Extra Points: Special Sauce – University of North Carolina Athletics

By Lee Pace
 
Ben Kiernan and Drew Little have on occasion done everything perfectly preparing for a Carolina football game. Practiced hard and with focus during the week. Studied tape of their own technique and what they might see from their opponent on Saturday. Gotten their sleep. Drank their water. Perfected their routines leading up to their jobs on the field.
 
And then: Nothing. Stood there and watched.
 
At times over four years of prolific offensive performances since Kiernan, a punter, and Little, a deep snapper, arrived at Carolina in 2019, the Tar Heels have not punted in a game, two examples being the 2019 Military Bowl win over Temple and the lambasting of Miami in the 2020 season finale.
 
“Yeah, a few games we’ve not been needed,” Kiernan says with a smile. “It’s great for our offense, I’m all for it, I’m loving it. But it’s actually good for our mindset—you don’t know if any one punt might be last of the game, so make it count.”
 
Adds Little, “If we only have one punt or two punts, we have to make sure they can be the difference in the game. We always talk about doing the things that don’t require talent, and that’s effort.”
 
While the Tar Heel offense has worked during spring practice to improve its downhill running game and pass protection and the defense has labored to develop its ability to put heat on the quarterback, the special teams have focused on grooming depth, installing some schematic tweaks and furthering a mindset that Coach Mack Brown insists is a core value as the Tar Heels work from a big-picture mantra of being good over four years to becoming great. Brown cites the fact the Tar Heels were 14th in the ACC in 2021 in a composite ranking of the four core special teams and bounced to second in 2022.
 
“We made amazing progress,” he said. “Our goal this year in special teams is we’re trying to win games instead of just be good. Change the game. That’s very important. We’ve gotten so much better, now it’s time to change the game. A huge part of that is depth. We had five walk-ons on special teams in the bowl game against Oregon.”

Kiernan and Little both went through Senior Day ceremonies last November but opted to use their Covid-induced extra year of eligibility and return for an encore. They met on recruiting visits as far back as their sophomore years in high school—Kiernan a…