Preseason Position Previews - Special Teams
Saved the best for last.
Ok, that's a lie, it's just the last position group left, plus it's a quick write up after Day 1 of Pats camp. But, in all seriousness, the entire special teams unit needs to be a much bigger factor than they have been under Jeff Hafley.
BC has had zero return game really, even when trying to put Zay back there for punt returns last season. That, and the kicking position is very much up for grabs right now, which is something Hafley acknowledged during spring ball.
We'll start with Connor Lytton. Initially, Lytton kind of burst onto the scene and showed he had a pretty big leg during his freshman campaign, and it really all started in the spring game that year when he had a great day.. Last year? Not so much. It was a downright brutal year for Lytton with missed kicks and he needs to bounce back and have a consistent camp or he absolutely could lose his job.
The other two kickers currently on the roster are sophomore Liam Connor (Leominster/Middlesex) and redshirt freshman Mika Montonen out of Kansa (the state not the school). Connor is listed at a pretty big 6'1, 199 and he was very good at Middlesex. Covered him a handful of times and I know he can boot it. This might be the most open competition during the duration of camp and while it's Lytton's job to lose, I have a feeling Connor is going to make the decision a tough one.
Sophomore Sam Candotti is going to handle the punting duties (unless there's someone coming in we're not aware of yet). Last year, he was the holder for Lytton, but in 11 games he punted the ball 13 times for 477 yards and placed eight of them inside 20 with zero touchbacks. Long snapper should be senior Jackson Gugni (at least he's listed as the guy on the roster right now.) He's a very interesting story. Gugni didn't play in any games last year, but made the team as a walk on after having a decent swimming career.
As far as who's going to be returning kicks and punts this year, I have to think it's Ryan O'Keefe. As we all know you can't teach speed and he has so much of it that there probably shouldn't even be much of a competition for the job, as long as he shows he can handle catching the awkward rotations in both scenarios. If I had to add a couple other guys to the list, I'd say maybe Xavier Coleman? And I wouldn't mind seeing Tomlin get a crack at it too, but it should absolutely be O'Keefe for his big-play ability at any moment.
It's not top of mind, but if BC is going to be as good as I think they can be (I know, I know...) then they absolutely need to get some game-changing plays from the special teams groups.