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Special teams often go under-appreciated, but they can affect a game in a number of ways. As a result, Saturday Down South is giving the SECs special teamers the credit they deserve in the weekly Special Teams Index.
KICKOFFS
Tennessee didn’t get a chance at a kickoff return last Saturday against North Texas, one of the worst coverage units in the country. However, now the Vols get to face the worst coverage unit in the SEC at Missouri this Saturday night. Tennessee still ranks 1st in the FBS in yards per kick return at 38.8, which is 6 yards better than the next-best team in Michigan.
Auburn may not get a lot of opportunities against Idaho, but if it does, the Vandals rank 116th in with 25.1 yards per kick return allowed, including 2 touchdowns. Idaho is one of only six FBS schools to allow multiple kick return TDs this season.
Missouri continues to struggle in both aspects of the kickoff game. The Tigers are dead last in the FBS with only 15.6 yards per return. Meanwhile, the only Power 5 team worse at covering them is Arizona State (28.1).
Here’s a complete rundown of every SEC team’s numbers on kickoff returns and in kickoff coverage this season:
| TEAM | YARDS PER RETURN | KICKOFF RETURNS | RETURN TDs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Tennessee | 38.8 | 20 | 3 |
| 2. Auburn | 27.4 | 28 | 0 |
| 3. South Carolina | 23.9 | 24 | 1 |
| 4. Kentucky | 21.6 | 25 | 0 |
| 5. Mississippi State | 21.4 | 25 | 1 |
| 6. Florida | 20.9 | 21 | 0 |
| 7. Texas A&M | 20.8 | 26 | 0 |
| 8. Arkansas | 20.7 | 24 | 0 |
| 9. Vanderbilt | 19.4 | 27 | 0 |
| 10. Alabama | 19.2 | 26 | 0 |
| 11. LSU | 17.9 | 25 | 0 |
| 12. Ole Miss | 17.6 | 24 | 0 |
| 13. Georgia | 16.7 | 29 | 0 |
| 14. Missouri | 15.6 | 28 | 0 |
| TEAM | YARDS PER RETURN ALLOWED | OPP. RETURNS | RETURN TDS ALLOWED |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Texas A&M | 17.1 | 27 | 0 |
| 2. Mississippi State | 17.6 | 33 | 0 |
| 3. Alabama | 18.4 | 32 | 0 |
| 4. Tennessee | 18.6 | 31 | 0 |
| 5. South Carolina | 18.9 | 14 | 0 |
| 6. Ole Miss | 19.2 | 31 | 0 |
| 7. Vanderbilt | 19.8 | 25 | 0 |
| 8. Florida | 19.8 | 22 | 0 |
| 9. Arkansas | 20.9 | 45 | 1 |
| 10. Georgia | 21.1 | 36 | 0 |
| 11. Auburn | 21.7 | 12 | 0 |
| 12. Kentucky | 22.8 | 33 | 1 |
| 13. LSU | 22.9 | 39 | 1 |
| 14. Missouri | 26.7 | 20 | 0 |
PUNTS
Georgia became the first and only FBS team this season to take three punts back to the house after “the Human Joystick” Isaiah McKenzie’s clutch 53-yard punt return TD in the fourth quarter helped give the Bulldogs the lead for good in a 20-13 win over Auburn.
Alabama’s Cyrus Jones joined McKenzie in the scoring action, but his came much earlier. Jones raced 69 yards for a TD to get the scoring started in the 31-6 onslaught of Mississippi State. That gives the Tide 2 punt return TDs on the season, the other one coming from Minkah Fitzpatrick off a blocked punt against Georgia. It’s just the fourth time in the last 25 seasons (since 1990) that the Tide have had multiple punt return TDs in a season along with the 1991, 1992 and 2008 squads.
Arkansas is hoping to have some success against Mississippi State this Saturday. The Razorbacks are ranked 3rd in the SEC with 16.5 yards per return while the Bulldogs are 12th in defending them.
Here’s a full rundown of every SEC team’s numbers on punt returns and in punt coverage this season:
| TEAM | YARDS PER PUNT RETURN | PUNT RETURNS | RETURN TDs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Texas A&M | 20.0 | 17 | 2 |
| 2. Tennessee | 18.3 | 24 | 2 |
| 3. Arkansas | 16.5 | 11 | 0 |
| 4. Georgia | 13.9 | 25 | 3 |
| 5. Florida | 12.5 | 24 | 1 |
| 6. Mississippi State | 12.1 | 16 | 1 |
| 7. Alabama | 11.5 | 29 | 2 |
| 8. LSU | 8.4 | 13 | 1 |
| 9. Auburn | 8.0 | 8 | 0 |
| 10. Kentucky | 7.0 | 10 | 0 |
| 11. Vanderbilt | 6.1 | 27 | 0 |
| 12. Missouri | 5.9 | 21 | 1 |
| 13. South Carolina | 5.8 | 10 | 0 |
| 14. Ole Miss | 4.6 | 24 | 0 |
| TEAM | YARDS PER PUNT RETURN ALLOWED | OPP. RETURNS | RETURN TDS ALLOWED |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Florida | 3.4 | 20 | 0 |
| 2. Ole Miss | 4.0 | 12 | 0 |
| 3. Alabama | 7.6 | 18 | 1 |
| 4. Missouri | 8.1 | 21 | 0 |
| 5. Arkansas | 8.7 | 12 | 0 |
| 6. Georgia | 8.8 | 16 | 1 |
| 7. South Carolina | 9.0 | 9 | 0 |
| 8. Texas A&M | 9.9 | 15 | 0 |
| 9. Kentucky | 10.5 | 18 | 1 |
| 10. Tennessee | 11.7 | 15 | 1 |
| 11. Vanderbilt | 12.9 | 24 | 1 |
| 12. Mississippi State | 15.6 | 8 | 1 |
| 13. Auburn | 16.8 | 5 | 1 |
| 14. LSU | 23.2 | 9 | 1 |
INDIVIDUALS
Evan Berry has blown away everyone in the FBS on kick returns with his staggering average of 40.6 yards. That’s a little more than 7 yards better than anyone in the country. Just as impressive is the fact that he’s taken three back for scores. The only other FBS player with as many is Rutgers junior Janarion Grant, but he’s had 15 more opportunities than Berry.
Meanwhile, Texas A&M freshman Christian Kirk tacked on a couple yards to his FBS-leading punt return average (24.5) thanks to his 46-yard return against Western Carolina last Saturday.
Of the top 10 players this season in kick and punt returns, six of them will be facing cupcakes.
Here’s a full rundown of the SEC’s best individual kickoff and punt returners this season:
| NAME | TEAM | YARDS PER KICK RETURN | KICK RETURNS | TDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Evan Berry | Tennessee | 40.6 | 18 | 3 |
| 2. Johnathan Ford | Auburn | 28.0 | 12 | 0 |
| 3. Brandon Holloway | Mississippi State | 25.3 | 16 | 1 |
| 4. Shon Carson | South Carolina | 23.8 | 13 | 0 |
| 5. Kenyan Drake | Alabama | 22.1 | 13 | 0 |
| NAME | TEAM | YARDS PER PUNT RETURN | PUNT RETURNS | TDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Christian Kirk | Texas A&M | 24.5 | 13 | 2 |
| 2. Cameron Sutton | Tennessee | 18.9 | 18 | 1 |
| 3. Antonio Callaway | Florida | 14.4 | 20 | 1 |
| 4. Isaiah McKenzie | Georgia | 14.3 | 12 | 2 |
| 5. Cyrus Jones | Alabama | 11.1 | 26 | 1 |
Trent Domingue didn’t even get a chance to take the field in the blowout loss to Arkansas last week, so that means he’s still 10-for-10 on the season. Entering Week 11, Arkansas State’s JD Houston was the only other qualified FBS kicker that could claim to be perfect, but he went 1-for-2 in last week’s win over Louisiana-Monroe, missing a 48-yarder in the fourth quarter.
In the punting game, Texas A&M senior Drew Kaser remains one of the best in the business with 47.6 yards per punt, 2nd-best in the FBS. Missouri freshman Corey Fatony looks like he has a bright future in Columbia. He’s been put to work 6.4 times per game, a rate that’s tied for 4th in the FBS. Nonetheless, he’s averaged 44 yards per punt, 3rd-best in the SEC and right behind standout field-flippers Kaser and Tennessee’s Trevor Daniel.
Here’s a breakdown of the top individual kickers and punters in the country.
| NAME | TEAM | FG PERCENTAGE | FG MADE | FG ATTEMPTED |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Trent Domingue | LSU | 100% | 10 | 10 |
| 2. Daniel Carlson | Auburn | 87% | 20 | 23 |
| 3. Gary Wunderlich | Kentucky | 83.3% | 15 | 18 |
| 4. Austin MacGinnis | Kentucky | 81.3% | 13 | 16 |
| 5. Andrew Baggett | Missouri | 78.9% | 15 | 19 |
| NAME | TEAM | YARDS PER PUNT | PUNTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Drew Kaser | Texas A&M | 47.6 | 43 |
| 2. Trevor Daniel | Tennessee | 45.7 | 48 |
| 3. Corey Fatony | Missouri | 44.0 | 64 |
| 4. Johnny Townsend | Florida | 43.9 | 53 |
| 5. Sean Kelly | South Carolina | 43.3 | 47 |
Born and raised in Gainesville, Talal joined SDS in 2015 after spending 2 years in Bristol as an ESPN researcher. Previously, Talal worked at The Gainesville Sun.
