It’s the phase of the game that rarely gets asked about during fall camp, but it probably should be.
You don’t hear many questions about special teams in the weeks leading up to the season, as preseason storylines tend to focus on offense or defense. Yet special teams will invariably end up playing a make-or-break role at various points through the season, as it almost always does.
That could be especially true for Ohio State in 2017, as the Buckeyes are replacing both their kicker and punter from last season while also breaking in new players in the return game and on coverage units.
Ohio State’s offense is expected to be better this season, while the defense is expected to be among the best in the country, but the Buckeyes will also need to perform well on special teams in order to make a championship run.
SPECIAL TEAMS IN 2016
Tyler Durbin was the only Ohio State kicker to attempt a field goal, extra point or kickoff last season, while Cameron Johnston was the only punter to attempt a punt.
Durbin’s one and only season as Ohio State’s kicker could be described as a roller-coaster. It was a smooth ride for most of the season, as Durbin made 16 of his first 17 field goal attempts, but his missed kicks seemed to happen at the worst times.
Durbin’s first unsuccessful field goal attempt of the season came at Penn State, when he had a kick blocked and returned for a touchdown. He also missed an extra point in that game, which Ohio State lost, 24-21.
Durbin made a 23-yard field goal to force overtime against in the Buckeyes' eventual win against Michigan, but not before he missed a 21-yard field goal and a 37-yard field goal earlier in the game. He then missed both of his field goal attempts in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl, where Clemson handed Ohio State its first shutout since 1993.
Ohio State had no such issues of inconsistency with Johnston. The Buckeyes’ only punter for the past four years, Johnston was a field-position weapon throughout his career and had his best season as a senior, ranking fifth in the nation with an average of 46.7 yards per punt.
The Buckeyes combined Johnston’s consistent hangtime and punt placement with a strong punt coverage unit to allow opponents to gain just 55 yards on 14 punt returns all of last season. The Buckeyes were solid but not spectacular in kickoff coverage, ranking 30th in the nation with 18.9 yards allowed per kickoff return, with one touchdown allowed to Oklahoma’s Joe Mixon.
Ohio State’s weakest special teams unit last season was its punt return unit. Dontre Wilson, the Buckeyes’ lead punt returner for most of the season, was eventually replaced after three muffed punts in a four-week span. As a unit, the Buckeyes had only one punt return of more than 20 yards for the entire season and ranked 105th in the Football Bowl Subdivision with an average of just 5.15 yards per punt return.
"We were poor last year, very poor on punt return," Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said in his most recent press conference. "That’s an area that we deemed inadequate a year ago."
Parris Campbell was effective on kickoff returns last season, leading all qualified Big Ten returners and ranking 12th nationally with an average of 27.8 yards per kickoff return.
Parris Campbell was one of the nation's most consistently effective kickoff returners last year.
2017 OUTLOOK
With Durbin and Johnston both gone, Ohio State will have both a kicker and a punter who did not have a single attempt the previous season for the first time since 2005.
The Buckeyes do have a kicker with experience in redshirt junior Sean Nuernberger, who was the starting kicker for the 2014 national championship team as a true freshman. After backing up Jack Willoughby in 2015 and missing last season due to injury, Nuernberger has competed with true freshman Blake Haubeil in this year’s fall camp.
Nuernberger, who has made 16 of his 24 career field goal attempts, is expected to regain the starting job. Any early-season struggles, however, could open the door for Haubeil.
"Blake’s a pretty good player," Meyer said Monday. "Sean is ahead of him, but not by a very far margin."
Ohio State’s new punter will be redshirt freshman Drue Chrisman. Ranked as the No. 1 punter in the recruiting class of 2016, Chrisman is talented but unproven. Sophomore walk-on Jake Metzer is the only other punter on the Buckeyes’ roster.
Special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs is confident the Buckeyes won’t miss a beat with Chrisman.
"Drue Chrisman is a phenomenal punter," Coombs said last week. "You are going to be excited to see what Drue does with the ball. We had a great punter (Johnston), we have another great punter."
Redshirt sophomore Liam McCullough, who was also ranked as the No. 1 player at his position in his recruiting class, returns for his second season as the Buckeyes’ starting long snapper.
Campbell returns as the Buckeyes’ lead kickoff returner. Meyer said Monday that redshirt sophomore wide receiver K.J. Hill and sophomore running back Demario McCall will be the Buckeyes’ lead punt returners, with McCall hinting last week that the Buckeyes could use dual punt returners this year. Hill and McCall are also both candidates to be the secondary kickoff returner, though three other Buckeyes – true freshman running back J.K. Dobbins, junior wide receiver Eric Glover-Williams and redshirt sophomore cornerback Kendall Sheffield – also practiced with the return units throughout fall camp.
The Buckeyes should have strong kickoff and punt coverage units, per usual, as the roster is loaded with high-level athletes who can fly down the field. While the Buckeyes have plenty of veterans who should see playing time on those units, ranging from offensive and defensive starters to recent scholarship recipients Elijaah Goins and Zach Turnure, those units could also be an opportunity for freshmen like cornerbacks Jeffrey Okudah and Shaun Wade and linebackers Baron Browning and Pete Werner to see their first playing time as Buckeyes.
FINAL WORD
It’s difficult to evaluate any aspect of the kicking game until the real game action begins, so there’s reason for the Buckeyes to have qualms about their new kicker, punter and punt returners going into the season. The Buckeyes also have the talent, though, to be confident their special teams will be a strength of their team.
Nuernberger wasn't great in 2014 – if he was, he wouldn’t have been benched for the past two seasons – but he does have experience making field goals in big games, which relieves some uneasiness about the kicking game. Haubeil, the No. 4 kicker recruit in the class of 2017, could potentially be an upgrade if the Buckeyes need to call upon him.
It’s hard to imagine there not being some drop-off at punter, given how consistently effective Johnston was, but Chrisman offers the potential to emerge in time as one of college football’s best punters.
The Buckeyes need to be better on punt returns, but there’s reason to believe they will be. Most importantly, the Buckeyes need their punt returners to catch the ball cleanly and avoid fumbles; Hill, who Coombs said has "great, great hands," should be an upgrade in that regard. McCall also offers high upside as a playmaker with the ball in his hands.
Ohio State has consistently been among the nation’s best in kickoff and punt coverage with Meyer as head coach and Coombs as special teams coordinator, and the Buckeyes have as many top-tier athletes on this year’s roster as they’ve ever had, so there’s no reason to believe the Buckeyes won’t perform well once again in that area.
