2022 Gophers Position Previews: Special Teams

The sixth season of the P.J. Fleck era at Minnesota begins Sept. 1 against Jerry Kill's New Mexico State. Ski-U-Blog will have previews of the Gophers' notable players in each position group. We've reached the last post in this series, which means it's time to sort out the specialists.

Likely Starters

Minnesota punts too much. Most teams do. But having a good punter is a legitimate asset, one that Minnesota was decidedly missing in 2020.

Then-true freshman Mark Crawford, one of a few specialists who missed the start of the season for reasons strongly suggested by P.J. Fleck to be COVID-related, was flat-out poor. If Crawford had punted often enough to qualify, he would have ranked 116th in the country in yards per punt. According to Pro Football Focus' stats, Crawford didn't make up for that with a good hang time, either: There were 98 FBS punters with at least as many attempts as him who posted better average hang times. He had to improve considerably in his second season.

Fortunately for the Gophers, he did. By simple distance, Crawford was roughly 4 yards better per attempt. That only brought him up to a very average 41.7 yards per attempt, but he didn't sacrifice any hang time for that improvement. He also exhibited excellent placement. Crawford produced just one touchback all season and was one of the nation's best at putting the ball within the 20-yard line:

Data via Pro Football Focus

While Crawford is not a field-flipping, elite punting weapon, he has shown he can do the job at a high level. He's made punter a position of security for the Gophers.

Minnesota's kickoff specialist, Dragan Kesich, has been as consistent as you could want. Two-thirds of his kickoffs with hangtime last year went for touchbacks, putting him in a tie for 31st among FBS kickers (per PFF; minimum 30 attempts with hangtime). When one of his kicks could be returned, the coverage was great as well: opposing kick returners were tackled, on average, at the 21.3-yard line. (Donald Willis and Jordan Howden led the coverage team with 4.0 tackles apiece.)

Thanks in large part to the kickoff and punt games, Minnesota averaged a nearly 7-yard advantage in starting field position. They had a field position advantage in all but three games. Especially with an offense that could hit lulls, a team benefits tremendously from an edge like that.

Placekicking, meanwhile, could be something of a problem. Not a major one, but a problem nonetheless. Matthew Trickett, brought in after a great Kent State tenure, was not as reliable in his first season as a Gopher. He missed extra points against Colorado and Illinois, and his overall field goal conversion rate of 68 percent was pedestrian.

How Trickett was used likely colors our perception of his year, though. In 2021, he attempted as many field goals of 45-plus yards as he did in his entire Kent State career. Trickett was 3-of-8 on those attempts as a Golden Flash, and he was 3-of-8 on those attempts in one year as a Golden Gopher. Last year, he converted 82 percent of all other field goal attempts. That's short of his 88-percent mark at Kent State, and Trickett can't be missing two kicks under 30 yards. But that's pretty good.

Trickett was never a big-legged kicker when he was the MAC Special Teams Player of the Year. He was nails on the short and intermediate stuff, and that should be his value to the Gophers. Of course his overall conversion rate wasn't impressive; he wasn't put in a position to succeed.

There will be times that the Gophers need to kick a longer field goal. (Ideally on 4th-and-long rather than 4th-and-short.) In those spots, they need someone who can make those kicks, and maybe that's Kesich. His one try last year was blocked. With the placekicker job opening next year, we can guess that Kesich has been working on his accuracy and the trajectory of his field goals. Either he or Trickett needs to be capable of converting from deep in games.

Here's what we know about kick and punt returner: Redshirt freshman Quentin Redding will take over on punts. Officially measuring 5 feet 7 inches and just 150 pounds, Redding is both the shortest and lightest player on the roster. His offer list out of high school comprised three Division II schools and a Division III school about to join FCS. He chose to walk on at Minnesota instead, and his younger brother Evan joined the roster this season.

Redding certainly fits an archetype. His highlights as a prospect show a player that was faster, accelerated more quickly, and was tougher to wrangle than anyone else on the field. He played receiver, Wildcat quarterback, cornerback, punt returner, and kick returner. Redding has everything you want in a return specialist; he's just tiny. In addition to his place atop the punt returners, he is one of a few players in the mix to return kickoffs.

The last special teams starter is Brady Weeks, the long snapper. The average viewer hasn't ever had reason to notice him, which means he's done his job.

Key Backups

Other options to serve as returner seemingly include Michael Brown-Stephens, Clay Geary, Justin Walley, and Kristen Hoskins. Hoskins is another jitterbug slot receiver whose high school tape shows him reversing the field on a handful of occasions, toying with Minnesota high school defenders like he's he's just doing it for fun. He is a dazzling prospect who seems made to return kicks. Whether he will get that opportunity in 2021 or will redshirt is to be determined.

The backup punter and holder, meanwhile, is Ryan Shamburger, a transfer from Navarro College (Texas). His career punting average there, 38.4 yards, would rank near the bottom of the FBS leaderboards last year. But he's the backup punter, and he and Crawford have the same amount of eligibility left. Excellence is not required as much as achieving replacement level is.

Notables Unlikely to Contribute

Placekicker Jacob Lewis is not supposed to see the field in 2022. The Ball State transfer was primarily a kickoff specialist at his previous school, which means he could be the second-choice for the same job at Minnesota if something were to happen to Kesich. He did serve as placekicker a significant amount for the Cardinals but will not supplant Trickett. His most valuable attribute for now is his three years of eligibility. Lewis, Kesich, and presumably a third contender will vie for field goal and PAT duties in a year.

As Weeks remains the starting long snapper, Austin Sullivan remains his backup. If Weeks uses his extra year in 2023, Sullivan will have to wait a bit longer to make it onto the field.

Emergency options at snapper and holder are not yet apparent.