KABrother's 2015 Football Preview - Special Teams

KABrother88 · August 29, 2015

We wrap up our previews by taking a look at the 3rd phase of the team...Special Teams

Note:

* represents player was a starter at the end of 2014.

** represents player was 2nd team at the end of 2014.

Letter in ( ) represents what eligibility player will/would have had starting the season with "E" being exhausted eligibility.

Who We Lost:

N/A

Who We Return:

DS:

Brent Nicholson (Sr)

Zach Roberts (R-Fr)

K:

Juan Carranco (Jr)

Alex Ball (Jr)

Josh Davis (So)

Who We Added:

K/P:

Hunter James (Fr)

What We Know:

It's no secret that the Lamar Special Teams units struggled last season. LU had problems in seemingly every phase of special teams. Towards the end of the season Juan Carranco somewhat shored up the place kicking game while also improving his punting game. Kick-off coverage and return remained a weak point however. Early season troubles undoubtedly was partly to blame of the late arrival of Special Teams Coordinator Brian Morgan who arrived just shortly before Fall Camp.

What To Watch For:

As Coach Morgan enters his 2nd season on staff as the ST coordinator and he'll have to prove last season was a fluke. One thing I've said before that would improve ST is increased overall team depth. With this past signing class, especially at the DB & LB positions, I believe we are closer to the depth needed for that. The actual kicking part is the biggest factor that needs to improve to me though. Last season, minus Texas College (who attempted an onside in its only KO), we faced 1 team (HBU) who had less than a 58 yard per kickoff average. On the flip side, Lamar only broke that 58 Y/KO average twice (Nicholls & UIW). On the season Lamar averaged 54.6 Y/KO (landing at about the 10 yard line) vs opponents averaging 61 Y/KO (landing at about 4 yard line). Hang time was another issue as there were many line drives that didn't allow the coverage team to get down field.

What To Expect:

Alex Ball is back healthy and looks to reclaim the place kicking duties. If he can remain healthy it will go a long ways towards improving FGs and Kickoffs. To be flat honest, I'm not sure who will be returning kicks. The final 2-Deep last season had Devonn Brown and Mike Handy at #1 and #2 respectively at both KR and PR but even that was far from set in stone as Jayce Nelson got his fair share of work in the as the primary PR. Don't be surprised to see some new faces in the return game this year.

My Week 1 Prediction:

DS:

1 - Brent Nicholson

2 - Zach Roberts

K:

1 - Alex Ball

2 - Juan Carranco

PK:

1 - Alex Ball

2 - Juan Carranco

P:

1 - Juan Carranco