the Special Teams: 12 Days Until Kansas Football

We complete our positional previews with the third phase of the game.

For the last 9 weeks, we have been taking a deep dive into one of the 10 main position groups for the Kansas Jayhawks, highlighting the key players to watch and giving you an idea of what to expect from the position this year. This week, we complete the series by diving into the special teams units.

Other Positional Previews:

• Quarterbacks
• Running Backs
• Wide Receivers
• Tight Ends
  
• Offensive Line
• Defensive Line
• Linebackers
• Cornerbacks
• Safeties

Last Season

The Jayhawks struggled last season in pretty much every portion of the special teams, despite a few big highlights.

Jacob Borcila handled the field goal duties for the regular season, but he was only 7-13 on the year with one block. His struggles throughout the season led to him being replaced by Owen Piepergerdes in the Liberty Bowl, where he made his only attempt, a 36 yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.

Tabor Allen handled all 73 kickoffs for the season, averaging 61.1 yards with 41 touchbacks and two kicks out of bounds.

At punter, Reis Vernon led the team with 34 punts, averaging 39.9 yards per punt. He had just 2 punts that went 50 or more yards, but put 10 inside the 20 with only 3 touchbacks and no blocked kicks. Grayden Addison chipped in 5 more punts, and Jalon Daniels pooched two punts while Jason Bean had one. Opponents only returned 11 punts all season, with 58 of the 76 total return yards coming in a single return.

In the return game, OJ Burroughs returned 3 punt opportunities for only 18 total yards, while Luke Grimm's only return lost 3 yards. The Jayhawks returned 23 kickoffs, with Kenny Logan averaging 19.8 yards on 12 opportunities. Sevion Morrison averaged 21.3 yards on 6 returns. Steven McBride, Trevor Wilson, Trevor Kardell and Andrew Russell each got an opportunity to return during the season, with no major standouts.

Overall, the special teams units left a lot to be desired last season. While there were not a lot of huge gaffes (except maybe the muffed punt early against Kansas State), there also weren't any huge standout plays. In fact, the highlight of the year for special teams was probably Cobee Bryant's blocked field goal return for a touchdown in the season opener.

Cause For Concern

The kicking game was a huge issue last season for the Jayhawks, with Borcila's troubling 2021 season getting even worse in 2022. But when your punts and kickoffs are light years ahead of field goal kicking, it's worrying.

But the real concern is the lack of big plays from the return game. Kenny Logan had multiple big plays in the return game under Les Miles, but for whatever reason those opportunities just haven't materialized since Lance Leipold came to town. And the punt return situation is pretty much non-existent. There were literally no big plays from that return unit, and they are going to need to effect games at least periodically.

Reasons for Optimism

One name: Seth Keller. The Jayhawks knew they needed a massive improvement in the kicking game, so they went out into the transfer portal and got the best option available in a redshirt-senior from Texas State who received multiple honors during the season for the Sun Belt conference. His consistency will be a big asset for the Jayhawks, and should help solidify one of the biggest holes in the team last year.

The large number of options for returners last season didn't really help find anyone that could have a huge impact, but a big part of that might have to do with an inability to stop opponents last season, reducing the number of punt return opportunities. We've seen some big returns from the players available in the past, so it isn't outside the realm of possibilities for this unit to develop into a strength this year.

Projected Depth Chart

With the exception of the kicker, there aren't many changes from last year's depth chart. The roles are well defined and the kicking positions are basically the one spot on the team that doesn't have a lot of competition.

Kicker: Seth Keller

Piepergerdes was able to step in during a tough situation, but he doesn't have the same track record as a guy like Keller. An 86% accuracy mark will be huge for this team, as well as the ability to hit from some decent range. If the Jayhawks are more confident in his ability this season, that should lead to more points just by refusing to roll the dice in more borderline situations.

Kickoffs: Tabor Allen

Allen was successful doing the kickoffs last year, and with no serious changes in the personnel available, it's hard to imagine the team going in a different direction.

Punter: Reis Vernon

Vernon was the guy when he was healthy, and I don't expect anything to change.

Kickoff Returns: Kenny Logan Jr

Could there be some concern about the workload being put on Logan? He continues to take on a larger role in the defensive backfield, and it's not like he has been super effective the last two years as a returner. I expect many players to get opportunities, but Logan will likely be the default unless someone else stands out (or teams start kicking away from him).

Punt Returns: OJ Burroughs

Burroughs got the majority of the opportunities last season, including a muffed punt at the start of the game against the Wildcats in Manhattan. But the Jayhawks don't have a clear punt returner who is for sure ready to step up into the job. This is another situation where multiple players should get an opportunity, but Burroughs might end up being the default if they can't get a clearly better option.

Coaching Staff

The special teams coaching duties are being split between four different position coaches this year, with Taiwo Onatolu officially the special teams coordinator. It's not clear how exactly the coaching situation contributed to the performance last season, and with so many coaches in the plan, it's hard to evaluate any of them individually either.

But the big difference for this season is the addition of analyst Sean Snyder, son of Kansas State great Bill Snyder. It seems that Leipold and staff are looking to leverage some familiarity with what made those units so effective, and I'm all for it.

Overall Thoughts

I don't think it is fair to say that the special teams was the biggest problem for the team last season, but they definitely didn't do much to actually help the situation. Thankfully, the coaching staff recognized the deficiencies last season and have at least made an effort to improve them.

I'm still worried about the return games, but bringing in Snyder should be a boost, and I'm excited to see what he can do with these units, even if he isn't actually coaching on the field. It's easy to argue that scheming had a big effect on the effectiveness last year, so hopefully another voice focusing on the special teams will help turn the unit around.

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