Will Michael Floyd Return Kicks for Notre Dame in 2010?

Wide Receiver Mardy Gilyard might have been the biggest reason Brian Kelly ended up with the Notre Dame coaching job.

The last two seasons with the Cincinnati Bearcats Gilyard average more than 1,200 receiving yards, and last year he returned 42 kickoffs for an average of 30.5 yards per return. Gilyard also returned punts.

Kelly knows the importance of a good kick returner, and he didn't hesitate giving the job to the team's primary receiver.

If Michael Floyd is as good a player as everyone predicts, Kelly might assign him the kick returning job for this year's Notre Dame football team. Last year that position was held by Theo Riddick. Riddick, a 4.4 speedster from New Jersey, returned 37 kickoffs and averaged 22.9 yards per return.

Although it was Riddick's first season as the team's kick returner, 22.9 yards per return may not be the type of efficiency Kelly is looking for. He may want a real home run hitter at that position and Riddick's longest return was only 38 yards.

Last year Gilyard returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and changed the course of the Illinois game with one of them.

Gilyard looked like a speed burner, but the 6'1", 190 lb. All-American ran the forty somewhere between 4.5 and 4.6—the same speed that Michael Floyd has been timed at.

The eight yard difference between Gilyard's average and Riddick's may not seem like much, but over the course of a season it can make a huge difference in field position.

Special teams can make or break a football team. It's estimated that special teams are on the field 30 percent of a game, and it's an area where Notre Dame needs to improve.

The Notre Dame kick return needs work, and if Kelly thinks Floyd has All-American talent, he could decide to install him as his kick returner. Floyd has 16 career touchdowns, he's broken a lot of big plays, and he has a nose for the end zone.

Notre Dame's last Heisman Trophy winner, Tim Brown (1987), won the award as an all-purpose player. Brown, a wide receiver, also returned kicks and punts, and he ran out of the backfield.

In 1987 Brown electrified a national television audience when he compiled 254 yards against USC in Notre Dame's 38-37 win. That same year he returned two consecutive punts for touchdowns against Michigan State.

Raghib Ismail, the great receiver on the 1988 Championship team, returned kicks and punts. In 1989 he became the first player to run back two kickoffs for touchdowns in one game, against any Michigan team.

Special teams require special players. If Floyd is truly the special player Notre Dame fans claim, he'll have to do more than catch passes. Golden Tate returned kickoffs as a freshman, and last year he was a top 20 punt returner. His ability to handle these positions might have helped him get drafted in the second round of last year's NFL draft.

Brian Kelly knows how important it is to have a break away threat on the field on every play. Without Gilyard his team wouldn't have finished undefeated in the regular season, and there's a chance he would have been overlooked for the Notre Dame coaching job.

Gilyard doesn't have the height of Floyd, but no one in college football had more desire last year. The St. Louis Rams are going to realize what a steal they got in the fourth round when they drafted Gilyard.

At Cincinnati Kelly knew who his best offensive player was, and if he thinks Floyd is his best offensive weapon, he might want him on the field as much as possible.