When you hear people talk about football, a lot of times special teams can get lost in the discussion and not get the proper attention that it deserves. In extremely tight games special teams are often the deciding factor. The plays made by the special teams unit can help win or lose a game. For the Panthers their special teams unit performed well in its season opening loss to Ball State and they look to carry that momentum for the rest of the season.
While everyone on those units are important, the players with the biggest roles are long snapper Daniel Zielger, kicker Rogier ten Lohuis, punter Brandon Wright, kick returner Glenn Smith and punt returner Penny Hart.
Zielger is a junior and has been doing just long snapping for three years now. A kick is only as good as its snap so Ziegler tries to just focus in on that while waiting for his time to snap.
“Basically, I just go out there, and try to stay relaxed , don’t really worry about what else is going on in the stands or whatever. I just worry about what I’m doing, which is my job. I also focus on my hand placement so I can get the snap right for him (Rogier) and that’s all I really worry about,” Ziegler said.
Ten Lohius is a senior and he handles the field goals, extra points and kick-offs. No matter what he’s kicking he says that he does it the same way every time.
“The idea is that you kick everything the same way, so the main difference for me is that when I start to move back and start maybe at the edge of my range I just remind myself to kick it the exact same way. As soon as you start to overthink it you’re going to miss hit the ball and not hit the ball that you are use to hitting,” ten Lohuis said.
Ten Lohuis was a perfect three-for-three on his extra points against Ball State, but he did not attempt any field goals. His other responsibility is kick-offs, which are important because of field position. Ten Lohuis had three kick-offs against Ball State for a total of 190 yards, with a 63.3 yard average and one touchback.
Wright is a redshirt freshman, and he handles the punting duties. Against Ball State he had seven punts for a total of 258 years, with an average of 36.9 yards, one touchback, and landed one punt inside of the 20 yard line. He has a very strong leg netting a long of 55 yards. His ability to either pin teams deep or flip field position will be key this season.
Smith doubles as the team’s kick returner and starting running back.
“It’s about being in shape, and then being able to pay attention and knowing what to do and when to do it,” Smith said.
He had five returns for 128 yards, with a long of 38 yards against Ball State.
Hart is also one of the team’s top receivers, while being a punt returner. Both Smith and Hart have an opportunity to help set the offense up with good field position with excellent returns, but they must be careful and pick their spots.
Special teams are often undervalued, but they can play just a big a role as the offense or defense.
