Note: This is part II of a series I've started on looking back at Virginia's 2012 football season. Virginia has yet to hire a defensive coordinator, so I will look back at special teams instead for now and hold off on the defense while things get settled there. The Wahoos have hired a special teams coach and I mention him below.
For the last two years, I have done ACC football previews for each team in the conference. I look at their offense, defense, schedule, if they have a new coach or star player, and a few other things might factor into my overall assessment of a team before making a guess at what its record will be. I should start including special teams in this assessment. Virginia has probably lost a few games because of it over the last three years and it is so painfully obvious how bad they were this year, that Anthony Poindexter was released of his duties as special teams coach.
Special teams has been the most disappointing unit during Mike London's tenure as the Cavalier football coach. Easily. The offense has been good in spurts and the defense has been good in spurts. The special teams have pretty much been universally awful. There have been moments of good punting or good field goal kicking, which are more like individualized skills (if you're good, you're good and it is hard to mess that up) but when it comes to things that get coached, the coverages and returns are what have been terrible.
Virginia allowed at least two, maybe more, kickoffs for touchdowns this season -- to Stefon Diggs to open the game against Maryland, and to Duke Johnson against Miami. The return allowed against the Terrapins arguably cost the 'Hoos the win because they lost by a touchdown, 27-20, and that first score really just took the air out of the stadium. The touchdown allowed against Miami just about cost the team the win, but it pulled it out in the end, 41-40. Overall, Virginia was dead last in the ACC in net kickoff coverage, meaning it was the worst in the conference in covering kickoffs. On the flip side, there has been just one kick return for a touchdown for UVa in London's three years -- 2010 against Eastern Michigan, arguably the worst team -- certainly the worst FBS team -- that the Cavaliers have faced in those three seasons. This season, Khalek Shepherd would fail to get out beyond the 20-yard line on return after return. Virginia ranked ninth in kickoff returns, but I feel like that ranking would have to be last or 11th during the second half of the season. Shepherd seemed to be a pretty good kick returner at the beginning of the season and I recall him having some electrifying returns in 2011, but he was just awful near the end of this season. It got to the point where teams got really good at kicking the ball to him at the 1-yard line, the goal line, or just inside the end zone. He would always take it out, and Virginia's offense would always start in a hole because he typically did not get it out beyond the 20-yard line.
Punt coverage has sometimes been OK, though it seems like defenders sometimes don't stay in their lanes and once a returner gets past a couple defenders, then he has a real chance to gain lots of yardage or score a touchdown. UVa ranked right in the middle of the ACC this year on net punt average. Punt returns were again a disaster this year. Last year, they were a disaster because true freshman Dominique Terrell allowed punt after punt after punt to fall and bounce for several extra yards. Lots of times, when he did catch it, he would fumble. This year, the main problem was that the return went nowhere (though there was at least one costly muffed punt by Shepherd at the end of the Wake Forest game; if he had caught the punt, Virginia would have had one last chance to try to win that game). Virginia ranked dead last in punt returns, averaging a paltry 3.9 yards per return.
Hopefully, help is on the way for this struggling unit. Jeff Banks, who has coached UTEP special teams for 10 years, will reportedly be the new special teams and running backs coach at UVa. According to an article in The Daily Progress, in 2011, the Miners ranked first in Conference USA in punting, second in kickoff returns, third in kickoff coverage, and seventh in punt returns (while not great, seventh in the ACC would be a major step up in that category for UVa). Nationally, UTEP's kickoff returns ranked sixth while its punt team ranked first. This season, the Miners' punt team was again first in the conference while their kickoff returns were third. A story on elpasotimes.com says "UTEP's kick and punt teams have consistently been among the best in the nation. The Miners ranked seventh nationally in punt return defense this past year."
Banks' resume as a running backs coach, which he also was while at UTEP, isn't too shabby either. In 2009, Donald Buckram set a new single season rushing record for UTEP. From 2004-07, Banks coached Marcus Thomas, who ended his career ranked fifth on UTEP's career rushing yards list with 2,615. This season, Miners running back Nathan Jeffrey ranked sixth in CUSA with 897 yards on 184 carries (4.88 yards per carry). Compare that number to Perry Jones (3.4), Kevin Parks (4.6), and Clifton Richardson (2.5).
Virginia should be bringing back most of its key special teams cogs in 2013. Punter Alec Vozenilek will be back after averaging just over 40 yards per punt this season. Drew Jarrett (8 for 12) and Ian Frye ( 3 of 5) will be back to kick field goals. Shepherd or a host of other speedy players will be back to return kicks and punts. There is absolutely no reason why specials teams won't improve, perhaps drastically, next season. Hopefully, the unit can be a reason the Cavs win a game and not lose a game.
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BOWL SEASON
Bowl season kicked off last Saturday with two games: In the Gildan New Mexico Bowl, Arizona came back to top Nevada 49-48 in a wild contest and in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Utah State easily cruised past Toledo, 41-15.
There are four games Thursday through Saturday. I last picked college games for championship Saturday and went 7-1, boosting my overall record to 79-35. No guarantee I will pick every bowl game from here out. There are too many!
Thursday
8 p.m. ESPN
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
BYU vs. San Diego State
San Diego State 27, BYU 24
Friday
7:30 p.m. ESPN
Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl St. Petersburg
Ball State vs. Central Florida
Central Florida 38, Ball State 31
Saturday
Noon ESPN
R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
East Carolina vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
Louisiana-Lafayette 34, East Carolina 31
3:30 p.m. ESPN
MAACO Bowl Las Vegas
Washington vs. No. 19 Boise State
Washington 21, Boise State 17
For the last two years, I have done ACC football previews for each team in the conference. I look at their offense, defense, schedule, if they have a new coach or star player, and a few other things might factor into my overall assessment of a team before making a guess at what its record will be. I should start including special teams in this assessment. Virginia has probably lost a few games because of it over the last three years and it is so painfully obvious how bad they were this year, that Anthony Poindexter was released of his duties as special teams coach.
Special teams has been the most disappointing unit during Mike London's tenure as the Cavalier football coach. Easily. The offense has been good in spurts and the defense has been good in spurts. The special teams have pretty much been universally awful. There have been moments of good punting or good field goal kicking, which are more like individualized skills (if you're good, you're good and it is hard to mess that up) but when it comes to things that get coached, the coverages and returns are what have been terrible.
Virginia allowed at least two, maybe more, kickoffs for touchdowns this season -- to Stefon Diggs to open the game against Maryland, and to Duke Johnson against Miami. The return allowed against the Terrapins arguably cost the 'Hoos the win because they lost by a touchdown, 27-20, and that first score really just took the air out of the stadium. The touchdown allowed against Miami just about cost the team the win, but it pulled it out in the end, 41-40. Overall, Virginia was dead last in the ACC in net kickoff coverage, meaning it was the worst in the conference in covering kickoffs. On the flip side, there has been just one kick return for a touchdown for UVa in London's three years -- 2010 against Eastern Michigan, arguably the worst team -- certainly the worst FBS team -- that the Cavaliers have faced in those three seasons. This season, Khalek Shepherd would fail to get out beyond the 20-yard line on return after return. Virginia ranked ninth in kickoff returns, but I feel like that ranking would have to be last or 11th during the second half of the season. Shepherd seemed to be a pretty good kick returner at the beginning of the season and I recall him having some electrifying returns in 2011, but he was just awful near the end of this season. It got to the point where teams got really good at kicking the ball to him at the 1-yard line, the goal line, or just inside the end zone. He would always take it out, and Virginia's offense would always start in a hole because he typically did not get it out beyond the 20-yard line.
Punt coverage has sometimes been OK, though it seems like defenders sometimes don't stay in their lanes and once a returner gets past a couple defenders, then he has a real chance to gain lots of yardage or score a touchdown. UVa ranked right in the middle of the ACC this year on net punt average. Punt returns were again a disaster this year. Last year, they were a disaster because true freshman Dominique Terrell allowed punt after punt after punt to fall and bounce for several extra yards. Lots of times, when he did catch it, he would fumble. This year, the main problem was that the return went nowhere (though there was at least one costly muffed punt by Shepherd at the end of the Wake Forest game; if he had caught the punt, Virginia would have had one last chance to try to win that game). Virginia ranked dead last in punt returns, averaging a paltry 3.9 yards per return.
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| Jeff Banks |
Banks' resume as a running backs coach, which he also was while at UTEP, isn't too shabby either. In 2009, Donald Buckram set a new single season rushing record for UTEP. From 2004-07, Banks coached Marcus Thomas, who ended his career ranked fifth on UTEP's career rushing yards list with 2,615. This season, Miners running back Nathan Jeffrey ranked sixth in CUSA with 897 yards on 184 carries (4.88 yards per carry). Compare that number to Perry Jones (3.4), Kevin Parks (4.6), and Clifton Richardson (2.5).
Virginia should be bringing back most of its key special teams cogs in 2013. Punter Alec Vozenilek will be back after averaging just over 40 yards per punt this season. Drew Jarrett (8 for 12) and Ian Frye ( 3 of 5) will be back to kick field goals. Shepherd or a host of other speedy players will be back to return kicks and punts. There is absolutely no reason why specials teams won't improve, perhaps drastically, next season. Hopefully, the unit can be a reason the Cavs win a game and not lose a game.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOWL SEASON
Bowl season kicked off last Saturday with two games: In the Gildan New Mexico Bowl, Arizona came back to top Nevada 49-48 in a wild contest and in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Utah State easily cruised past Toledo, 41-15.
There are four games Thursday through Saturday. I last picked college games for championship Saturday and went 7-1, boosting my overall record to 79-35. No guarantee I will pick every bowl game from here out. There are too many!
Thursday
8 p.m. ESPN
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
BYU vs. San Diego State
San Diego State 27, BYU 24
Friday
7:30 p.m. ESPN
Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl St. Petersburg
Ball State vs. Central Florida
Central Florida 38, Ball State 31
Saturday
Noon ESPN
R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
East Carolina vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
Louisiana-Lafayette 34, East Carolina 31
3:30 p.m. ESPN
MAACO Bowl Las Vegas
Washington vs. No. 19 Boise State
Washington 21, Boise State 17
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