The numbers from the superb site
CFB Stats tell an ugly tale of Penn State's less-than-Special Teams...
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National rank out of 120 NCAA Division I-A teamsMany Penn State fans have been critical of the lack of a dedicated Special Teams coach, but as Jeff Rice of the Centre Daily Times writes, it's not quite that simple...Should one person be given the controls to the coverage units, the return units and the Nittany Lions’ field-goal teams?
No, and there are a few reasons why.
First, college football is not the NFL. The NCAA permits Division I teams to carry a maximum of nine full-time assistant coaches, not including strength coaches or graduate assistants. Those assistants wind up performing a number of roles — position coach, offensive or defensive coordinator, recruiting coordinator, and, in many cases, various special teams duties.
At Penn State, defensive line coach Larry Johnson supervises the punt coverage team; linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden the punt return team; tackles and tight ends coach Bill Kenney the kickoff return team; safeties coach Kermit Buggs the kickoff coverage and field goal block teams; and wide receivers coach Mike McQueary — the team’s recruiting coordinator — the field goal protection team.
Now, Paterno could enlist any one of those coaches — or bring in a new face — to run all of those units, to spend their days breaking down film of returns, handpicking the best available tacklers, and finding out where the blocking was breaking down most often.
But another part of the coaching staff would be sacrificed.
Just as important to remember is that the Nittany Lions are permitted only so many hours of practice, and the majority of those hours are used to work on offensive and defensive drills. Kickers, punters, and long snappers are the only players who don’t have to get in work at other positions. Punter Jeremy Boone, for example, spends about 10-12 minutes each practice working with the rest of the punt coverage team and, as he put it: “Those 10 minutes go by real quick.”
The coverage teams will work against scout-team return squads, and vice versa. If you’ve ever wondered what some of the three dozen or so walk-ons that fill the squad each season do during practice, now you know.
There is room for improvement all over the special teams units. The Nittany Lions have missed tackles and failed to fill their lanes on coverages, the blocking for the kickoff returners has been only average and the three-headed punt return tandem of Evan Royster, Drew Astorino, and Graham Zug has not yet inspired any fear in the hearts of opposing defenses.
But it’s hard to imagine the special teams being much better with one guy making the calls or running the drills instead of five. Special teams are about big plays — making them and avoiding those by the opposition. The Nittany Lions’ coaches can only put them in the right position to make those plays. The players have to make them.
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The numbers from the superb site CFB Stats tell an ugly tale of Penn State's less-than-Special Teams...
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