The University of Mississippi Athletics
A Closer Look: Special Teams
1/22/2018 | Football, Blog
Top Performers: Gary Wunderlich (17-21 FG made. Long of 49), Jaylon Jones (31 kick returns, 25 yards per return, one TD)
Returning in 2018: Luke Logan (So., 1L), (Isaac Way., SQ), Patrick Nasiakta (So., SQ), Jack Propst (So., 1L), Cole Becker (Fr., RS), Kamden Darney (Jr., SQ)Newcomers in 2018: TBD
Losing from 2017 Team: Gary Wunderlich (graduation), Will Gleeson (graduation)Looking back at 2017: The Ole Miss special teams was pretty solid on most fronts in 2017. Senior Gary Wunderlich made 17-of-21 field goal attempts, a feat even more impressive considering he battled a nagging groin injury for much of the year. Luke Logan went 2-for-3 in his absence. Wunderlich further cemented his legacy as one of the greatest kickers to play at Ole Miss. He was 64-of-77 for his career and is the all-time leading scorer in program history.
Will Gleeson averaged over 41 yards per punt and had three punts of over 50 yards. The Rebels returned just seven punts on the season for an average of 6.7 yards and Jaylon Jones took a kickoff return 97 yards for a score in the season opener against South Alabama. The Rebels weren't overly dynamic in the returning game, but were really good in all three phases of the kicking game. The task next season will be replacing two of the better specialists the team has had in recent memory in Gleeson and Wunderlich.Looking ahead to 2018: Ole Miss' biggest challenge next season with regards to special teams will be replacing the likes of Gary Wunderlich and Will Gleeson. Wunderlich was one of the most accurate kickers in program history, and in a world of shaky college kickers, was a tremendous asset to the Rebels the last four years because of his consistency, particularly late in games. The most likely candidate to replace Wunderlich is Luke Logan, who made 2-of-3 field goals when Wunderlich was injured with a long of 25 yards. The rising sophomore will also likely retain kickoff duties. Last season he had 25 touchbacks in 76 attempts.
Gleeson also departs after a season in which he averaged 41.5 yards per kick. His likely successor will be sophomore Mac Brown who got his feet wet last season with five punts for a total of 211 yards. That is good for 42.2 yards per kick and his long was 54. It is a small sample size, but that will likely make the coaching staff feel a little bit better about the punting situation going into next season.Jaylon Jones returns and will presumably handle the kickoff duties once again. A guy to look out for on both punt and kickoff returns is newcomer Elijah Moore. The speedy slot receiver flipped from Georgia to Ole Miss during the early signing period and Matt Luke noted his speed will be a unique weapon the Rebels have not had in a while both in the slot and as a punt returner. How Moore will impact the team as a freshman will get clearer during fall camp, but he's certainly an intriguing guy to keep an eye on.
A Closer Look:- Running Backs (Jan. 8)
- Quarterbacks (Jan. 9)
- Wide Receivers (Jan. 10)
- Tight Ends (Jan. 11)
- Offensive Line (Jan. 15)
- Defensive Line (Jan. 16)
- Linebackers (Jan. 17)
- Cornerbacks (Jan. 18)
- Safeties (Jan. 19)
- Special Teams (Jan. 22)
