For the week leading up to Duke football’s 2013 Spring Game, the Blue Zone will be breaking down this year’s returning squad unit by unit to examine the key changes you’ll see for next year’s Blue Devils. Today, we look at the special teams unit.
Key returners: redshirt sophomore Will Monday, sophomore Ross Martin
Key departures: Jackson Anderson
Now in the mix: redshirt freshman Thomas Hennessy
2012 performance: The Blue Devils excelled in most aspects of the kicking game last season. Ross Martin earned freshman All-America honors by knocking in 20 of his 23 field goals on the season and converting on 46-of-47 extra point attempts. Martin knocked down both of his attempts from longer than 50 yards last season, notching a season-long of 52.
Will Monday also ranked 13th in the nation in punting, averaging 44.64 yards per kick en route to All-ACC recognition in his first collegiate season.
Kick coverage was where the Blue Devils struggled. The team was mediocre in kickoff coverage and ranked 118th out of 120 FBS schools in punt coverage.
Season outlook: Martin and Monday return to the field and should continue to provide Duke consistency in the kicking game. Kick coverage has been one of head coach David Cutcliffe's primary concerns in spring practice. He continually mentions how important the game's three phases—offense, defense and special teams—are to success on the gridiron. It will be interesting to see if the kick coverage unit can improve under the tutelage of first-year special teams coordinator Zac Roper, who replaced Cutcliffe's longtime friend and colleague Ron Middleton last offseason.
One of the unsung heroes to Duke's success in the kicking game has been long snapper Jackson Anderson, who Cutcliffe said has not had a bad snap in his four years with the Blue Devils. This type of consistency is something often overlooked until something goes wrong, which it never did with Anderson snapping the ball. Anderson graduated last season and is now trying to break into the NFL ranks, which means that Thomas Hennessy's transition as the team's new long snapper could be a crucial one to continuing Duke's special teams success.
Previous unit breakdowns: Quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, offensive line, defensive line, linebackers, defensive backs
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