Better/Worse: Tennessee special teams 2016
Special teams consistently lived up to their name for the Tennessee Volunteers in 2015.
With a historically great season from kick returner Evan Berry and punt returners Cam Sutton and Alvin Kamara, Tennessee used its best athletes to make big plays.
Punter Trevor Daniel was a pleasant surprise, and kicker Aaron Medley improved as the season went.
Butch Jones has taken a page out of Tennessee’s old playbook, by establishing his special teams units around his team’s most skilled players, be they otherwise offensive or defensive stars or not.
With all of the key players returning to the Volunteer special teams unit in 2016, there’s reason to think that Tennessee can exploit opponents’ special teams weaknesses to climb back to the top of the SEC—and perhaps even farther.
2015 Stats
FG-A: 21- 31 (10th in SEC)
Longest: 47 yards
Punting average: 45.2 yards (2nd in SEC)
Kickoff return average: 33.4 yards (best)
Kick return touchdowns: 3 (best)
Punt return average: 17.2 yards (2nd)
Punt return touchdowns: 3 (tied with Georgia for 2nd)
Kickoff/punt return touchdowns allowed: 1 (punt, to Georgia)
The Kicker
Junior Aaron Medley has been the place kicker for the past two seasons. After a remarkably solid campaign as a true freshman in 2014 (20-26 on field goals and just one missed extra point), Medley slumped in early-to-mid 2015. In the first seven games, Medley was just 9-for-17 on field goal tries. He missed three field goals in the Vols’ 5-point loss at Alabama. He missed a 55-yard potential game-winner against Florida.
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While Medley is still shaky from long range, as demonstrated by his 0-for-5 mark on kicks of 48 yards or longer in 2015, he regained his consistency down the stretch.
He finished 12-for-14 in the final six games, as Tennessee improved from 3-4 to 9-4. That type of consistency is pivotal to Tennessee’s SEC hopes. While Medley has historically been solid from inside of 45 yards, it will be interesting to see if he has extended his range in 2016.
The Punter
Junior Trevor Daniel is a former walk-on turned all-SEC punter. Daniel had no game experience before 2015, but boomed his punts at a clip of 45.7 yards per kick, setting a UT season record for punters with 50 or more attempts. Twenty-five of Daniel’s 60 punts ended up inside the opponent’s 20, demonstrating his accuracy as well as yardage. Daniel had one punt partially blocked, but otherwise was solid in avoiding the rush. He stands to be one of the league’s top punters in 2016.
The Returners
Evan Berry ended up a single yard short of a new NCAA record for kick return yardage in 2015. But record or not, Berry’s electric 38.3 yards per return and three touchdowns (which equaled the rest of the league combined) constituted a highlight of Tennessee’s 2015 resurgence.
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The junior defensive back is an All-American candidate as a return specialist. His blazing speed is reminiscent of his older brother, former NFL star Eric Berry, and allows Berry to turn the slightest crevice of an opening into daylight. Many opponents will likely try to kick away from Berry in 2016, or concede field position on pooch and pop-up kicks.
Punt returns were almost as electric in 2015. Sutton averaged 18.7 yards per return and took two punts to the house, and junior running back Alvin Kamara added a punt return score of his own.
Both are stars outside of special teams, but Jones will not hesitate to use his best available athletes to push his advantage in all areas of the game. Expect Sutton to continue to get most of the looks on punt returns, but the emergency of Kamara demonstrates the type of depth that Tennessee has in the return game.
Coverage Teams
Tennessee was solid across the board in 2015. A 70-yard punt return by Georgia accounted for the only major coverage meltdown last season. UT led the SEC in net kickoff coverage, and was generally competent in punt coverage. Given Jones’ highly ranked recruiting classes and Tennessee’s overall depth, the Vols can play better athletes than many opponents, and accordingly generally contain their opponents. Most SEC special teams coordinators would gladly accept a season in which their return unit springs six touchdowns and allows only one in return.
Special Moment
There were two. In terms of an aesthetically pleasing play, Berry’s first kick return touchdown of the season, which came against Western Carolina, was a beauty. Berry ran into coverage from about three unblocked defenders around 20 yards into his return and looked to be bottled up. But he kept his legs churning, spun out of a tackle, and was soon in open field for an easy — and electrifying — score.
But because special teams is about much more than just making pretty runs, a nod also goes to Trevor Daniel’s perfect coffin-corner punt late in the Georgia game. Tennessee had overcome an early 24-3 deficit and led by a touchdown with about two minutes to play. On fourth down from his 43, Daniel faced an aggressive Georgia rush and boomed a punt into the corner, over the Georgia returner, skidding out of bounds inside the Georgia 1-yard line. His 56-yard boot flipped the field and helped save the game. UGA QB Greyson Lambert drove the Dawgs to the Vols’ 22 before time ran out and Tennessee’s season-turning win was preserved.
One Stat That Must Improve in 2016
Medley was just 1-for-6 on field goal tries of more than 45 yards in 2015. While Medley’s leg strength doesn’t have to improve drastically, being able to connect from 46-50 yards consistently could make a big difference.
Better/Worse in 2016
As good as Tennessee was in 2015, it would be a tall order to play as well in special teams in 2016. That said, Tennessee returns all of its major specialists, and if the Vols do slip a bit, they probably won’t slip much.
Medley’s range is one of the few facets of Tennessee’s special teams game that could improve. But even if players like Daniel, Berry, Sutton, and Kamara are hard pressed to equal their 2015 production, each is a year older and more tested.
Even if they slightly regress in 2016, they still will form one of the top special teams units in the conference and the nation.
