Putting the 'special' in special teams

This past offseason has been a period of great turnover for Duke.

The Blue Devils will try to overcome the departures of starting quarterback Anthony Boone and linebacker David Helton, and the loss of wide receiver Jamison Crowder to the NFL. Couple that with a season-ending ACL tear to linebacker Kelby Brown and a partially torn pectoral muscle suffered by redshirt junior running back Jela Duncan, and there are new faces in several spots, with a number of those faces switching positions entirely in order to make things work.

But at kicker and punter, two veteran leaders remain in senior Ross Martin and redshirt senior Will Monday.

When David Cutcliffe became Duke’s head coach in 2007, he emphasized the vital role that special teams—the all-important third phase—would play in the team’s success. It took time for that philosophy to be put into action: In 2011, the year before Martin arrived in Durham, Blue Devil kickers combined to go 9-of-20 on field goal attempts.

But led by Martin and Monday, Duke’s special teams unit has answered Cutcliffe’s call, becoming one of the best in the ACC—and in the nation. In 2014, the Blue Devils ranked first in conference in field goal percentage, as Martin knocked 90.5 percent of his field goal attempts through the uprights. Monday’s 43.0 yards per punt ranked third in the league, but his hang-time allowed the Blue Devils’ kick coverage team to set up and prevent big plays. Duke allowed the fewest punt return yards in the ACC at just 33.

“Special teams, at the end of the day, is a huge focus for us as a whole team,” Martin said. “That’s a huge part of Coach Cutcliffe’s philosophy here. Our approach in this is we want to be the best special teams unit in the ACC.”

As a three-time All-ACC selection, Martin is Duke’s career points leader and the ACC’s active leader in field goals and extra points. With four more field goal conversions, he will surpass former Duke kicker Sims Lenhardt for the most career field goals in program history.

Martin has also come up big in key moments, hitting a couple of field goals that proved to be decisive. Two years ago, the Solon, Ohio, native nailed the go-ahead 27-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter against North Carolina, clinching the Blue Devils’ Coastal Division title. Earlier in 2013, his 53-yard boot at the end of the first half sent the Blue Devils into the locker room at Virginia Tech with a 6-0 lead and all the momentum, which they would need to hold off the Hokies for their first win against a ranked opponent on the road since 1971.

Duke’s four-year starter missed only two field goals in 2014, but they proved costly—misfires in the second half against Virginia Tech allowed the Hokies to escape Durham with a win, just two weeks after Pittsburgh kicker Chris Blewitt’s missed field goal at the end of regulation gave the Blue Devils extra life in a 51-48 double-overtime shootout.

“There were three games last year that were decided from special teams,” senior wide receiver Max McCaffrey said. “And that’s a big difference right there between nine wins and six wins.”

Another three-time All-ACC pick and a Ray Guy award watch nominee—awarded to the nation’s best punter—Monday is not only known for his strong leg, but also for his knack for pinning opposing teams within their own 20 yard-line. During the past three seasons, the Flowery Branch, Ga., native has downed opposing teams within their 20-yard-line 57 times. One of those occasions occurred in the 2012 Belk Bowl against Cincinnati, when Monday launched a 79-yard punt from the Blue Devil’s 19 yard-line, pinning the Bearcats at their own two yard-line. 

Special teams coordinator Zac Roper works with Martin, Monday and the Blue Devil coverage teams to identify room for improvement. Monday said the unit spends about an hour working on various aspects of the game before practice, then an additional 12 to 20 minutes during practice. But the learning is not limited to on-the-field preparations.

“When we watch our practice tape or game film on the other teams, we’re looking at every single player, every single rep,” Martin said. “We have that kind of attention to detail to correct all the little things.”

This season, despite the departure of Crowder—who returned all but two punts last year—a special teams unit that scored a conference-best three touchdowns in 2014 should once again be a strength. Cutcliffe has several available options to fill in for Crowder—including starting punt returner Ryan Smith, who had two runbacks for 45 yards a year ago—and freshman T.J. Rahming. Duke will also have DeVon Edwards—a two-time All-American return specialist—fielding kickoffs.

In addition to honing their individual skills, the kickers also help prepare the returners for the specific style of return they expect to field in their next game.

“Coming into college football, I didn’t know special teams was as huge as it was,” Edwards said. “[Will and Ross] are the best punter and kicker combo I’ve ever seen. Even in practice, when we need scout team looks, they can kick like any other kicker. They can give us pooch kicks, bird kicks, onside kicks. It’s a lot of things that they can do. That really helps in the game when we need them to flip field or we need some points, we can count on them to come out there and give it to us.”

When the Blue Devils open their season at Tulane Thursday night, there will be plenty of question marks. Thanks to Martin and Monday, the kicking game will not be one of them.

Amrith Ramkumar contributed reporting.