North Texas special teams coordinator explains incredible trick punt return play that fooled Arkansas
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The North Texas Mean Green pulled off the play of the week (and possibly the year) against Arkansas on Saturday.
On an Arkansas punt in the first half, UNT returner Keegan Brewster fielded the ball without signaling for a fair catch. However, he acted casual and the Hogs didn’t tackle him.
After strolling past the first wave of defenders, Brewster turned on the jets and scampered untouched into the end zone:
Now THAT'S a perfectly executed trick play ? #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/YR3pKyyDaH
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 15, 2018
That play didn’t just happen, though. According to a story from SB Nation, special teams coordinator Matt Biagi said the Mean Green have been working on that gem for a while:
“You can’t just put that in on a Wednesday and then go, ‘Hey! Trust me!’” Biagi says.
So the coordinator told the returner in August, “Hey, we’re gonna start practicing this during fall camp, and I need you to trust me.”
“And Keegan looked me square in the eyes and said, ‘Coach, let’s practice it until you know it’ll work.’ So instead of just practicing that once, my big thing is: don’t practice it till you get it right,” Biagi says. “Practice it till you can’t get it wrong.”
It went about as perfectly as it could have on Saturday, but now teams will be waiting for it to happen again, so Brewster will have to be careful.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
