Four Downs: Iowa's 2017 Special Teams

Taking a look at the 2017 Hawkeyes. We're on special teams today, a subject that Kirk Ferentz gave a lot of thought to during the offseason.

Returning punters — Colten Rastetter (6-2, 210, so.)

Returning kickers — Keith Duncan (5-11, 173, so.), Miguel Recinos (6-1, 192, jr.), Caleb Shudak (5-8, 175, #fr.)

Longsnappers — Tyler Kluver (6-0, 220, sr.), Austin Spiewak (6-2, 230, #fr.), Jackson Subbert (6-3, 237, so.), Marshall Coluzzi (6-0, 220, fr.)

Incoming freshmen — P Ryan Gersonde (6-4, 185)

Key losses — P Ron Coluzzi

Quick Look Back

Iowa's special teams were kind of up and down last season. First, let's talk about the up.

Punter Ron Coluzzi came through. He averaged 41.7 yards a punt, good for fifth in the Big Ten, which is the best for an Iowa punter since Eric Guthrie was fourth in 2011. Coluzzi was fourth in the league with 42 touchbacks on kickoffs (it's only the best kick return defense there is).

As a graduate transfer from Central Michigan, head coach Kirk Ferentz has often said Iowa bet on Coluzzi's maturity. The staff thought a veteran voice would be good for a true freshman kicker and that was Coluzzi holding Keith Duncan's 33-yard game-winner against Michigan on ABC that really cool Saturday night in Kinnick last November.

Coluzzi worked so well as a graduate transfer the Iowa staff jumped back into that game this fall, grabbing a commitment from former Nevada running back James Butler and, when the paperwork is final, New Mexico wide receiver Matt Quarells.

Desmond King was definitely a highlight for Iowa's 2016 special teams. He repeated a standout 2015 performance in kick and punt return, finishing second and third, respectively, in the league. Replacing King here might be tougher than replacing him at corner.

Iowa averaged just 5.1 yards per punt return in 2014. At that point, Ferentz threw caution to the wind and decided to have his best corner also return kicks and punts. It was a quest to squeeze everything Iowa could out of special teams and its best athletes. In King's two seasons as Iowa's primary returner, the Hawkeyes finished back-to-back seasons second in the league in punt returns and first and fourth in kick returns.

The best possible player at KR/PR worked. If Iowa decides to go for a game-changer at return specialist, the jobs probably go to Wadley, even though he's never returned a punt or kick in his career (King returned two punts and fumbled one of those before becoming full-time punt returner in 2015).

How did Iowa's core special teams play do in 2016? I'd love a metric on this. We don't have one, so average yards is what we'll go with.

Iowa allowed 11.2 punt returns yards per game last year, 13th in the league. It was 20.38 on kick returns (eighth in the B1G). Not great. By the way, in the last four years of punt return defense in the Big Ten, Iowa has finished 13th, 14th, 14th and fourth in 2013.

Iowa attempted just 14 field goals last season, tied for 11th in the league, and made just 10 (tied for 10th). Iowa did start the season with a scorching TD percentage in the opponent's red zone, but it needs to feel better about attempting field goals, especially from 40-plus yards. That said, Iowa didn't seem to force it on fourth down, with 17 fourth-down attempts (23 was the high attempt mark, 2014, in the last four seasons).

4th Down — Critical Questions

So if last season was an OK special teams effort, why has Kirk Ferentz blown up this thing?

Last season, Chris White, who has since departed Iowa, had kick return, kickoff and field goal team duties. Tight ends coach LeVar Woods handled punt returns and linebackers coach Seth Wallace handled punt team (Wallace took over punt two years ago when Iowa changed to the college shield formation).

"We've got to hit every edge we possibly can."

- Kirk Ferentz

on improving Iowa's special teams

Then in June, with White out, Ferentz wanted to balance his quality control staff. He had bodies covering offense and defense, but decided he wanted to fill the special teams role and went looking for a young coach with an upside. Well, Ferentz found a friend and former NFL special teams coach of the year in Kevin Spencer.

Spencer, 63, was named the NFL's special teams coach of the year with Pittsburgh in 2003. He began his career alongside Ferentz on the Cleveland Browns staff in 1991.

That should work, right? Anyway, coming off an OK special teams season, why did Ferentz dive in so hard on special teams staff this year? (By the way, Woods is now the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach. His duties will shift exclusively to special teams; Woods will coach all but punt this year, when Iowa is able to add the 10th assistant coach in January.)

'We did have a pretty good year, but we still can do more,' Ferentz said. 'A lot of what we all learn is from our past. I'm not a dean and I'm an authority, but one thing I probably know the most about is Iowa football. I just think from our vantage point, if we're not really getting that edge ... we still have a couple of steps to go. Returners come and go. Good punters and kickers come and go, but the rest of the whole operation, if there are some areas we can do a better job in, we've got to home in and get that edge.

'We're not going to be one of those offenses that cranks out 550 (yards) a game. It's unrealistic to think we're going to hold people to under 10 points. Not many people can do that in college football anymore. We've got to hit every edge we possibly can.'

Ferentz called the Spencer hire 'good luck and fortune.'

'All of the sudden, we get a guy who has a wealth of knowledge and expertise, he's not looking to coach here, just wants to help out. He's never been a Division I coach, he's been in Division III. This is something he hasn't done, so he's excited about that. He's a football guy and just a good guy.'

So, lots of new eyes on special teams this season. Probably see a few wrinkles in returns and coverage units.

3rd Down — Additions/Subtractions

Please, hold hands with your neighbor and look up to the heavens. Ron Coluzzi has departed. Wait, wait, wait, he's departed Iowa football. He's perfectly healthy and happy in life, I'm sure. But he was a grad transfer and oh, what a ride it was.

'I thought [the punt] was going to get blocked, so I took off and all of the sudden I thought I was on fire, so I decided to stop, drop and roll,' Coluzzi said, referring in a self-deprecating manner to the ill-conceived fake punt last year against Michigan, when he stumbled and did end up doing a somersault.

Coming out of said somersault, Coluzzi took a shot from Michigan linebacker Devin Bush, who was called for targeting and ejected.

'The Michigan player was just trying to put out the invisible fire,' Coluzzi said.

He named footballs. I want to say Bella and/or Delores. Coluzzi will be missed.

Can a true freshman get a look in the return game? Probably not, but I think defensive back Trey Creamer might have the tools. He had 160 touches as a senior at Cartersville (Ga.) High School and had more than 1,200 yards and 21 TDs for a state title team. Honorable mention here might be Camron Harrell, based on track speed.

Seven true freshmen defensive backs should have a shot at seeing some special teams. So could freshman linebacker Nate Wieland and, who knows, maybe a freshman running back slides into special teams (that hasn't happened in a while).

2nd Down — Battles Brewing

Well, punter. It's totally up in the air. I'll give you a few minutes to think of Kirk Ferentz/punter jokes before we push on.

Got that out of your system? (OK, Iowa did punt 78 times last season, its most since at least 2008.)

Sophomore Colten Rastetter sits in the chair right now. Here's Ferentz when asked about the punter position going into spring practice:

'Colten has been here a couple years now. He's at that point where it's time for him to go. It's his job to win right now.'

But Iowa did actually crunch the scholarship numbers and found one last winter for punter Ryan Gersonde. Directional punting was one measure the Iowa staff used when it went searching for a scholarship punter last January.

Here's ESPN.com's scouting take on Gersonde: 'Gersonde is an excellent HS prospect, who shows high level talent and D1 punting ability. His technique is solid and his long levers allow him to hit for both distance or hang time if needed. He should be able to compete early in his college career. He has great control on his directional punts and has shown the ability to hit some big hang time on punts as well.'

Here's some evaluation from Kohl's Kicking Camp: 'He is a lefty punter who has a D1 frame and can hit a D1 punt. Gersonde is a punter worth looking at because of his upside and potential. He has some rare qualities that should make him attractive to college coaches.'

You probably don't spend a scholarship on a punter and plan to redshirt him. Iowa's last true freshman to start at punter was Connor Kornbrath in 2012. Ryan Donahue, the best punter of the Ferentz era (probably, right?) redshirted in 2006, but won the job as a redshirt freshman in 2007 and set a Big Ten and Iowa record with 86 punts.

OK, another minute for Ferentz and punt jokes.

Here are five names for a kick coverage team:

LB Amani Jones — He probably doesn't crack the lineup, so he'll spend a lot of his sophomore year probably, at some point, trying his hand as a special teams captain.

LB Kristian Welch — He played on a few coverage units last season, compiling three tackles.

LB Barrington Wade — Defensive coordinator Phil Parker called Wade a hybrid type LB. He must have the wheels for special teams.

S Amani Hooker — Had four special teams tackles last season. If he doesn't punch through at safety, Hooker will have a chance to find a spot on a couple of special teams units.

LB Jack Hockaday — He's on the MLB track for 2018. Spending 2017 as a special teams force would further that agenda.

1st Down — In Summary

Five finishing thoughts on what needs to happen for the best-case scenario.

1. Keep doing your thing, Tyler Kluver.

The Iowa longsnapper begins his fourth year as a starter. Longsnapper is a fascinating job. It's pass/fail every time out (although I have learned there's more nuance here than I've ever realized, you can be off and not be happy with your effort but still ensure the ball gets where it needs to be generally).

How many football people can say '211 punts, 51 field goals and 139 PATs' without a major accident on the factory floor? Kluver can say that.

2. Let's pick a return specialist

I'd be Team Wadley on this, at least for kickoffs, but you have to ask yourself if it's worth it. I'm a no here. Yes, using King in returns might've been an even bigger risk. Iowa does have other running backs. Iowa didn't know what it had in Manny Rugamba until he did his thing at corner in the Michigan game.

I'd love to wiggle out of this with 'well, we'll just see how things evolve with Wadley's role in the offense.' But you heard Ferentz. He wants to squeeze all the juice out of this orange. And this is a decision that Iowa will try to make in camp. Bottom line, on the wear and tear scale, running back comes with more bumps and bruises than corner. I'm a no.

Senior WR Matt VandeBerg is listed as a possibility on returns going into camp. This would fit the new Ferentz 'orange-squeezing profile,' and VandeBerg has always been in the return mix (he returned 12 punts in 2014). Still, he's going into camp with more times breaking his left foot (two) than full-speed practices in the last almost year. Maybe, but for now, no. VandeBerg is too valuable at WR.

Here are three candidates:

CB Manny Rugamba — I can see this, especially as a punt returner. Do you think Iowa would trade some ball skills for a regular defender who knows what he's doing in punt safe? Great, you've been paying attention these last 19 seasons.

WR Devonte Young — Going into camp, he's No. 1 at both spots. Let's see how it goes. It's a new opportunity for him.

RB Toks Akinribade — Running back isn't fully formed in Brian Ferentz's offense (but hey, they only run three plays, right?), so I think some special teams opportunities will open up behind Wadley and Butler.

And here's what Woods said about returner this spring: 'We have some young guys in there, Devonte Young, Manny Rugamba, Amani Hooker have shown some good things, and then some guys that we're still working on. Nick Easley has actually done it in junior college (Iowa Western). He's flashed a couple things here and there, so we're still working to develop that, but those are some of the names of guys that have been working hard.'

3. Spencer factor

Frankly, I don't think we're making a big enough deal about the Kevin Spencer hiring. Ferentz probably called him on a whim, expecting a no, and then, wham, he's got a seasoned special teams veteran coach who's made his money and is now in the profession because he totally digs it.

This should pay huge dividends for Woods, who did move along special teams last season (he coaches punt returns and Riley McCarron had a punt return TD that started the avalanche at Illinois).

Four Downs

Four Downs: Iowa's 2017 Quarterbacks

 

Four Downs: Iowa's 2017 Wide receivers/tight ends

It's not exactly like this, but this is as close as Iowa probably gets under Ferentz to what Alabama and Nick Saban do when a head coach gets fired and finds a home as a 'football assistant' on Saban's staff.

Too many cooks? No. This should be a 'guiding hand' and 'decision support' situation. I bet Spencer would be fun to mic and follow during camp.

Make no mistake, though, there's a renewed focus on special teams.

'There's a sign down there by the locker room — every skill player must attend all special teams meetings,' Woods said. 'So if you're not an offensive lineman or a defensive lineman, and the quarterbacks, we let those guys go to their meetings, everyone else is in the special teams meeting.

'We're trying to develop a culture of enthusiasm and understand the importance and the impact of special teams play in a game, and again, we're looking at everybody. It's not just, well, this linebacker has always played special teams, receivers are over here. We're not doing that. We're looking at everybody and trying to evaluate everybody.'

4. Kids day will mean something for special teams

Iowa started practice during the final week of July. So, by Aug. 12 and the open scrimmage (Kids day at Kinnick), we might have an idea what's going on at punter and kicker.

Gersonde (and Kluver) are the only specialists on scholarship. Iowa isn't bringing in Gersonde to be a practice body. Rastetter has grown his game, but it's time to shine.

Kicker is more interesting. In Chicago for Big Ten media days, Ferentz referred to Iowa's 'kicking competition.'

Kicker left off at this page: Duncan was the guy within 40 yards; Miguel Recinos was the 40-plus kicker. Woods is now making the decision. Iowa hasn't done a ton of platoon with placekicker. I think they'd prefer not to do that, but if this thing breaks cleanly to where Duncan handles short kicks and Recinos long, that's how it will go.

Duncan is just a true sophomore. He probably made some strength gains from year 1 to year 2. If he gains trust at 45 yards, he probably secures the full-time gig.

Again, the Aug. 12 open scrimmage might show us something here. Of course, Iowa could just skip special teams that day. But Iowa doesn't sound like a program that will be skipping special teams drills on any days.

'I'm evaluating everything right now from a field goal perspective,' Woods said. 'The protection, the operation of snap, hold, kick, all that stuff, sounds cliché, but we're trying to get the right guys on the field.'

5. Linebackers should steer Iowa's special teams

Iowa will have three senior starters at linebacker this fall. But it also will have at least eight other scholarship linebackers who'll be angry at themselves if they don't work their ways into position to push something toward shore this season.

Everybody will be evaluated, as Woods said, but linebackers generally make up the bulk of coverage units.

'Regardless of which program you're in, whether it's the NFL or in college, linebackers play special teams because they're typically the best athletes as far as speed and power goes,' said Woods, who happened to play linebacker at Iowa and linebacker and special teams during a seven-year NFL career. 'But we have a lot of guys in that room, older and younger guys, who are really good special teams players, and that's just the nature of the beast.

'Typically defensive players tend to be better naturally at special teams based on the things they do on a daily basis. We're also trying to train a bunch of offensive guys right now to have more of a balance, so that we don't wear guys out on defense playing special teams and defense, trying to develop more offensive guys.'

If linebacker Josey Jewell can take a few special teams plays off, that wouldn't be a bad thing. Now, the hard part will be talking him off the field. Good luck with that.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com