ANN ARBOR — The offense and defense weren’t the only units decimated by graduation and the NFL.
Michigan’s special teams also lost key pieces. Kicker and punter Kenny Allen is gone, as is Jabrill Peppers, who proved to be one of the nation’s top punt returners.
“We’ve got a bunch of guys competing for the spots, and working hard, and getting better and better,” Michigan special teams coach Chris Partridge said. “There’s a wide variety. We’re getting more comfortable back there. I think it will be a dynamic unit with a lot of depth.”
Allen was a luxury for the Wolverines last season, posting one of the top yards per punt averages and field goal percentages in program history. He also never missed an extra point.
The reliability became an asset when the offense stalled in the red zone or when field position could be flipped.
There’s no guarantee Michigan will experience the same dependable resource this season. Quinn Nordin, the nation’s top-ranked kicker in the 2016 recruiting class, is next in line, though senior Kyle Seychel is also part of the competition.
Nordin, despite redshirting last season and playing one of the least glamorous positions, is well known around the country after Jim Harbaugh had a sleepover at his house to woo the kicker to Michigan.
“Quinn Nordin is really kicking well,” Harbaugh said. “Kyle Seychel is back in the mix doing a good job.”
Harbaugh was never fond of Allen handling kickoffs, field goals, and punts. He had little choice, though, when Allen was the best at all three tasks. There will be no double duty this season.
Will Hart and Brad Robbins are in the midst of a punting competition, and Ryan Tice and James Foug are competing to kick off.
“It’s not going to be one guy doing it,” Harbaugh said. “It will be a different punter, a different kickoff person, and a different field goal guy.”
Even the long snapper has entered the conversation. Harbaugh heaped praise on the velocity of redshirt freshman Cameron Chesseman’s snaps. But it’s the returners who will draw most of the attention.
Kickoffs and punts can change momentum in a matter of seconds. Peppers was one of the best at setting up the Wolverines with great field position, or returning punts for touchdowns. He averaged nearly 15 yards per return. Finding a Peppers clone is greedy, but Michigan still needs to identify a returner who has game-breaking ability.
“Returning [punts and kicks] is one of the hardest things to do, so the best guy on the team is going to do that,” Partridge said. “There’s no, ‘Hey, he’s a star, he can’t do it.’ There’s none of that.
“It’s the best guy who can catch punts and get vertical, the best guys who can catch kicks, get vertical, and break tackles. Those are the guys who are going to do it.”
Nate Johnson and Eddie McDoom seem to be the logical successors. Johnson, who handled returns in the spring, did have issues with ball security, which would raise red flags if there’s a continuation during the season.
Michigan led the nation in starting field position, with an average drive of just 64 yards. Often an afterthought, the Wolverines are learning just how valuable a gifted returner can be. Special teams can be just that.
“It’s going to stay wide open,” Partridge said. “They’ll all have a chance to compete at a high level every day, so that’s going to go up up to the very end.”
Contact Kyle Rowland at krowland@theblade.com, 419-724-6110 or on Twitter @KyleRowland.
First Published August 17, 2017, 4:57 a.m.
