The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 119 SPECIAL TEAMS QUICK FACTS Position Coaches: Chris Partridge (second season as co-special teams coordinator and at U-M), Jay Harbaugh (third season as co-special teams coordinator and at U-M) and Michael Zordich (first season as special teams coach, third at U-M). Returning Starter: H Garrett Moores. Departing Starters: PK/P Kenny Allen (26 career starts), LS Scott Sypniewski (38), KR/PR Jabrill Pep- pers and KR/PR Jourdan Lewis. Projected New Starters: PK Quinn Nordin, P Brad Robbins, LS Matt Baldeck or Andrew Robinson. Top Reserves: K Kyle Seychel, K Ryan Tice and P Will Hart. Wait Until 2018: None. Newcomers: Baldeck and Robbins. Moved In: None. Moved Out: None. Rookie Impact: Robbins. Most Improved Player: Nordin. Best Pro Prospect: Robbins. FYI Redshirt junior kicker Kyle Seychel's father, Chris Seychel, played hockey (1982-86) and baseball (1982-83) at Michigan. Kenny Allen signed a free agent deal with the NFL's Baltimore Ravens after earning second-team All-Big Ten honors as a fifth-year senior in 2016 and will try to make head coach John Harbaugh's team as a punter. The Wolverines tied with Georgia Southern for second nationally with seven blocked kicks, one behind Texas State, in 2016. They finished eighth in punt returns, averaging 14.28 yards per runback. Sophomore receiver Nate Johnson ripped off an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown in high school in his Nashville (Tenn.) Independence team's win over Brentwood in 2015. for a graduate transfer or short-term solu- tion before Westerville (Ohio) South High's Brad Robbins, a former Nevada commitment, emerged as too good to pass up. "He was our No. 2-ranked guy all fall, but then I saw him Dec. 31 at a big event in Flor- ida. I held a private lesson with him the next day, and all of a sudden my opinion of him changed," Kornblue said. "He went from No. 2 to not only No. 1, but he went to a high No. 1. He really improved in the fall." Robbins was happy to be a Nevada pledge before the coaching staff got fired, opening up his recruitment. Head coach Jim Harbaugh, in need of a punter, leaned on Kornblue's advice. "He got to the level where I was willing to say, 'This is a guy you need to go after,'" Ko- rnblue recalled. "Getting a grad transfer was a good strategy … then you can groom a fresh- man. But once I saw him, I thought he was a guy worth changing the strategy for. "It's hard to find a good, polished player out of high school who is ready to go. I feel he is ready to go." It's a lot to ask a freshman to perform at an All-Big Ten level right off the bat, and he'll probably have some growing pains, Kornblue predicted. But Robbins is also an excellent ath- lete, tall (6-2, 180) and mature beyond his years. Consistency will be key for him, as it always is with kick- ers. But he averaged 41 yards with an average hang time of 4.36 seconds in high school and more than 5.0 seconds on his charts with several 5.2-plus second punts at the Kohl's Kicking 2017 Senior Showcase. "Even his bad ball is decent, it's not going to destroy your coverage," Kornblue said. "His good ball is incredible. His not-so-good one is still okay, and his potential is through the roof." Robbins has the ability to be as good as Michigan's best, Kornblue added, putting him in the company (potentially) of Monte Robbins (1980s) and Zoltan Mesko (2000s). "He can be in that category," Kornblue said. "He'll obviously have to prove it and adjust to the timing issue. That's the hardest part of the transition from high school to college, to be able to get the ball off quickly, but we still have a few months for him to try and get ready for that. That's what he's been working on, and he's on track. "It's one of those things where you have to be patient. You can't expect a freshman to be as effective as a senior." There's Competition At Long Snapper, But Holder Seems Set Long snapper and former starter Scott Sypniewski transferred to Vanderbilt for his fifth year, and the coaches didn't wait long to add to the competition to fill his spot. Lewis- ton, Idaho, product Matt Baldeck graduated high school early to enroll at Mississippi, but was slated to finish his semester there and YEAR-BY-YEAR KICKING LEADERS PUNTING Year Player Punt Attempts Average Punt Long 2016 Kenny Allen 54 43.3 67 2015 Blake O'Neill 53 41.3 80 2014 Will Hagerup 53 42.9 63 2013 Matt Wile 61 40.6 69 2012 Will Hagerup 33 45.0 62 2011 Matt Wile 17 41.6 58 2010 Will Hagerup 33 43.6 72 2009 Zoltan Mesko 52 44.5 66 2008 Zoltan Mesko 80 43.0 63 2007 Zoltan Mesko 70 41.1 68 FIELD GOALS Year Player FG Attempts FG Made Long FG 2016 Kenny Allen 19 23 51 2015 Kenny Allen 22 18 47 2014 Matt Wile 21 15 48 2013 Brendan Gibbons 20 15 47 2012 Brendan Gibbons 18 16 52 2011 Brendan Gibbons 17 13 43 2010 Seth Broekhuizen 9 3 37 2009 Jason Olesnavage 15 11 51 2008 K.C. Lopata 15 10 50 2007 K.C. Lopata 12 11 42 Redshirt freshman Quinn Nordin impressed during the spring and drilled a 48-yard field goal in the ex- hibition that observers noted might have been good from 68. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS