Alabama Special Teams in 2010: Strength or Weakness?

Special Teams

The offense stands to improve from last year, and the defense will continue to show greatness. So how will the special teams fare in 2010? With so many open spots available at key positions, let’s take a look at who will step into prominent roles, and perhaps help win a few games this year.

Punter

PJ Fitzgerald was a very consistent punter for the Crimson Tide in 2009. He also seemed to enjoy the rare fake punt attempt, and did admirably executing those attempts.

The position will most likely be filled by an incoming freshman, whether scholarship player or walk-on. Jay Williams was offered a scholarship after his visit to Alabama, so the coaches must have been impressed with what he could bring. Because he didn’t enroll early, we didn’t get a chance to see him in spring practice.

Field position is obviously an important key to the game, and I’m sure the pressure will be felt by an incoming freshman. But let’s break down what was asked of PJ in ’09, and see if that pressure is something a freshman could handle.

Fitzgerald punted a total of 58 times, which was an average of just over four a game. Essentially, two games brought that average up: Seven punts in the Arkansas game, which was won 35-7, and the National Championship game against Texas, which brought another seven.

Does four attempts a game sound like too much for a new punter to handle? Once a quarter, on average, sounds pretty reasonable. And standing 6’4”, 220 lbs, Williams seems more of an athlete than a typical punter.

I don’t expect there to be a drastic drop in punt attempts, but the number should decrease as the offense will put up more points in 2010. Having two of the best running backs in college football will also allow the ball to move down the field, run the clock, and keep the punter off the field as much as possible.

Place Kicker

Leigh Tiffin had a very good year in 2009, coming up big in games against 'Ole Miss and Tennessee when the Tide needed him most.

Cade Foster, welcome to Alabama, I hope you’re ready.

Everything reported about Foster says he has a really strong leg, but must work on his accuracy. He’ll be counted on for long distance attempts, while sophomore Jeremy Shelley may take the short FGs.

What Foster brings to the table immediately, and what Tiffin lacked, is a strong leg on kickoffs. The kickoff defenders routinely had to deal with the return man taking the ball from the 10-20 yard line, which gave their offense good field position. And defense on kickoffs was one of the few quasi-weaknesses for Alabama in ‘09.

Foster can help his teammates on defense and special teams by putting the ball in the end zone regularly, which looks like something he can handle.

Much like Williams, Foster is more of a football player than strictly a kicker, as he started at LB in HS. I don’t envision many return men getting past him.

Return Man

How do you improve on Javier Arenas?

You probably don’t, so you look for the next best thing: Consistency in catching the ball. This was the precise reason Julio Jones helped return punts last year, and why he could fill that void this year.

The last two years, Alabama has recruited a number of athletes who returned kicks and punts in HS, and many of these players will be given a shot before the start of the season.

Will we see Dre Kirkpatrick with the ball in his hands? Do they put Jones or Trent Richardson back returning kicks? Or perhaps even riskier: Asking an incoming freshman to field those kicks?

This may be the most open position battle on the team, and perhaps the least talked about.

Given the reliance on so many underclassmen at these positions, it’s tough to predict how much success Alabama will see on special teams.

Then again, Alabama won a championship last year with a sophomore RB, freshman backup, junior QB with zero starts, and so on. Lack of experience will only factor in if they are under-prepared, and I’m guessing that you will never hear that word said about a Nick Saban team, player or coach.

Special teams will certainly play a special role again in 2010.