The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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32 THE WOLVERINE ❱ APRIL 2026 SPECIAL TEAMS ANALYSIS After a second consecutive rough regular season for the special teams, coordinator J.B. Brown was fired. Kerry Coombs, who has eight years of special teams coordinator experience as part of his 42-year coaching career, was hired by former head man Sherrone Moore and kept on staff by Kyle Whittingham. Coombs coached the 41-27 loss to Texas in the Citrus Bowl, and the unit's performance was noticeably different and improved. Kicker Dominic Zvada connected on a 53-yard field goal in the first quarter and also hit from 31 yards out in the second half, though he did miss a 45-yarder as time expired in the first half. But the real difference was in the return game, with wide receiver Andrew Marsh being such a dangerous weapon that Texas was kick- ing it away from him by the end of the game. Marsh returned 4 kicks for 143 yards (36-yard average) with a 51-yard long. He brought back one punt, too, a 10-yarder. Michigan had much better field position than usual when it could help it, thanks to Marsh, the blocking and a forced fumble by Cole Sullivan (transferred to Oklahoma) that was recovered by TJ Metcalf (transferred to Tennessee). Marsh set Michi- gan up in Texas territory on three possessions in the second half. Coombs shortened up meetings, has attempted to make them "more exciting" and is getting all of the position coaches involved in working with the third phase of the game. "We revamped how meetings were being run and how we were doing things," he said on the "In The Trenches" podcast. "We changed schemes, which I thought was important to do because just doing the same things wasn't going to work." It's still all coming together, but between Butkowski and Marsh, the field goal kicking and return game should be at a high level. Others will have to fill out the unit, and spring practices will be paramount. "You've got 40 new guys every year now in college football," Coombs said. "So, you're evaluating them, trying to figure out who can play what and how they can fit into the scheme, evaluating what we did in the bowl game, evaluating the really, really good special teams groups from around the country. … Spring is going to be very important. It's going to be very exciting." BY CLAYTON SAYFIE RETURNING STARTER Graduate P Hudson Hollenbeck The former walk-on and Mississippi State transfer took over the starting punter duties last season and averaged 43.2 yards per attempt with 11 boots of 50-plus yards. He pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line 10 times com- pared to 3 touchbacks. Hollenbeck will compete for the starting job again this season, but there's more competition this time around. Hollenbeck was also Michigan's holder on placekicks. OTHER RETURNEE Senior P Hunter Robertson The Division II transfer from Clarion appeared in one game — the Citrus Bowl against Texas — as a holder in his first season with the Wolverines in 2025. NEWCOMERS Graduate LS Nico Crawford The Illinois (2022), Charlotte (2023) and Pittsburgh (2024-25) transfer has appeared in 37 games with 200 snaps throughout his college career. He has the most experience and appears to be the frontrunner to replace starter Greg Tarr, who ran out of eligibility following the 2025 campaign. Sophomore P Cam Brown The UNLV transfer averaged 43.8 yards per attempt on 46 punts with a 71-yard long as a true freshman in 2025. He pinned opponents inside the 20- yard line 17 times compared to only 3 touchbacks and had 9 boots of 5 0 - p l u s ya rd s . B row n ave ra ge d a 3.6-second hang time, which ranked 12th out of 15 quali- fied kickers in the Mountain West. Sophomore K Trey Butkowski Butkowski is coming off a stellar freshman season for Pittsburgh in the ACC, making 20 of his 23 field goal at- tempts, including 14-of-14 from inside 40 yards. Butkowski was 6-of-9 be- tween 40-49 yards, and while he didn't attempt any of 50-plus, he made some of those variety in high school. He's ex- pected to be the replacement for Domi- nic Zvada, who graduated following the 2025 season. Sophomore LS Gavin Magorien The Erie, Pa., native played in all 12 games as a freshman at Marshall in 2025, logging 124 snaps. He was the snapper on both field goals and punts. Freshman K Jacob Baggett The Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day product committed to Michigan in Jan- uary, after connecting on 6 of his 7 field goal attempts with a 48-yard long as a prep senior. His lone miss was a 51- yard attempt. Per Chris Sailer Kicking, Baggett ranks as the No. 8 kicker in the 2026 class. Opponents averaged 7.2 yards per return on 17 Hudson Hollenbeck punts that weren't either fair caught, touchbacks, out of bounds or downed by Michigan in 2025. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN