Published June 5, 2012 - 10:44am
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Special teams play is a thankless job on any level. Sometimes, it comes down to a field goal, and you are either the goat or the grunt at the end of the game. Just ask Alabama’s Jeremy Shelley and Cade Foster about their game last year in November in which Alabama missed four field goals in a loss to LSU. They even have the power to make very soft frat boys cry.
In all games the SEC played last year, including all bowl games, 10 games were decided by three points or less. It’s crucial for kickers to have ice water running through their veins, and we have several kickers in the SEC who have just that.
The most familiar of which may be LSU’s Drew Alleman place kicker. Verne Lundquist seems to let this roll off his tongue quite nicely from week to week, pronounced “Ah-Ley-Moan”.
Here are the field goal kickers returning this year:
| NAME | FGM | FGA | PCT | LONG |
| Drew Alleman, LSU | 16 | 18 | 88.9 | 44 |
| Craig McIntosh, Kentucky | 12 | 14 | 85.7 | 48 |
| Caleb Sturgis, Florida | 22 | 26 | 84.6 | 55 |
| Bryson Rose, Ole Miss | 9 | 11 | 81.8 | 43 |
| Zach Hocker, Arkansas | 21 | 27 | 77.8 | 50 |
| Jeremy Shelley, Alabama | 21 | 27 | 77.8 | 44 |
| Cody Parkey, Auburn | 13 | 18 | 72.3 | 45 |
| Michael Palardy, Tennessee | 9 | 14 | 64.3 | 52 |
| Carey Spear, Vanderbilt | 4 | 7 | 57.1 | 37 |
| Ryan Fowler, Vanderbilt | 4 | 7 | 57.1 | 35 |
Punting is an aspect of the game that is greatly overlooked, but having a good punter in the SEC with a dominant defense can absolutely change the game for you in a heartbeat. Generally speaking, the SEC plays close games week to week, so field position is absolutely crucial for teams.
If you’re LSU, you can even let playmaker and punter Brad Wing run touchdowns and steal girls’ hearts in the stands on any given Saturday. The guy is a stud.
Here are the top returning punters for 2012 in the SEC:
| NAME | NO | YDS | AVG |
| Dylan Breeding, Arkansas | 53 | 2,400 | 45.3 |
| Brad Wing, LSU | 59 | 2,618 | 44.4 |
| Tyler Campbell, Ole Miss | 72 | 3,137 | 43.6 |
| Richard Kent, Vanderbilt | 64 | 2,719 | 42.5 |
| Baker Swedenburg, Miss State | 71 | 2,970 | 41.8 |
| Kyle Christy, Florida | 30 | 1,227 | 30.9 |
| Steven Clark, Auburn | 72 | 2,941 | 40.8 |
| Cody Mandell, Alabama | 39 | 1,534 | 39.9 |
| Matt Darr, Tennessee | 40 | 1,525 | 38.1 |
