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Football
Rating the Big Ten's Special Teams
By Tony Gerdeman

"The punt is the most important play in football."

It's even more important when something goes bad. After all, it's hard to win when you give up a special teams touchdown. That's why simply being competent on special teams is generally good enough.

If your special teams are even better than that, then you're way ahead of the game. Unfortunately, not everybody in the Big Ten fits that description.

1. Purdue

Starters: Carson Wiggs (K), Cody Webster (P), O.J. Ross (KR), Wayne Gravesande (PR)

Possible Starters/Backups: Josh Johnson (PR), Antavian Edison (KR)

Carson Wiggs might have the biggest leg in the country. During the spring game he made a 67-yard field goal. Last season he finished 15-19 on field goals with a long of 52. He also punted 22 times, but that job should again go to Cody Webster. Webster averaged 43.3 yards per punt last season as a freshman, with a long of 79 yards. He booted 17 of his 57 punts over 50 yards. O.J. Ross is the most experienced kick returner, but he only handled 12 kicks last season. Josh Johnson returned eight punts last season for a 9.1 yard average, and has looked good this spring. Overall, you won't find two bigger legs in Big Ten uniforms than Wiggs and Webster. The return game, however, has a ways to go to match the kickers.

2. Michigan State

Starters: Dan Conroy (K), Bennie Fowler (KR), Keshawn Martin (PR/KR)

Possible Starters/Backups: Mike Sadler (P), Kyle Selden (P), Larry Caper (KR), Le'Veon Bell (KR)

The Spartans lose punter Aaron Bates, who was the first punter to be named captain in Michigan State history, but Mark Dantonio loves redshirt freshman Mike Sadler, who he calls “very, very explosive”. He'll still battle fifth-year walk-on Kyle Selden for the job, however. Dan Conroy was 14-15 on field goals and 45-46 on extra points last season and was named first team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and the media, so the Spartans are pretty set at placekicker. They also have one of the most dangerous return man in the conference in Keshawn Martin. He averaged 14.2 yards per punt return last year, including a 74-yard touchdown. The year before, he averaged 33.6 yards per kickoff return in conference games, including a 93-yard touchdown. Bennie Fowler is also a threat after averaging 22.4 yards per kick return as a redshirt freshman last season. Few teams can match the all-around special team weaponry as Michigan State, and with Dantonio knowing the true value of the punt, he takes the kicking game very seriously.

3. Ohio State

Starters: Ben Buchanan (P), Jordan Hall (PR/KR), Jaamal Berry (KR)

Possible Starters/Backups: Drew Basil (K)

Drew Basil handled kickoffs last year as a true freshman and was also the long field goal kicker. He finished 0-2 on the season, both came from 50+ yards and both were blocked. He's been solid in the spring, however. Ben Buchanan averaged 41.0 yards per punt, which put him eighth in the Big Ten. That number needs to improve some this year. Jordan Hall and Jaamal Berry are back to return kicks, and both were impressive last year. Hall had an 85-yard touchdown return last season, as well a 70-yard punt return. Hall (second, 27.9) and Berry (fifth, 25.4) both finished in the top five in kickoff return average in the Big Ten. Hall finished third in punt return average (9.9) as well. Overall, the Buckeyes should have a very consistent unit and the coaches should have a very good grasp of what to expect from their specialists in 2011.

4. Wisconsin

Starters: Brad Nortman (P), Philip Welch (K)

Possible Starters/Backups: Kenzel Doe (PR/KR), Jared Abbrederis (PR/KR), James White (KR)

Brad Nortman and Philip Welch both enter their fourth season as starters, so nothing should come as a surprise to them in 2011. Nortman averaged 42.7 yards per punt last season, and Welch went 17-22 on field goal attempts. Neither is spectacular, but for the Badgers' ball-control style, they do their jobs very well. True Freshman Kenzel Doe (5-8 165) enrolled early and was the talk of spring practice. He's very reminiscent of the departed David Gilreath in his ability to avoid tacklers, and Bret Bielema is expecting Doe to return punts and kickoffs right at the outset. James White and Jared Abbrederis will also share duties as they did last season. As a whole, this is a good group with the potential to be great.

5. Northwestern

Starters: Brandon Williams (P), Venric Mark (KR/PR)

Possible Starters/Backups: Jeff Budzien (K), Steve Flaherty (K)

Northwestern loses last year's starting kicker Stefan Demos, but he struggled in 2010, so the Wildcats actually have a chance to be much better on special teams in 2011. Jeff Budzien and Steve Flaherty are the two candidates to land Demos' job. Coach Pat Fitzgerald would prefer to have one kicker handle placements and the other handle kickoffs, but who does what is yet to be determined, though both are accurate from inside 40 yards. Brandon Williams was okay as a freshman last year, but Fitzgerald says he has made strides since then. He should improve his 40.0 yard average which ranked ninth in the Big Ten. Venric Mark is one of the most dangerous return men in the conference. He finished fourth in the Big Ten in kickoff returns, averaging 26.2 yards per return and had a 94-yard touchdown. He returned nine punts for a 12.9 yard average, with a long of 58 yards. That would've been good enough to finish third in the conference, but he didn't have enough attempts to qualify. Overall, this should be a better unit than it was last year, provided the place-kickers are as competent as expected.

6. Indiana

Starters: Mitch Ewald (K), Chris Hagerup (P), Nick Turner (KR)

Possible Starters/Backups: Duwyce Wilson (KR), Adam Pines (P), Shane Wynn (Fr.) (KR/PR)

Fortunately for the Hoosiers, they return both kicking specialists. Mitch Ewald was 16-19 on field goal attempts last year, and 33-33 on extra points. He was 13-14 on kicks inside of 40 yards. Chris Hagerup finished tenth in the Big Ten in punting last season, averaging just 39.4 yards per punt. The coaches obviously were disappointed in his performance, which is why Adam Pines took the punting job from Hagerup late in the season. Pines averaged 40.2 yards per punt. The job is wide open right now. The loss of Tandon Doss hurts both the punt return and kick return games. Nick Turner and Duwyce Wilson should both get looks at kick returner. Both were okay last season returning kickoffs, but didn't provide the consistent explosion of Doss. The Hoosiers only returned nine punts last year for 61 yards, so that will clearly be a number that the coaches want to improve. Keep an eye on freshman Shane Wynn in the return game. He had an incredible high school career returning punts and kicks. Despite returning so much experience on special teams, there are still plenty of unanswered questions.

7. Penn State

Starters: Anthony Fera (P), Devon Smith (KR/PR), Justin Brown (PR), Chaz Powell (KR), Stephfon Green (KR)

Possible Starters/Backups: Sam Ficken (Fr.) (K), David Soldner (K)

Anthony Fera is the lone experienced kicking specialist returning for the Nittany Lions. He averaged 41.4 yards per punt last season. He should be fine this season. The larger question for the Nittany Lions is who will be doing the place-kicking. Currently, it looks like a battle between true freshman Sam Ficken and last year's backup David Soldner. For both, their next kick will be their first kick. There are some promising returners on the team, specifically Chaz Powell and Devon Smith. Powell averaged 24.0 yards per kickoff return last year, and had a 100-yard touchdown. Smith, all 5'7” of him, averaged 12.9 yards on his 12 returns. He only had a long of 25 yards, so he didn't build his average on the back of one long return like most returners.

8. Illinois

Starters: Derek Dimke (K), Darius Millines (KR), Jack Ramsey (PR), Troy Pollard (KR)

Possible Starters/Backups: Terry Hawthorne (PR/KR), Brad Janitz (P), Pat Dunn (P), Justin DuVernois (P)

Derek Dimke returns after being named All-Big Ten second team last year. He finished 24-29 on field goals and a perfect 43-43 on extra points. The Illini are looking for a punter and are very much hoping that the job is won by incoming freshman Justin DuVernois. The return game returns intact, but wasn't overly impressive. Darius Millines did okay as a freshman last year, averaging 19.5 yards per kick return. Jack Ramsey was the team's punt returner and averaged only 2.9 yards on his 13 returns. Ron Zook wants improvement from both return games. He is thinking about adding cornerback Terry Hawthorne into the mix. He probably won't be the only one, either. The Illini have a very good kicker, but everything else here is a question mark.

9. Minnesota

Starters: Dan Orseske (P), Troy Stoudermire (KR/PR), Duane Bennett (KR)

Possible Starters/Backups: Chris Hawthorne (K), Brandon Green (PR)

The Gophers were 120^th in the nation last year in punting, averaging just 34.94 yards per punt. Eight times last year they punted from their own territory and the ball never crossed the 50-yard line, and each time they gave up a touchdown on the opponent's ensuing drive. Punter Dan Orseske returns, but will need to greatly improve to make coach Jerry Kill even remotely happy. The place-kicking duties will go to Chris Hawthorne who transferred from North Carolina State in February. He was a walk-on with the Wolfpack, but Kill offered him a scholarship. He'll be eligible right away because he wasn't on scholarship. He was 5-5 on extra points and 1-1 on field goals (25 yards) last year. Troy Stoudermire is one of the more dangerous returners in the conference. Last year he finished third in the Big Ten, averaging 27.2 yards per kickoff return with a long of 90 yards. The punt return job is still open, however. Kill, who has walk-on punters practice getting their punts blocked during practice, is a special teams fiend, so expect eventual improvement from the Gophers, though it still may take a while.

10. Michigan

Starters: Will Hagerup (P)

Possible Starters/Backups: Seth Broekhuizen (K), Brendan Gibbons (K), Jeremy Gallon (KR/PR), Darryl Stonum (KR), Martavious Odoms (PR), Drew Dileo (PR/KR), Matt Wile (Fr.) (K)

Even though both Seth Broekhuizen and Brendan Gibbons kicked last season, it's hard to classify either as a “starter”. Broekhuizen was 3-9 on field goals and Gibbons went 1-5. Clearly, this job is still very much up for grabs, and clearly, everybody who has a stake in Michigan football wants true freshman Matt Wile to come in and win the job. Will Hagerup is a very solid punter with a big leg. He'll need to improve on the inconsistency, but the talent is there. He finished fourth in the conference in punting average last season (43.6). The return game isn't bad when the kick is caught, but catching it is half the battle—and it's been a losing battle for Jeremy Gallon. Darryl Stonum was ninth in the Big Ten in kickoff return average last year (23.3), but did have a 94-yard touchdown in 2009. A lot of things are going to have to come together for this unit to be in the top half of the Big Ten.

11. Iowa

Starters: Mike Meyer (K)

Possible Starters/Backups: Trent Mossbrucker (K), Eric Guthrie (P), Marshall Koehn (Fr.) (K), Jonny Mullings (P), Keenan Davis (KR), Marvin McNutt (PR)

Mike Meyer had a pretty good season last year as a true freshman walk-on, finishing 14-17 on field goals and 31-33 on extra points. He should be the number one kicker, but Trent Mossbrucker was the number one guy heading into last year before losing the job. Both are scholarship kickers, however, so nobody will simply be given the job. Eric Guthrie is a fifth-year senior with one career punt to his credit. He's listed as the starter now but will be pushed by redshirt freshman Jonny Mullings. Keenan Davis is the only return candidate who has returned a kick or punt in his career. He should be the top guy on the kickoff returns. Marvin McNutt is listed as the punt returner, but don't be surprised if the coaches want somebody more expendable back there. The Hawkeyes know who their kicking candidates are, but still have to shake out their return game. Losing Derrell Johnson-Koulianos and Colin Sandeman hurts, but Davis could surprise some people. And Iowa usually has a pretty good punt returner no matter who it is, which says they know how to block year after year.

12. Nebraska

Starters: Tim Marlowe (KR)

Possible Starters/Backups: Brett Maher (K/P), Jamal Turner (PR/KR), Brandon Kinnie (KR), Jason Dan (K), Mauro Bondi (Fr.) (K)

It will not be business as usual for the Huskers. They'll have to replace All-American Alex Henery, who was their place-kicker for the last four years and well as their punter for the last two. It looks like Brett Maher will take over the punting duties, and quite possible the place-kicking duties if nobody else steps up. He's had a good spring punting, but has been hit and miss (literally) on his field goals. Mauro Bondi committed late in the process, but he'll get a look at the place-kicking job as well. It's hard to say who will be doing the returning this season, though Tim Marlowe and Brandon Kinnie both did a bit of it last year. True freshman Jamal Turner has been very impressive this spring, returning a punt 59 yards and a kickoff 54 yards in the spring game. As the staff looks for ways to get the former quarterback involved, special teams seems like an easy answer.

Big Ten Quarterbacks

Big Ten Running Backs

Big Ten Receivers

Big Ten Offensive Lines

Big Ten Defensive Lines

Big Ten Linebackers

Big Ten Defensive Backs

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