Jeremy Pernell: Kickstarting Nebraska’s Special Teams

Transfers Timmy Bleekrode and Brian Buschini are part of the effort to fix a beleaguered unit

Nebraska Athletics photo

Nebraska's special teams have been awful these past four years. And they've cost the Huskers several games during that span. Head coach Scott Frost used his recent staff shakeup to finally address the situation. 

Bill Busch, who spent last season as a defensive analyst in the Nebraska football program, was promoted to special teams coordinator. The move was made official on Jan. 10 and marks the first time since 2016 that Nebraska will have a full-time special teams coordinator on staff.

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Busch (pictured above) is known as a standout recruiter and has been successful in the role at several different stops; Nebraska (2004-07), Utah State (2011-12) and Wisconsin (2013-14). He wasn't going to head into the 2022 season without attacking the portal for some immediate help. Even before he was officially part of the new staff, Busch set out to find reliable specialists.

Timmy Bleekrode :: © Ken Ruinard / staff via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Furman's Timmy Bleekrode graduated from Marist (Ga.) High School in 2018 and redshirted his first year on campus. As a backup in 2019, he attempted one extra point and punted three times. Furman's 2020 fall season was postponed to the spring of 2021 and reduced to seven games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bleekrode took over punting and placekicking duties that spring from graduated All-America placekicker Grayson Atkins. And Furman didn't miss a beat. Bleekrode averaged 43.6 yards on 36 punts with a long of 69 yards. He was named second-team All-SoCon, even though his average was two full yards per punt higher than the first-team selection, Matthew Campbell of The Citadel. Bleekrode also made 6-of-7 field goal attempts with a long of 47 yards.

Last fall, Bleekrode made 15-of-18 field goal attempts with a career-long 51 yarder. He also averaged 42.2 yards on 52 punts with a long of 60, again earning second-team All-SoCon honors.

He entered the transfer portal on Nov. 23, three days after Furman's season ended. Nebraska staffers contacted him via Twitter within a couple hours of his announcement. Bleekrode also heard from Syracuse and Bowling Green, but the Huskers were more aggressive in their recruitment, with Busch being in daily contact.

Nebraska was able to get Bleekrode in town for the Iowa game on Black Friday and then the Huskers came through with an offer the following week on Dec. 3. Busch subsequently visited Bleekrode in Greenville, South Carolina, every week until he committed on Dec. 12, following his official visit. He arrived this summer after graduating from Furman in May.

The 5-foot-8, 185-pound Bleekrode is the first scholarship grad transfer kicker Nebraska has taken since Bo Pelini added Pat Smith from Western Illinois in 2013. Smith earned honorable-mention All-Big Ten honors in his only season after making 12-of-13 field goal attempts. Scott Frost would more than welcome that from Bleekrode.

The kicking game has blown hot and cold these past four years. Husker placekickers Barret Pickering (14-of-18) and Connor Culp (13-of-15) were solid in 2018 and 2020, respectively. But those results were sandwiched around a disastrous 2019 season that saw six different Huskers combine to go 12-of-20. It was even worse last season. Connor Culp and Chase Contreraz combined to go 8-of-16. The pair were 3-of-7 on field goals between 30 and 39 yards, and 0-of-2 between 40 and 49 yards, with a miss of 29 yards.

Nebraska doesn't need Bleekrode to be Alex Henery. They just need him to be reliable. Busch recently said his attitude is once the offense gets to the 28-yard line, that should result in points. Having someone who can consistently deliver from 45 and in makes a huge difference.

When a coach doesn’t have confidence in a kicker hitting a field goal when his offense crosses the 30-yard line, it affects play calling and can lead to huge momentum plays in the course of a game. Frost has a 5-20 record in one-possession games. How different could his 15-29 record at Nebraska have been had he gotten better play from his placekicker - and special teams in general?

Nebraska's punting game last season was consistently inconsistent. Australian import Daniel Cerni dealt with an injury upon arrival and struggled. His punt late in the game against Michigan State will live in infamy. Michigan State transfer William Przystup was inconsistent during his two years in Lincoln. Przystup entered the transfer portal in January and Cerni was put on medical hardship in February.

If you look at the success Timmy Bleekrode had as a punter at Furman, you might wonder why the staff wouldn't just ask him to pull double duty. The answer is that Bill Busch was able to go out and get the best punter available in the transfer portal.

Brian Buschini / James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Brian Buschini was a three-time honorable-mention all-state punter coming out of Capital (Mont.) High School in the 2019 class. He walked on at Montana and redshirted his first season on campus. The ensuing 2020 fall season for the Grizzlies was postponed to the spring of 2021 and reduced to just two games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Buschini attempted just six punts in the abbreviated season and then spent time that summer attending the One on One Kicking facility in Birmingham, Alabama, working closely with Mike McCabe, one of the most respected specialist coaches in the country.

This past fall, Buschini was remarkable. Nicknamed "Boomschini" by fans in Montana, he averaged 46 yards per punt, which was tied for third in the FCS and broke UM's 36-year-old record of 44.7 yards. Buschini flipped fields by booming 28 punts for 50 yards or more, forced 25 fair catches and placed 30 of his 69 punts inside the 20-yard line compared to only four touchbacks. His net average of around 43 last season led the country.

In total, Buschini played in 15 games at Montana, technically covering two seasons. His career average 43.4 net yards per punt ranks second in the FCS during that span, and his 45.8 average yards per punt ranks third. Buschini had the most punts pinned inside the 20-yard line and had the No. 1 hangtime (4.05 seconds) in FCS. He also handled kickoffs for Montana, recording 35 touchbacks on 75 kicks.

The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Buschini was named first-team All-American and was awarded FCS punter of the year by the Augusta Sports Council, which also gives out the Ray Guy Award to the best punter in the FBS every year.

Buschini put together one of the best punting seasons in Montana history and decided to parlay that success into an opportunity to test himself at a higher level. On Dec. 13, Buschini announced on Twitter that he was entering the transfer portal, just a few hours after he was named the FCS punter of the year.

Busch had already been communicating with Buschini for nearly a month. Once Buschini was officially in the portal, Husker recruiting administrator Trent Mossbrucker contacted him. Brian and his wife, Kellie, who were married last October, talked to Busch, Frost and Mossbrucker for several hours. During the talks, Nebraska officially extended a scholarship offer.

Buschini spoke and FaceTimed with several coaches for over six hours that first day. Washington, Mississippi State, Utah and Oregon State were among the teams that tried to get involved in his recruitment. However, having done his homework leading up to his announcement, Buschini accepted Nebraska's offer the same day, making the news public during a social media announcement the following day.

The Buschinis moved to Lincoln in January and Brian was able to practice with the Huskers this spring. He received a loud ovation from the more than 53,000 fans in attendance after his first punt in the spring game sailed 63 yards. It was a bit of a mixed bag on the day, however. Buschini did boom two punts over 60 yards and put two inside the 20-yard line. But he also had a 14-yard shank, thanks to a strong wind.

The biggest question for Buschini will be how he handles the weather and wind that comes with punting in the Big Ten. Buschini has a strong leg, and having already dealt with unfavorable conditions at Montana leads me to believe he'll adjust fine.

Nebraska's net punting average last year was 35.77, which was atrocious. They ranked 120th out of 130 FBS teams. Nobody in the Big Ten was worse. Buschini wants to duplicate the 43-yard net average he maintained at Montana, which is a really good target number. Last season, only 12 teams in college football achieved that mark. As a conference, five of the top 13 teams in the country in net punting were from the Big Ten and nine of the top 50 were from the league. Nebraska needs to join that group. The Big Ten is a conference known for playing outstanding special teams. The Huskers need to become a football team that has the same reputation if they hope to return to relevance.

With Buschini and Bleekrode both having three seasons of eligibility remaining, they could help stabilize special teams for the next several seasons.

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