The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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S P E C I A L T E A M S THE WOLVERINE 2024 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 113 gest thing college coaches want to see is numbers. It is different to do it at the col- lege level versus high school. It is much easier to predict that this guy is going to do a good job for you." But there are only a few of them out there, and not a lot that have the numbers Zvada did. "He's really solid, and I think he's the favorite for that spot, but you have to do it on State Street [in practice] now," Kornblue said. "From everything I know and what I've seen, I really feel like he's going to be successful. "Like every position at Michigan, it's not going to be given to him. You've got to earn it, do it every day, day after day." And there's some competition, he noted, with sophomore Adam Samaha, a scholar- ship kicker brought in last year. Samaha made a 31-yard field goal in the spring game but missed another — still, Kornblue said, he's got great potential. He worked with Samaha in the spring and watched him make strides. "He's a very natural, talented athlete, [FYI] ❱ Michigan ranked 27th nationally in BCF Toys' FEI special teams efficiency ratings, oppo- nent-adjusted data representing the scoring advantage per special teams event a team would be expected to have on a neutral field against an average opponent. The Wolverines finished third in the metric in 2021 and sec- ond in 2022. ❱ This is the second straight year in which Michigan has added a placekicker from the NCAA transfer portal, with Dominic Zvada moving from Arkansas State to Ann Arbor. Last season, U-M brought in Louisville trans- fer James Turner, who made 18 of his 21 kicks with three 50-yarders and ranked atop the Big Ten by making 85.7 percent of his kicks. Zvada, meanwhile, connected on 17 of his 22 boots with a 53-yard long for the Red Wolves last year. ❱ Sixty-eight of senior Tommy Doman's 99 kickoffs resulted in touchbacks last season, ranking fifth in the nation. His 4.11-second average hang time was tied for 10th in the country, while his 4.33-second hang time on punts checked in fourth. ❱ Turner's 18 made field goals in 2023 were tied as the ninth-most in U-M program his- tory for a single season. The same figure is tied for 16th in career made field goals at Michigan. ❱ ❱ X-FACTOR X-FACTOR Michigan hasn't had a return for a touchdown on special teams since A.J. Henning brought back a punt 61 yards for a score in a 59-0 win over Connecticut Sept. 17, 2022 — 26 games ago. Sopho- more SEMAJ MORGAN came close, though, returning a punt 87 yards to the 5-yard line in a 26-0 Big Ten title game triumph over Iowa last season. As a true freshman, Morgan led the team in kickoff return yards (186) and tied for the lead in punt return yards (101). Whether it's Morgan or another speedster, U-M appears to have the weapons to excel in the return game this fall. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER FIELD GOALS Season Player Made Att. Long 2023 James Turner 18 21 50 2022 Jake Moody 29 35 59 2021 Jake Moody 23 25 52 2020* Quinn Nordin 2 5 46 2019 Quinn Nordin 10 13 57 2018 Quinn Nordin 11 16 50 2017 Quinn Nordin 19 24 55 2016 Kenny Allen 19 23 51 2015 Kenny Allen 18 22 47 2014 Matt Wile 16 21 48 PUNTING Season Player Att. Avg. Long 2023 Tommy Doman 53 44.3 71 2022 Brad Robbins 43 42.3 64 2021 Brad Robbins 45 46.3 65 2020* Brad Robbins 23 45.3 66 2019 Will Hart 51 44.2 61 2018 Will Hart 43 47.0 65 2017 Brad Robbins 64 40.4 58 2016 Kenny Allen 54 43.3 67 2015 Blake O'Neill 53 41.3 80 2014 Will Hagerup 53 42.9 63 Season-By-Season Kicking Leaders *Only played six games due to the COVID-19 pandemic