Special teams often go under-appreciated, but they can affect a game in a number of ways. Beginning this week, Saturday Down South is giving the SECs special teamers the credit they deserve in the weekly Special Teams Index.

KICKOFFS

Vanderbilt has been the best in the SEC when it comes to returning kickoffs, but it clearly hasn’t helped Vandy in the win column this season. The Commodores return game has benefited from a lackluster defense allowing plenty of points, as the ‘Dores have returned nine more kickoffs than any other team in the conference.

With that said, the Commodores also lead the conference in return touchdowns, thanks to Darrius Sims’ two-touchdown effort against South Carolina earlier this season.

Missouri has returned the fewest kickoffs of any team in the SEC with just seven returns on the year, but the Tigers have still managed to average more than 30 yards per return when they do get a chance to run a kick back. Only Mizzou and Arkansas have averaged more than 30 yards per return, while Ole Miss has returned just nine kickoffs for fewer than 16 yards per return this season.

Team Kickoff Returns Return Yards Return TDs
1. Vanderbilt 30 672 2
2. South Carolina 21 437 0
3. Alabama 16 398 0
4. Texas A&M 16 376 0
5. Arkansas 11 340 1
6. Tennessee 14 303 0
7. LSU 12 283 0
8. Florida 13 275 0
9. Georgia 11 248 1
10. Missouri 7 218 1
11. Kentucky 8 212 0
12. Mississippi State 9 188 0
13. Auburn 8 173 0
14. Ole Miss 9 143 0

LSU has been the best in the SEC at covering kickoffs, only allowing 11 returns all season. The low number of returns allowed implies the team has booted most of its kickoffs out of the end zone for touchbacks, limiting an opponent’s ability to alter field position with a big return. Missouri has also allowed just 11 kickoff returns on the year, but the Tigers’ yards per return average is not quite as impressive as the Bayou Bengals.

Vanderbilt has only allowed 13 returns, but that may be a result of a low-scoring offense that rarely allows the team to kick to opponents. Meanwhile, Alabama has allowed a whopping 26 kickoff returns, and is the only team to allow more than 600 yards on returns this season.

South Carolina has allowed the most yards per return at more than 29 yards per kickoff, and Sims’ two-score performance makes the Gamecocks the only SEC team to allow multiple kickoff return touchdowns so far this season.

Team Kickoffs Return Yards Allowed Return TDs Allowed
1. LSU 11 233 0
2. Missouri 11 256 0
3. Vanderbilt 13 310 0
4. Florida 14 314 0
5. Kentucky 16 315 0
6. Auburn 14 337 0
7. Texas A&M 20 364 0
8. Ole Miss 20 388 0
9. Mississippi State 23 417 0
10. Georgia 23 466 0
11. Tennessee 24 478 0
12. South Carolina 17 495 2
13. Arkansas 25 529 0
14. Alabama 26 602 1

PUNTS

Auburn has amassed the most punt return yards of anyone in the SEC with 230, and the Tigers also lead the conference in punt return touchdowns with two. Their 23 yards per punt return average is also best in the SEC, nearly six yards per return better than the No. 2 team in the conference, the Texas A&M Aggies.

A&M has averaged a little more than 17 yards per return, and although Georgia has amassed 29 more return yards this season than the Aggies, they’ve relied on seven more returns to hit that mark.

Tennessee is tied with Missouri and South Carolina for the fewest punt returns on the season, and the Vols have the fewest punt return yards of anyone in the SEC with just 34 on the season. However, it is actually the Ole Miss Rebels with the worst yards per return average at just 5.5 yards per punt return in 2014.

Team Punt Returns Return Yards Return TDs
1. Auburn 10 230 2
2. Georgia 17 200 1
3. Texas A&M 10 171 0
4. LSU 14 121 0
5. Arkansas 12 112 0
6. Alabama 9 110 0
7. Missouri 9 108 0
8. Missouri 6 98 0
9. Mississippi State 12 92 0
T10. Vanderbilt 10 82 1
T10. Kentucky 13 82 0
12. Ole Miss 10 55 0
13. South Carolina 6 35 0
14. Tennessee 6 34 0

When it comes to covering punts, no one has been better than the Kentucky Wildcats this year. The Cats have allowed just two of their punts to be returned in their first five games, and those returns went for a combined three yards.

LSU and Tennessee have allowed the most punt returns of anyone in the conference with 12 apiece, but Auburn has allowed the most return yardage with 92 on just six punts. The Tigers 15.3 yards allowed per punt return is the worst in the SEC by five yards per return.

Team Punts Return Yards Allowed Return TDs Allowed
1. Kentucky 2 3 0
2. Georgia 6 4 0
3. Alabama 2 8 0
4. Ole Miss 5 10 0
5. Texas A&M 4 21 0
6. Arkansas 5 33 0
7. Vanderbilt 11 38 0
8. Missouri 4 40 0
9. Florida 8 43 0
10. Tennessee 12 55 0
11. South Carolina 8 58 0
12. LSU 12 62 0
13. Mississippi State 6 64 0
14. Auburn 6 92 0

INDIVIDUALS

Sims leads all kick returners with 431 return yards on just 14 kickoffs. His 30.8 yards per return are second only to Arkansas’ Korliss Marshall this season, and his two kick return touchdowns lead the conference.

South Carolina’s Shon Carson leads the conference in returns, and he’s second in the SEC in total return yards as a result, but he ranks just ninth in the conference in yards per return. Besides Sims and Marshall, only Todd Gurley and Marcus Murphy have run kickoffs back for touchdowns so far in 2014.

Name Team Kickoff Returns Return Yards-TDs
1. Darrius Sims Vanderbilt 14 431-2
2. Shon Carson South Carolina 19 409-0
3. Christion Jones Alabama 15 378-0
4. Leonard Fournette LSU 12 283-0
5. Devrin Young Tennessee 13 280-0

Bray is the biggest reason Auburn is the best punt returning team in the SEC, as his 24.9 yards per return and two touchdowns both lead all SEC returners. Tre’Davious White leads the conference with 13 returns, but he’s amassed just 112 yards on those returns, leading to just the eighth-best yards per return average in the conference.

Name Team Punt Returns Return Yards-TDs
1. Quan Bray Auburn 8 199-2
2. Tre’Davious White LSU 13 114-0
3. D.J. Dean Arkansas 9 112-0
4. Isaiah McKenzie Georgia 7 111-1
5. Marcus Murphy Missouri 9 108-0

Elliott Fry has been far and away the most valuable place kicker in the SEC, as he leads the conference in field goals made with 10 through six games. He’s only missed one kick all year, and many of his kicks have kept South Carolina within striking distance in a string of close games in SEC play.

Texas A&M’s Josh Lambo has the second-best field goal percentage in the conference at just under 88 percent, but he’s had far fewer attempts than many of his counterparts throughout the conference. Aaron Medley, Adam Griffith and Austin MacGinnis are all tied for second in the SEC with eight made field goals this season, but all four have an 80 percent conversion rate or worse.

Name Team Field Goals Made Field Goals Attempted
1. Elliott Fry South Carolina 10 11
T2. Aaron Medley Tennessee 8 10
T2. Adam Griffith Alabama 8 11
T2. Austin MacGinnis Kentucky 8 12
T4. Josh Lambo Texas A&M 7 8

LSU’s Jamie Keehn has been keen on flipping field position for the Bayou Bengals this season, leading the conference in yards per punt despite punting the ball more than everyone in the conference but Tennessee’s Matt Darr and Vanderbilt’s Colby Cooke.

Florida’s Kyle Christy and Ole Miss’ Will Gleeson are the only other players besides Keehn to average at least 45 yards per punt, but those two players have combined to punt the ball just four more times than Keehn has in the same number of games (Florida has actually played one fewer game than LSU and Ole Miss thanks to the rainout against Idaho).

Sam Irwin-Hill has had a fine season for the Razorbacks, averaging more than 43 yards per punt, and he recorded the special teams play of the year on a 51-yard touchdown run on a fake punt against Texas A&M.

Name Team Punts Yards Per Punt
1. Jamie Keehn LSU 36 45.7
2. Kyle Christy Florida 24 45.3
3. Will Gleeson Ole Miss 16 45.1
4. Devon Bell Mississippi State 24 43.5
5. Sam Irwin-Hill Arkansas 18 43.1