2019 camp preview: Special teams
With SEC Media Days in the books, it’s time to start counting down the days to the start of the 2019 football season. Missouri will begin its preseason camp on Aug. 2. Each day until then, PowerMizzou will evaluate the roster one position group at a time, breaking down the depth chart and the outlook for the season. Our final position preview takes a look at the Tiger special teams, an area that needs to improve in 2019.
Previous positions:
The starters:
Missouri struggled mightily on special teams last season, and the coaching staff now faces the additional challenge of replacing four-year starting punter Corey Fatony. As of now, it looks likely Tucker McCann will handle both the placekicking and punting duties in Fatony’s absence. McCann has a huge leg, as he has proven both with field goals and kickoffs, but last season he left a bit of consistency to be desired. It will be interesting to see how he manages the workload of punting, placekicking and kicking off, assuming the coaching staff doesn’t find another punter by Aug. 31.
McCann’s lack of consistency in part resulted from inconsistency on the part of Missouri’s long-snappers. Jake Hoffman is listed as the starter there on the Tigers’ most recent depth chart; whether it is him, Drew Wise or James Workman who wins the starting job, special teams coordinator will want to see more precision this season. The punt and kickoff return spots will likely not be decided until the end of fall camp, with several newcomers likely to try their hands at the positions, but Richaud Floyd seems like the favorite to return punts. Floyd, a converted cornerback, returned two punts for touchdowns in 2017.
The backups:
McCann should attempt every significant field goal or extra point this year, but he could have some competition at punter. The coaching staff added several walk-ons at the position over the summer to compete for the job. Aaron Rodriguez, Parker Willis and Logan Brock all fall into that category. In addition, Josh Dodge is entering his sophomore season, but considering he couldn’t beat out McCann for the starting spot during the spring, it appears unlikely the Blue Springs native will win the starting job. At the two return positions, a number of players should take reps during fall camp. Running back Tyler Badie, receivers Kam Scott and Khmari Thompson and Floyd seem like plausible candidates to return kickoffs, while Dominic Gicinto, Jalen Knox and Adam Sparks should compete with Floyd to return punts.
Camp outlook:
It can be argued that special teams miscues cost Missouri multiple wins last season, and improving in the third phase of the game should be a top priority for Barry Odom and his staff. Odom said during spring that Andy Hill will continue in his role as special teams coordinator, but that all the assistants will play a larger role in different aspects of special teams. Nearly everything can be better; the Tigers ranked second-to-last nationally in punt return average, and No. 84 in opponent punt returns. They ranked 77th in kickoff return average and 81st in opponent returns. And they had at least two kicks blocked, one of which was returned for a touchdown by Georgia.
Projected Week One depth chart:
Placekicker:
1. Tucker McCann, Sr.
2. Sean Koetting, So.
Punter:
1. Tucker McCann, Sr.
2. Logan Brock, Fr.
Long-snapper:
1. Jake Hoffman, Fr.
2. James Workman, Jr.
3. Drew Wise, Jr.