The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/798849
APRIL 2017 THE WOLVERINE 33 WHO'S GONE KENNY ALLEN Allen averaged 43.3 yards per punt, nailed 19 of 23 field goal attempts and delivered 51 touch- backs on 84 kickoffs while leading the Wolverines in scoring with 110 points — so it's safe to say he leaves big shoes to fill. JABRILL PEPPERS Peppers averaged 14.8 yards per punt return with one touchdown and 26.0 yards per kick- off return, providing an explosive presence that changed field position many times and will be missed. JOURDAN LEWIS Lewis also stepped in to return a couple of punts and averaged 18.1 yards on kick returns, making him valuable as a sure-handed backup to Pep- pers. CHRIS WORMLEY Wormley blocked three kicks on the year, one of the many Wolverines who performed both as an every-down player on one side of the football and also made big special teams contributions. WHO'S BACK REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE RYAN TICE Tice is Michigan's only experienced kicker, hav- ing kicked 10 extra points in games, although he missed his only field goal attempt, a 40-yarder against Wisconsin in 2016. REDSHIRT FRESHMAN QUINN NORDIN Nordin can kick field goals and punt, and is ex- pected to battle hard for the former because he is someone with a powerful and accurate leg. SOPHOMORE CHRIS EVANS Evans brought his one punt return back 15 yards in 2016, returned his lone kickoff 26 yards and will likely get a crack at stepping up into at least one of those roles. TOP NEWCOMERS FRESHMAN BRAD ROBBINS Rated as the nation's No. 1 prep punter by Ko- rnblue Kicking, Robbins averaged more than 40 yards per punt in his final three years of prep ball. He also averaged more than 5.0 seconds of hang time on punts at the Kohl's Kicking 2017 Senior Showcase, including several that stayed up at least 5.2 seconds. FRESHMAN DONOVAN PEOPLES-JONES Peoples-Jones possesses the 4.4 speed and the explosiveness to make a bid for return duties, and as an early arrival he will get a chance to show what he can do in Michigan spring practices. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS 2017 SPRING FOOTBALL PREVIEW. SPECIAL TEAMS BY THE NUMBERS 0 Made field goals in college by players on the 2017 roster. 15 M ichigan's present streak of made field goals, due to Kenny Allen's hot finish to the 2016 season. 762 Return yards lost by d e p a r t e d p l a y e r s . Those coming back have accounted for a combined 81 yards on punt and kickoff runbacks. POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH This one's simple. Who tries to nail it through the uprights when the game is on the line? Tice kicked well last year, barely missing his 40-yarder against Wisconsin, and Nordin has a boatload of credentials. Michigan's two key performers on special teams in 2016 — kicker/punter Kenny Allen and returner Jabrill Peppers — are presently seeking professional employment. That creates plenty of question marks for spring and a scramble to fill the jobs, perhaps by multiple players. "You have a Quinn Nordin and a Ryan Tice — either one, or both of them, can go in there and make the kicks they have to make. At some point, one of those guys is going to be put in a position where they have to go in there and win a game, or seal a game, and they've accomplished something. The next game, you feel a little bit better. Then they do it again, and you feel better, and you can continue to build that confidence in that position." — U-M All-American Jon Jansen QUOTABLE QUINN NORDIN I t's time for younger players to step up. The talent is there, but Michigan has to get it sorted out over the next six months. It gets real quickly come September, and games will be won — and maybe lost — on special teams. — John Borton