Top 30 Special Teams units...

CollegeKingRex

CTG Regular
This is going to be the eighth in a series where I project my Top-30 units at each position going into the start of fall camp.

Remember, this is not just the best player, but the best units.


Here's my Top 30 at Special Teams...


1. Georgia
2. Colorado
3. Fresno State
4. Ohio State
5. Michigan
6. Iowa
7. UTEP
8. Texas
9. Arizona State
10. Virginia Tech
11. Rutgers
12. Arizona
13. Baylor
14. North Carolina State
15. Texas Christian
16. Wisconsin
17. Florida
18. Miami (Florida)
19. Louisiana State
20. Oregon
21. UCLA
22. Nebraska
23. East Carolina
24. Florida State
25. Ball State
26. Maryland
27. Arkansas
28. Miami (Ohio)
29. Penn State
30. Boise State

Thoughts, comments, etc., all welcome and appreciated...

:shake:
 
Texas ST is really going to suffer due to their kickers. Reports are that they did not do well on KOs and FGs in the scrimmage Saturday.
 
Oh Rex...our PK seems to be a mess right now...you gotta love our return unit and Punter, but PK is yet to be worked out...throw in youth at the position, and it's the first time we've had issues there in forever....

It was messy at the scrimmage, alot due to the the weather...but still.
 
The Bad

* Special Teams Kicking -- While there were no punts, and this certainly was not the best of conditions to try and attempt a field goal or extra point, Aaron Pettrey and Ryan Pretorius did not have their best afternoon.
At one point, the two of them were O-fer on all of the extra points and field goals. Eventually they would right
 
I like Sanford's attitude of potentially playing more starters on SPT this year to bolster that corps... The kickers are better and the newcomers should help immensely...

I list Vegas in the mid-30s, Nick...
 
cool, yeah saw you count the guys on kickoff coverage and shit yeah id have to bump em down a bit too lol.
 
Redshirt freshman kicker Aaron Pettrey had a strong showing in Wednesday's kick scrimmage with a 9-for-9 performance in field goals. It might have been enough to push him ahead of sophomore Ryan Pretorius for the battle to be the starter....Pretorius was 4-9..
 
Football

Kick Scrimmage Brought Smiles to Most Faces
By John Porentas

The fall kick scrimmage brought smiles to a lot of faces this fall, but there was one notable exception. Ohio State place kicker Aaron Pettrey had a great day in the field goal department, the returners did well, the punters did well, the long snappers did well, and both Pettrey and fellow kicker Ryan Pretorius kicked off extremely well. Pretorius, however, was very disappointed in his field goal kicking in the scrimmage after having had a great spring and fall in that category.​

"Terrible. Probably the worst I've every kicked a football, which is very disappointing after have such a solid camp," said Pretorius describing his day.


"I missed three or four at the end. I should have had a 60-yarder today, it had the distance, but I pulled it left. The three or four kicks I missed at the end all went slightly left and I knew I was pulling the ball left and I tried to correct it by aiming at the right upright. It just wasn't my day. I just couldn't control the ball as it happens to every kicker or golfer. Today was the day I wanted to shine, and I didn't," said Pretorius.

Pretorius was down on himself for his performance in the kick scrimmage, and was absolutely devastated that what he considers to be the strength of his game deserted him for the scrimmage.

"For some reason this camp I've been very accurate until today. My kickoffs are the one thing that has blossomed. Today is just a letdown, because field goals is what I pride myself on," said Pretorius.
"I felt like crying and I think a few tears did come down my cheek, but I've got to forget about it and just work hard tomorrow," Pretorius said.
Pretorius and Pettrey have been neck and neck this fall for the kicking chores at OSU. Pretorius worked hard on what had been the weakness of his game, kickoffs, and thought he was making progress as an all-around kicker.

"Yesterday I had about ten kickoffs and six or seven hit the wall, which is three yards after the endzone. The worst one I hit was three or four yards deep with a four second hang time," Pretorius said.​
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While Pretorius was glum, Pettrey was not. Pettrey was nine-for-nine for field goals in the kick scrimmage including the game-winning 47 yarder. He had an 11th attempt lined up, and 57 yarder that missed, but the play was nullified on a roughing the kicker penalty.


Pettrey kicked a 59 yard field goal to win the spring kick scrimmage, but sees himself as a much better kicker this fall.

"Last year I came in and I was awful. I tore some muscles in my groin. I was hurt and kept trying to kick," he said.

Beside being healthy, Pettrey said that former OSU kicker Josh Huston worked with him to improve his mechanics and technique.
"He widened out my stance and gave me new steps, worked on my plant foot, just about everything," he said.

"Before I took three steps back and two over. He changed me to four steps back and two over.

"I talk to Josh about once or twice a week. He helped me out a ton last year. He changed my form. I kick just like him now, so I keep in touch with him."

Pettrey has a big leg and can boom them on kickoffs.

"I've been hitting it well, getting good hang time, getting it eight or nine (yards) deep every time or most of the time," he said.

The place kicking was not the only think on display in the kick scrimmage. The punters, snappers and holders all performed well and there were signs of life in the punt return game as well.​
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"I really think that the return game is high quality players. I think we've spent a lot of time making sure that our quality returners are going to have plenty of opportunity to have some space to run with the football," said OSU assistant coach Dick Tressel.


"We have added to our whole practice situation and extra three or four minutes to catch balls this fall. We just carved that out of our time to give those guys who catch place kicks and punts three or four minutes to get out and get warmed up."

There were visible results of that strategy in the kick scrimmage.
"Malcolm Jenkins had a good return, Brian Robiske had a good return," said Tressel.

According to wide receivers coach Darrell Hazell, so did Ted Ginn and Brian Hartline.

Both Hazell and Tressel. were left smiling over the return game and the kick coverage teams as well as the actual kicking by both the punters and place kickers.

"I really think our kids have encompassed the thought that special teams are critical to being a great football team," said Tressel.

"They seem to enjoy running down the field to cover kicks and do a great job of it.

"The other thing that caught my attention were some pretty talented kickers and punters. I really felt like there were some live legs out there."​
 
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