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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
Against Alabama, Tennessee wasn’t able to take advantage of the stellar kick returning it’s enjoyed this season. The Vols only returned one kick, and it was a 31-yarder, but even that was well below UT’s incredible average of 37.3 entering the game. Tennessee’s new mark of 36.9 still leads the FBS.
South Carolina and Vanderbilt are the only two schools that rank among the five best in returning kickoffs and covering them. The Commodores’ 16.2 yards per return allowed is 4th-best among Power 5 schools. The Gamecocks (3rd in the SEC in yards per return) face the Aggies (2nd in the SEC in yards per return allowed) in an intriguing matchup this week.
Meanwhile, Missouri is dead last in returning kickoffs (15.3 yards per return) and defending them (27.2 yards allowed per return). Mizzou isn’t the only school struggling to return kickoffs and cover them. Missouri, Georgia and LSU rank among the five worst in both.
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 | 36.9 | 17 | 2 |
| 2. Auburn | 29.1 | 22 | 0 |
| 3. South Carolina | 26.0 | 19 | 1 |
| 4. Kentucky | 23.0 | 16 | 0 |
| 5. Vanderbilt | 20.9 | 16 | 0 |
| 6. Mississippi State | 20.8 | 18 | 1 |
| 7. Texas A&M | 20.7 | 19 | 0 |
| 8. Arkansas | 19.8 | 17 | 0 |
| 9. Alabama | 19.4 | 23 | 0 |
| 10. Florida | 19.0 | 17 | 0 |
| 11. LSU | 18.3 | 15 | 0 |
| 12. Ole Miss | 17.5 | 18 | 0 |
| 13. Georgia | 15.6 | 22 | 0 |
| 14. Missouri | 15.3 | 20 | 0 |
| TEAM | YARDS PER RETURN ALLOWED | OPP. RETURNS | RETURN TDS ALLOWED |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Vanderbilt | 16.2 | 20 | 0 |
| 2. Texas A&M | 17.3 | 19 | 0 |
| 3. South Carolina | 17.8 | 11 | 0 |
| 4. Mississippi State | 17.9 | 29 | 0 |
| 5. Ole Miss | 18.9 | 28 | 0 |
| 6. Tennessee | 19.4 | 24 | 0 |
| 7. Florida | 20.1 | 16 | 0 |
| 8. Alabama | 20.4 | 24 | 0 |
| 9. Kentucky | 21.1 | 26 | 0 |
| 10. Auburn | 22.2 | 5 | 0 |
| 11. Georgia | 22.4 | 27 | 0 |
| 12. LSU | 23.1 | 33 | 1 |
| 13. Arkansas | 23.4 | 25 | 1 |
| 14. Missouri | 27.2 | 12 | 0 |
PUNTS
A week after Texas A&M and Florida returned punts for touchdowns, Week 8 didn’t see anybody return one to the house. I think it bears repeating this week that Texas A&M and Georgia are two of only five Power 5 schools with multiple punt return TDs this season. The other three are Illinois, Maryland and Utah.
The Aggies’ 19.5 yards per return is 4th-best in the FBS, while Arkansas also ranks among the top 10 in the nation.
Ole Miss still leads the SEC by only allowing 3 yards per return, but it isn’t doing much better on its own returns with a league-low average of 5.1. Florida is the only school ranking in the top 5 on returning punts and covering punts.
When it comes to defending punts, LSU is last in the FBS and by a wide margin, allowing 28.7 yards per return. The next-worst team in the country is Bowling Green with an average of 22.3 yards allowed.
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 | 19.5 | 15 | 2 |
| 2. Arkansas | 15.9 | 8 | 0 |
| 3. Tennessee | 15.5 | 17 | 1 |
| 4. Georgia | 14.6 | 20 | 2 |
| 5. Florida | 12.5 | 15 | 1 |
| 6. Mississippi State | 12.4 | 14 | 1 |
| 7. LSU | 10.7 | 10 | 1 |
| 8. Kentucky | 10.6 | 5 | 0 |
| 9. Alabama | 9.3 | 26 | 1 |
| 10. South Carolina | 9.0 | 6 | 0 |
| 11. Vanderbilt | 8.1 | 21 | 0 |
| 12. Auburn | 7.5 | 4 | 0 |
| 13. Missouri | 6.2 | 18 | 1 |
| 14. Ole Miss | 5.1 | 21 | 0 |
| TEAM | YARDS PER PUNT RETURN ALLOWED | OPP. RETURNS | RETURN TDS ALLOWED |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Ole Miss | 3.0 | 19 | 0 |
| 2. Florida | 4.6 | 14 | 0 |
| 3. South Carolina | 5.3 | 6 | 0 |
| 4. Auburn | 7.8 | 4 | 0 |
| 5. Mississippi State | 8.0 | 6 | 0 |
| 6. Kentucky | 8.2 | 11 | 0 |
| 7. Missouri | 8.2 | 19 | 0 |
| 8. Alabama | 8.5 | 15 | 1 |
| 9. Texas A&M | 9.9 | 15 | 0 |
| 10. Georgia | 10.2 | 11 | 1 |
| 11. Vanderbilt | 11.3 | 11 | 1 |
| 12. Arkansas | 13.0 | 8 | 0 |
| 13. Tennessee | 14.6 | 12 | 1 |
| 14. LSU | 28.7 | 6 | 1 |
INDIVIDUALS
Vols stud return man Evan Berry still sits atop his throne among FBS players with 38.7 yards per return. Only three other Power 5 players average 30 yards or more per return: Arizona State’s Tim White (31.9), West Virginia’s Shelton Gibson (30.2) and Florida State’s Kermit Whitfield (30.0).
Meanwhile, Texas A&M’s Christian Kirk is still the FBS king of punt returns with his average of 22.7 yards. No other SEC player even averages 15 yards per return. Kirk and Maryland’s William Likely are still the only two players in the country with multiple punt return TDs so far this season.
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 | 38.7 | 15 | 2 |
| 2. Johnathan Ford | Auburn | 29.6 | 10 | 0 |
| 3. Shon Carson | South Carolina | 25.2 | 11 | 0 |
| 4. Kenyan Drake | Alabama | 23.2 | 10 | 0 |
| 5. Sihiem King | Kentucky | 22.0 | 12 | 0 |
| NAME | TEAM | YARDS PER PUNT RETURN | PUNT RETURNS | TDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Christian Kirk | Texas A&M | 22.7 | 12 | 2 |
| 2. Cameron Sutton | Tennessee | 14.9 | 12 | 0 |
| 3. Antonio Callaway | Florida | 14.8 | 12 | 1 |
| 4. Tre’Davious White | LSU | 11.4 | 9 | 1 |
| 5. Fred Ross | Mississippi State | 10.5 | 11 | 1 |
Mississippi State’s Westin Graves missed his first kick of the season last week against Kentucky, and it was an embarrassing one: a 26-yarder against Kentucky. Luckily for the Bulldogs, that was one of the only things that went wrong for MSU in the 42-16 blowout win.
Meanwhile, LSU’s Trent Domingue made both of his field goals — a 34-yarder and a 43-yarder — too remain perfect on the season kicking field goals. Domingue and Marshall’s Nick Smith (11-for-11) are now the only two FBS kickers left standing in terms of being perfect on field goal tries.
Texas A&M might have been humiliated in the 23-3 loss at Ole Miss last week, but not Texas A&M’s Drew Kaser, who proved he’s the best punter in the nation right now. He was a busy man in that contest, punting 10 times for an average of 47.9 yards while posting a long of 64 yards.
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% | 9 | 9 |
| 2. Westin Graves | Mississippi State | 88.9% | 8 | 9 |
| 3. Austin MacGinnis | Kentucky | 84.6% | 11 | 13 |
| 4. Gary Wunderlich | Ole Miss | 80% | 12 | 15 |
| 5. Daniel Carlson | Auburn | 76.9% | 10 | 13 |
| NAME | TEAM | YARDS PER PUNT | PUNTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Drew Kaser | Texas A&M | 49.0 | 34 |
| 2. Trevor Daniel | Tennessee | 47.1 | 37 |
| 3. Corey Fatony | Missouri | 44.7 | 54 |
| 4. Johnny Townsend | Florida | 44.3 | 39 |
| 5. JK Scott | Alabama | 43.3 | 40 |
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.
