GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 27, ISSUE 6 55
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Trent Johnson, Agent
tight ends coach — there are no illusions of Levine's top
priority: He is to provide a distinct advantage on special
teams.
It's what he's done consistently throughout his career,
including in a stint with the NFL, and it's what he's hoping
to do under Brohm with the Boilermakers, transform aver-
age units into much more.
Last season, Western Kentucky was second in FBS in
punt returns (17.93 per return) and third in kickoff re-
turns (26.67 per return). (Kylen Towner led the nation in
kickoff returns, averaging just more than 40 yards per re-
turn.) WKU was eighth in blocked punts (two) and 13th in
blocked kicks (four). Its kickoff return defense was 26th
and its punt return defense 35th.
Comparatively, Purdue was 70th in punt return and 75th
in kickoff return last season. It blocked one punt. Its suc-
cess came on coverage teams, ranking fifth in the nation
in kickoff return defense and ninth in punt return defense.
But those are only two elements. Levine's goal is to
raise production in every single unit — he coaches all of
them — like he did at WKU.
"As far as details go, every week, it's crazy. He pointed
out something every week that gave us an advantage," said
former WKU captain Drew Davis, a key member of its spe-
cial teams units. "That's why Coach Brohm called him one
of the best special teams coaches in the nation because he
came in and he took our unit from average, middle-of-the-
road to leading in multiple special team stats in the nation.
"Every week, he does a different scheme for punt return
and kick return. Punt had a lot of variations, too. But every
week, we would come in and he would give us a paper and
it'd be a totally different scheme. Stuff you wouldn't even
think of."
Simply, Tony Levine always is looking for the setup.
That Week 3 twice-near-TD-return game last season?
Levine deceived the RedHawks over the first two weeks,
using strictly right returns on kickoffs. So on Return No.
1 against them, he essentially made it look like another
one by having his returner take five steps in that direction.
But, then, the returner stuck a foot in the ground and shot
the other way — aided by three changes in the blocking
scheme — and trucked nearly 80 yards. Then, Levine knew,
Miami would sky kick — it's what the tape had showed,
after allowing long returns. So he stuck a high-school-QB-
turned-receiver at the 25-yard line to receive the short
kick — instead of a tight end or a linebacker — and had