Wake Forest Football: Special Teams Preview

A key piece of this unit has departed, but plenty of talent remains

A complete football team is one that excels in all three phases. Often times, what happens on special teams decides the outcome of the game. Be it a long return, a missed kick, or a punt that's downed at the one-yard line, huge swings in momentum regularly occur when the offense and defense are sitting on the bench.

Let's take a look at Wake Forest's personnel for the unsung phase of the game this upcoming season:

Punt Returner

Taylor Morin will be returning punts once again this season, coming off an excellent 2021 campaign (9.95 yards per return). He’s on the Paul Hornung award watch list, given to the most versatile player in college football, as well as receiving both Athlon and Phil Steele Preseason First-Team All ACC Punt returner honors. His career long 35-yard return came at a crucial time, during the Nov. 13 win vs. NC State. At the start of the fourth quarter, Morin's return brought the Deacs right into Wolfpack territory, sparking a touchdown drive.

Kick Returner

Former return man Ja’Sir Taylor is now with the Los Angeles Chargers, but an experienced group of playmakers remain. Morin will continue to be involved in this spot as well, and likely to be standing back there with him is sophore receiver Ke’Shawn Williams. The speedy Williams returned eight kickoffs for 150 yards last season. Another player who should be involved is Donavon Greene. Although he missed all of 2021 due to injury, he was stellar as a returner in 2020, notching a 96-yard house call against Campbell.

Place Kicker

Wake Forest fans have been spoiled in the kicking department these past few years. The departure of Nick Sciba and his historically great accuracy will be tough to replicate. Sciba made 89.9% of his field goal attempts as a Demon Deacon, and was a perfect 193/193 on PATs. Redshirt freshman Matthew Dennis appears to be a shoo-in to handle field goal duties. There isn’t any college film to discuss here, but he did drill a 55-yarder in camp, and has been efficient all through the summer. 

Punter

Redshirt sophomore Ivan Mora is the incumbent here, coming off a stellar 2021 campaign in which he started all 14 games and averaged just shy of 44 yards per punt. Mora was named to the Ray Guy award preseason watch list, an honor given to the nation’s best punter. Mora was carted off the field with an injury during the Gator Bowl back in December, but he has been a full go in camp.

Kickoff Specialist

Mora’s other responsibility is to take the kickoffs. Last season 38 of his 96 kickoffs went for touchbacks. The kickoff coverage unit floundered at times, specifically against North Carolina State. They allowed two massive kickoff returns in a row, one of which went for a 100-yard touchdown.