Go Joe Bruin finishes the Spring Practice Preview as we look at the situation with the special teams who returns a lot of experience and who we hope can improve under the new coaching regime.
The Special Teams unit for the UCLA football team this year could closely resemble the one that was out there last season. This could be both good and bad. On one hand, JJ Molson returns after a sophomore year that saw a marked improvement in both his accuracy and confidence. But on the other hand, the punt return team that gained a total of 73 return yards during conference play is also back.
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UCLA returns both kickers along with their main punt and kickoff returners so new coach Chip Kelly could choose to keep the personnel the same or go in an entirely different direction on special teams. So with the start of spring practice less than a week away, here is a look at what I think the Bruins’ Special Teams unit could look like this season.
Place Kicker
In his sophomore year, Molson showed why he was a top rated kicker coming out of high school two years ago. The Canada native hit on 17 of his 21 field goal attempts, including a season long 45 yarder against Stanford. His 81% success rate on field goals was good for third in the PAC-12. That was an improvement from his freshman year when he was a disappointing 12 for 20. On extra points, Molson also impressed with a near perfect 49 out of 50.
On kickoffs, Molson put the ball into the end zone only 40% of the time. Not terrible as his 34 total touchbacks were in the top third in the nation (37th), but it was the kickoff coverage that constantly hurt the Bruins. On Molson’s 48 returnable kickoffs, opponents racked up 1,172 yards. That’s an average of 24.4 yards per return and fifth worst in the nation. If Molson really wants to improve his game this year, he needs to put more kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. This will not only reduce the risk of injury (all Bruins fans know how injuries can devastate a defense) for the kickoff team but it will show NFL scouts that Molson has the leg to eventually move on to the next level.
JJ Molson is a talented kicker who, if he repeats the off season improvement he had a year ago, could be one of the top kickers in the nation. This is Molson’s job to lose and I don’t see him giving it up during the season.
UCLA Football Spring Practice Preview 2018: Special Teams (cont.)
Punter
Stefan Flintoft, Sr-R, 6-3, 190 lbs.
Austin Kent, Jr, 6-1, 215 lbs.
After taking over punting duties halfway through the 2016 season, Flintoft was the number one punter from the start of the 2017 year. His 42.9 yards per punt average was good for fifth in PAC-12 play and almost a three yard improvement from the previous season. Flintoft was also useful pinning the Bruins’ opponents back by landing 21 punts inside the 20 yard line. Four of those coming in the Bruins’ first loss of the year at Memphis.
The Loyola High School (CA) grad also served as the holder on place kicks for the Bruins last year so I expect him to continue that responsibility this season.
Behind Flintoft on the punting ladder is Austin Kent. As the starting punter during the 2016 season, Kent punted in eight games for the Bruins before being replaced by Flintoft for the remainder of the season. In those eight games, Kent averaged 38.3 yards per punt. Kent failed to attempt any punts last year. Coming into camp and barring injury, Flintoft should be the number one punter for new head coach Chip Kelly.
Long Snapper
Johnny Den Bleyker, Jr, 5-11, 195 lbs.
The former High School Long Snapper of the Year was the snapper on every kick the past two seasons for the Bruins. Currently he is the only long snapper on the Bruins’ roster with Division 1 game experience. The two other long snappers on the roster, sophomore Alex Michaelsen and junior Koby Walsh, have yet to see any game action. Although, just like any other position on the team, the backups need to be ready to get into the game at any time. But as long as Den Bleyker is healthy, he should be snapping the ball for UCLA all year.
UCLA Football Spring Practice Preview 2018: Special Teams (cont.)
Punt Returner
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Adarius Pickett, Jr-R, 5-11, 195 lbs.
The junior DB was the main punt returner for the Bruins last season. Incredibly, he only totaled 10 returns for 72 yards. In fact, the entire punt return team had just 73 total yards last year. The main culprit of the Bruins only returning 14 punts for the season is the fact that their defense didn’t make teams punt very often. When you’re giving up almost 37 points a game, the other team isn’t punting too often and…
But I digress…
Pickett will probably start as the punt returner since he is the only Bruin on the roster who has returned punts in college. Darren Andrews and Mossi Johnson helped to return punts last year but both have moved on from UCLA. Although with Chip Kelly coming in, he may have a completely different person or persons besides Pickett in mind to return punts but Adarius should have first crack at the job.
Kick Returner
Darnay Holmes, So, 5-10, 195 lbs.
As a freshman, Holmes took the job of kickoff returner and, well…ran with it. His 715 total return yards was fourth best in the PAC-12. Although he never broke a kickoff for a touchdown (only one PAC-12 player did), he did have his season long return of 54 yards versus Hawaii. With Holmes returning a majority of kickoffs, the Bruins average starting field position was just shy of the 30 yard line (38th in nation). That will be nice for Devon Modster, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, or whoever is playing quarterback for the Bruins to start on the 30 yard line after most kickoffs.
Mo Osling III, So, 6-2, 185 lbs.
The former California high school triple jump champion also contributed on kickoff returns for the Bruins last year. On nine returns, Osling averaged 18 yards. Not too bad for a freshman who returned just one kickoff in the first six games of the season. But the next four games he excelled returning eight kickoffs averaging 27.8 yards a return.
I would be happy to see either Holmes or Osling return kickoffs next year. Perhaps have them take turns to give the kickoff coverage a different look. Coach Kelly could also choose use one of the incoming freshmen to return kicks.
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Chip Kelly comes into UCLA with some tough choices. Who will start at quarterback? Which running back or backs should I go with? But at least with special teams, Coach Kelly already has a strong base where he can add his own personal touches and (hopefully) make it even more successful.