Notre Dame Post-Spring Position Reset: Special Teams
Special teams units are like referees.
If you notice them, chances are they did something wrong. The absence of shanked punts, penalties, big opponent kick returns and blown blocking assignments is rarely cause for celebration or any chatter. Frequent amounts of those, though, usher in mass frustration.
Notre Dame’s special teams units have been happily anonymous in recent years because they avoid mistakes. They have even generated some havoc. But, as fans are quick to observe, they have recently been a bit light on splashy returns.
Will 2021 be more of the same consistency without flash or bring more of the latter with the former? Are the kicking struggles last year just a blip? The last of 10 post-spring position resets covers Notre Dame’s special teams.
On The Roster
Scholarship players (4): kicker Jonathan Doerer (Gr.), punter Jay Bramblett (Jr.), long snapper Alex Peitsch (So.), kicker Joshua Bryan (Fr.)
Contributing walk-ons (1): long snapper Michael Vinson (Sr.)
Spring Recap
Notre Dame is making no changes to its lineup of specialists. Doerer used the blanket COVID-19 waiver to play an extra year and will be the primary kicker for the third straight year. Bramblett enters his third season as the No. 1 punter. Vinson is the long snapper, a role he initially assumed in 2020.
The spring game didn’t allow for full kick and punt return units, but running back Chris Tyree fielded kickoffs and projects as the primary returner once again.
The suspense largely rests in the punt return game, which was all about damage control in 2020 and usually produced a fair catch. Walk-on Matt Salerno was the returner last year because he had trusted hands. Notre Dame special teams coordinator Brian Polian simply wanted his returners to catch the ball, and Salerno was the best option to do it.
Will Notre Dame use that same strategy this year or go with a returner who offers more big-play ability? The spring indicated the latter is an option.
Early enrollee freshman receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr. — a top-50 recruit — earned some punt-return work. Tyree, senior receiver Lawrence Keys III, freshman cornerback Philip Riley and primary running back Kyren Williams also practiced returning punts this spring.
Bryan, the No. 1-ranked kicker nationally according to Chris Sailer Kicking, will enroll in June.
Post-Spring Stock Report
In the context of Notre Dame’s normally reliable special teams play, last year’s kicking struggles were particularly surprising and maddening — perhaps more to those involved than to fans. Doerer returned for a fifth year to try and correct it.
Doerer’s field goal percentage dipped from 85 percent in 2019 to 65.2 in 2020. In Notre Dame’s final five games, he was just 4-for-9. Among those misses was a 24-yard doink in the ACC Championship Game and a 32-yarder that sailed wide at North Carolina.
“Those kicks need to be made,” Polian said in April. “Jon knows that, and he'd be the first one to tell you. Personally, I think there were some mechanical issues, something that he couldn't quite get comfortable with.
“Instead of stepping up there and swinging at the ball, he’s going to try and ease it through the uprights. It's frustrating to him and it's frustrating to me that I couldn't help him more at the end of the year.”
Polian liked Doerer’s progress this spring, and Notre Dame has reason to give him a long leash while he tries to find his form. He has range past 50 yards and was consistent throughout 2019.
But there is a bit more pressure on him. In Bryan, Notre Dame has his probable successor on the roster. Junior walk-on Harrison Leonard lurks behind him as well.
Bramblett is locked in as the punter, and Notre Dame expects another strong season out of him. He upped his punting average from 39.4 in 2019 to 42.8 last year. Only one punt went for a touchback, while 10 traveled at least 50 yards. Notre Dame was 18th nationally in net punting average, at 41.3 yards.
As demonstrated on multiple occasions last year, the former high school quarterback is also an elite athlete for the position.
“He did a very good job last year,” Polian said. “The next step in the progression now is to be more consistent in terms of the mechanics, turning the ball over and making sure we don’t have that 36-yard punt. Even our misses have to be good.”
Styles or Tyree are Notre Dame’s best bets for a more productive punt return game, but Notre Dame won’t put them out there if they’re not comfortable catching punts. Dwindling frequency of punt returns and return opportunities across college football make the ball-security approach a less extreme one.
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