2010 BYU Preview: Special Teams

Our final preview focuses on the oft-overlooked special teams.

Any football coach will tell you that special teams make up a significant portion of plays during a game and execution in special team situations can make or break you during a game or season.

The Cougars weren’t spectacular on special teams last year, but they did turn in a mostly solid performance in ‘09.

This year brings higher expectations and the hope for more big plays and more consistent performances in certain areas.

Here’s how the various BYU special team units shape up this season.

Place Kicking

Mitch Payne (6-2, 210 Sr) wraps up the Payne brothers era at BYU this season. Mitch enters the 2010 season as the Mountain West’s career leader in PATs with 156, having surpassed his brother Matt (150) who is second on the list.

Last season Payne connected on 10 of 14 field goal attempts for a 71-percent conversion rate and recorded a career-long 49-yard field goal against Air Force. He also converted on 59 of 61 PATs (97 percent).

Matt Marshall (5-10, 171 Jr) returns as the holder for both field goals and PATs. The former high school quarterback has proven to be a solid and reliable holder.

The Cougars must find a replacement for John Pace as the deep snapper this fall. Pace was a flawless performer for three years, snapping virtually every field goal and PAT attempt since 2007. The fact that you probably didn’t know the name of the Cougars deep snapper the last three years is a good thing.

Punts and Kickoffs

Riley Stephenson (6-0, 183 So) returns as the Cougars punter and kickoff specialist. Last season Stephenson averaged over 41 yards per punt  and placed eight of his 42 punts inside the 20. Riley will look to become more consistent with his punts in 2010. He showed flashes of his big leg last year, hitting punts of 50-plus yards eight times, including a 60-yard boot in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Stephenson also has the biggest leg on the team when it comes to kickoffs. He showed the ability to get the ball into the end zone on occasion with four touchbacks in 2009. Now that he has had over a year to work out the kinks from his mission, Riley should be able to get more distance on his kicks this year.

2010 brings a new assignment for Bronco Mendenhall. The Cougar head coach will personally coach the kickoff coverage team this season. Last year he personally coached the the nose tackles and it appears he will keep that responsibility as well this season. Mendenhall wants to see more consistency from his kickoff cover unit. My guess is that he will get it.

Return Game

BYU opens fall camp with O’Neill Chambers (6-2, 210 Jr) and JJ Di Luigi (5-9, 198 Jr) penciled in as the starters on kick returns. Chambers averaged over 25 yards on 19 returns in 2009 which was good enough for second in the conference. His 97-yard return against UNLV last season set a new MWC record.

Meanwhile, JJ averaged 24 yards on 11 returns with a long of 38 yards against Utah State.

The arrival of freshman Drew Phillips (6-0, 185 Fr) may push one of them to the sideline though, depending on how well the the new guy from Boaz, Alabama lives up to his billing. Phillips was an explosive player in high school and is expected to be a threat whenever he touches the ball. He was one of the top sprinters in the state of Alabama this spring.

Chambers is expected to give way to redshirt freshman JD Falslev (5-8, 173 Fr) as the lead punt returner this year. JD garnered rave reviews from Cougar coaches as a return man last year while redshirting. He has sure hands and his shifty moves should spice up BYU’s punt return game this season. Falslev was a noted return specialist in high school.

All in all, the Cougars should be strong on special teams this season and should improve their overall performance from 2009. Falslev and Phillips could be fun to watch in the return game.