The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/80972
ST SMOOTHER SAILING Michigan's Special Teams Are Growing Positively Better T BY JOHN BORTON he final play of the 2011 Michigan football season fairly shouted the turnaround — not only for an 11-2 team, but also the special teams unit on the field. Brendan Gibbons' 37-yard field goal made the difference in Michi- gan's 23-20 Sugar Bowl win over Virginia Tech. One year made all the difference for Gibbons, who went 1 of 5 on field goals a season earlier and was practically written off by casual observers. Those didn't include Michigan's new coaching staff. Those coaches still saw potential in the left-footed kicker, who turned it around com- pletely in 2011. Gibbons went 13 of 17 on field goals last year, includ- ing the BCS bowl game-winner. Gibbons received a clean slate from Brady Hoke's crew, and he proceeded to clean up. "I didn't talk to him much about what happened the year before," Michigan special teams coordinator Dan Ferrigno noted. "We just coached him the way we coach around here. We're positive. We know he's good. You could see that in practice. It was just getting him to believe that again. "I think his confidence might have gone south from a year ago. He got it back, and he kept it going all year long. He had some big kicks. The Sugar Bowl kick was big, but he had some big ones throughout the year — even in the Ohio game, he had one to put us up by six, so they had to score a touchdown at the end of the game. "There were a number of big kicks he made. Mostly, it was his con- fidence. It has nothing to do with his ability." Given that demonstration of confidence restored, Michigan appears to be feeling more self-possessed in its special teams across the board. That doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement in certain areas, but those have already been targeted. One of them involves punting and a battle between a pair of strong legs. Junior Will Hagerup handled most of the punting duties last year, af- ter coming off a four-game suspension at the start of the season for vio- lating team rules. Hagerup never completely found his stride, though, averaging 36.0 yards per punt after averaging 43.6 a year earlier. In his rookie year, Matt Wile punted 17 times at the start of the sea- son, posting an average of 41.6 yards per boot. That sets up a fall camp competition between junior and sophomore, both of whom are capable of launching some big punts. Hagerup's fall efforts will be closely monitored. "With him, it's more of a consistency thing, and us getting him to be more consistent," Ferrigno noted. "That's our job as coaches. Find the things that cause those poor kicks, and get him back on track, and to drop the ball properly. Will Hagerup, Matt Wile Competing At Punter "He's very talented, and we've got to get him to show it in games. He knows that. In the spring game, he had a couple of good punts when we put him under pressure, and then he shanked one. That's what we've got to get out of his game, that shank. He's very talented, but not consistent enough yet." Meanwhile, Wile will challenge for a number of roles. "He's competing for the punting job," Ferrigno said of the sopho- more. "I'm not ready to say Brendan is the [field goal] guy, just based on what he did last year. We never want to be in the position where 176 s THE WOLVERINE 2012 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ST Will Hagerup averaged 43.6 yards per punt as a rookie, but slipped to QUICK FACTS Position Coach: Dan Ferrigno (second season). Returning Starters: K Brendan Gibbons, P Will Hagerup, P Matt Wile, PR/KR Jeremy Gallon, KR Vincent Smith and H Drew Dileo. Departing Starters: KR Martavious Odoms and KR Kelvin Grady. Projected New Starter: LS Jareth Glanda. Top Reserves: PR/KR Blake Countess and KR Ramon Taylor. Newcomers: PR/KR Dennis Norfleet. Moved In: None. Moved Out: None. Rookie Impact: Norfleet. Most Improved Player: Gibbons. Best Pro Prospect: Wile. FYI: Gallon ended up third in the Big Ten and 26th in the nation last season in punt returns, averaging 10.1 yards per attempt … Gibbons made good on 76.5 percent of his field goal attempts in 2011, good for fifth in the Big Ten … The Wolverines conceded a considerable amount of yardage on kickoffs in 2011, returning 35 kicks for 645 yards (18.4 average) while seeing foes return 57 kicks for 1,222 yards (21.4 average) … Michi- gan opponents brought back 21 punts for 193 yards, averaging 9.2 yards per return … The Wolverines didn't feature a kick return or a punt return for a touchdown in 2011 … The last time Michigan returned a kickoff for a touchdown involved Darryl Stonum's 94-yard effort against Notre Dame in 2009, a highlight of the Wolverines' 38-34 win … The last time the Wolverines brought a punt back to paydirt was Odoms' 82-yarder at Purdue in 2008 … Aside from Gallon, three other Wolverines returned punts in 2011, including Josh Furman (one for six yards), J.T. Floyd (one for no yards) and Dileo (one for no yards) … Odoms led the Wolverines in kickoff returns in 2011, averaging a team-best 21.2 yards on 19 returns … Michigan's best among those coming back in 2012 is Smith, who brought back seven kickoffs an average of 18.4 yards last season … Gibbons proved perfect between 20 and 29 yards on field goals in 2011 (5 of 5), while going 6 of 8 from between 30 and 39 yards, and 2 of 4 between 40 and 49 … Gibbons' longest field goal make in 2011 was 43 yards. 36.0 in 2011 and will have to compete for the starting job this fall. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL