It’s one of those generic sayings nearly every football coach gives to the media and even to his team. They want to make the special teams special.
In recent years, the Oregon special teams haven’t been all that special. New head coach Dan Lanning and his staff is looking to change that narrative.
“Ultimately to me, you get what you demand and we spend a lot of time on special teams. It’s the first thing we do every single practice, every single day,” Lanning said. “We have a lot of meetings on special teams, but beyond meetings, break those down into individual meetings, which a lot of people I don’t think do when it comes to special teams play.”
According to Football Outsiders’ Special teams Fremeau Efficiency Index, which combines kickoff return, kickoff, punt return, punt, and field goal efficiency into one overall rating, the Oregon Ducks ranked 107 out of 130 teams in 2021.
On the other hand, one team that seems to be in the highlights regularly thanks to their special teams, whether it’s a blocked kick or a punt return for a touchdown, is Penn State. So Lanning convinced the Nittany Lions’ special teams coach, Joe Lorig, to come out to Eugene and work his magic.
While at Penn State, Lorig coached Jordan Stout to Big Ten Punter of the Year and second-team All-America honors. Stout was a Ray Guy award finalist who earned Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week recognition four times during the season. Jahan Dotson also earned third-team All-Big Ten recognition as a punt returner after averaging 24.6 yards per punt return, a school record.
In 2020. the Nittany Lions were one of four Power Five schools to have a kick and punt return touchdown. According to Lanning, it comes down to the details.
“We treat it no different than if you’re playing tight end or defensive end or wideout. So we put a focus on it. We spend a lot of time on it and Joe’s obviously very detailed.”
Contact/Follow us @Ducks_Wire on Twitter, and like our…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Football | Ducks Wire…