SOUTH BEND — Mitch Jeter has proven he can kick field goals at the college level. He did so at a 92% rate the past two seasons at South Carolina before completing a graduate transfer to Notre Dame.
Bryce McFerson, ND's starting punter, has proven he can hold for field goal and extra point attempts at the college level. He replaced Dylan Devezin after three games last season and held for kicker Spencer Shrader.
But what Notre Dame football lacks in its field goal operation this year is an experienced long snapper after Michael Vinson’s eligibility expired following the 2023 season. Vinson held Notre Dame’s special teams snapping roles for each of the past four seasons.
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Now walk-ons Rino Monteforte, a junior-to-be, and Andrew Kros, a sophomore-to-be, are battling for the snapping responsibilities. Special teams coordinator Marty Biagi knows what he’s looking for to separate one from the other.
“Accuracy and consistency,” Biagi said Wednesday after spring practice No. 6. “You love speed, but it’s the third thing because there’s nothing worse than being back there and there’s a little bit of hesitation. As a punter or a kicker, thinking, ‘Wait,’ can be the difference.
“Accuracy first, always. Consistency. Those two would be column A and then velocity. We want to get the snap back there. And then coverage ability in punt. It could be we use two different snappers: a short snapper for field goals and a long snapper for punts if one of those guys is different with their accuracy or they can help us in coverage.”
The 5-foot-7, 193-pound Monteforte and 6-3, 214-pound Kros don’t look like they play the same position. But if they’re tapped as the punt long snapper, they have to be able to run down the field and tackle the returner. That’s why Biagi has them taking part in the circuit of tackling drills that ND’s defenders do daily at practice.
“We’re not just OK with being able to snap,” Biagi said. “Coach talks about ‘winning the interval.’ They have the same standard. Getting down the field and being in the tackling units. That’ll give them the confidence to make those plays in space.”
It’s important for Monteforte, who snapped for one extra point in the Tennessee State blowout, and Kros, who hasn’t played yet, to assimilate quickly, particularly on the field goal unit. If they’re not consistent, it limits the integration of Jeter.
“We have our holders and whatnot, but [Jeter] has to have confidence in the snap and putting those guys in pressure situations, really getting that field goal battery, the snapper, holder, kicker being very consistent in that regard," Biagi said. "Then we’ll get into some more live rep competitions just to get him comfortable.”
Jeter made 23 of his 25 field goal attempts during his South Carolina career with a long of 53 yards.
“Of course, we’ve seen Mitch can do it plenty, but just to get him in the feel, just to get him in our calls, and our mindset and cadence," Biagi said. "Doing a lot of focus on film work. He’s a very big student of the game so he’s often critical of himself just wanting to be perfect. He’s not one that, ‘Oh, well, it went in.’ He’s one that wants it to go right down the middle, which you can appreciate.”
Finding more work for Jayden Harrison
Biagi knows Jayden Harrison can return kickoffs. The Marshall graduate transfer ranked second in the FBS in kickoff return average last season with 30.7 yards per return on 23 chances. Harrison returned two kickoffs for touchdowns last season, which tied him for second nationally, and once previously in 2021.
But the Irish are putting Harrison in a variety of special teams positions to see what else it can get out of him and what else he made be able to learn from those situations. Biagi compared it to what the Irish did with former Penn State transfer Devyn Ford last season.
“All of a sudden we realized what [Ford] could do and we wanted to get him in more and more schemes that we could in different positions,” Biagi said. “So, I think Jayden has been awesome. He even said, ‘I’ve never done the front-line or back-line kickoff return drill; just the returner’.
“It’s a privilege to get to be the kick returner or punt returner at Notre Dame, so my philosophy is you’re going to go through this, you’re going to make sure you learn all the techniques and all the work the (front- and back-line guys) are putting in. He’s in my office and there’s no ego there. I think it’s just going to help him to be able to contribute to special teams more than just as a returner.”
Biagi, who was officially named Notre Dame’s special teams coordinator four days before spring practice started last year, has a better sense of how to maximize the time allotted for special teams in head coach Marcus Freeman’s practices. So it’s not only guys like Harrison who are gaining important reps.
“We’re trying to be really efficient and having all these guys knowing the system, so we can really get into the intentionality of the drill,” Biagi said. “Not just, ‘We’re doing this drill.’ Now it’s really showing them how it worked last year, showing them clips of how it worked with Notre Dame players doing it and now we really want to enhance a lot of it.”
Why Biagi can help Notre Dame’s defensive backs
Though Biagi spent his college career at Marshall (2004-07) as a punter and a kicker, his first job as a graduate assistant at Arkansas in 2008 included defensive responsibilities. In addition to working with Arkansas’ specialists, he assisted cornerbacks coach Lorenzo Ward and defensive coordinator Willy Robinson. Robinson demanded Biagi learn everything and urged him not so speak to a player until he knew the answer.
“So it really made me have to work to dot every I, cross every T," Biagi said, "and that gave me confidence as a young coach going to Arkansas Pine-Bluff, going to Southern University, going to South Dakota to really feel that I could contribute being in the defensive back end off of that.”
Biagi learned enough in three seasons at Arkansas to be named co-defensive coordinator at Arkansas Pine-Bluff for the 2011 season. He coached defensive backs in addition to special teams for three seasons at Southern and cornerbacks for one season at South Dakota prior to being hired as a Notre Dame special teams analyst in 2016.
Biagi was asked to assist defensive backs coach Mike Mickens this season following the departure of safeties coach Chris O’Leary to the Los Angeles Chargers. Mickens oversees cornerbacks, safeties and nickelbacks, so he could use an extra voice and set of eyes.
Biagi won’t pretend to be at the same defensive coaching level of coordinator Al Golden or Mickens, but he doesn’t need training wheels.
“The great part is I think that once you learn defense,” Biagi said, “it’s kind of like riding a bike.”
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