Blair Walsh (K) and Drew Butler (P), lead the way on a unit that is expected to be one of the best in the nation this season.
Last season, Walsh was one of the most accurate kickers in the SEC (completing 20-of-22 field goal attempts and all 50 of his PAT's), while Butler averaged 48.1 yards per punt to lead the FBS. Both are expected to be even better this season.
As far as the return game goes, Georgia has no shortage of candidates—starting with Branden Smith.
Smith will be used as a punt returner this season and what he brings, without question, is speed. In case you forgot just how fast this young man truly is, take a look at the clip below:
Smith will share the role with other Bulldog players—A.J. Green and Bacarri Rambo could get some looks as well. Said Smith of the role, "I bring a lot,..Speed. That’s the main thing, is speed. Big plays. Punt return, you need a reliable guy to be back there, and you don’t really have a lot of speed, but
you’ve gotta be able to catch the ball, and just to have that breakout speed."
On kick returns, Brandon Boykin will attempt to work his magic again. The junior defensive back had three returns for a touchdown last season—including two that were more than 100-yards. He is definitely a commodity at Georgia and will, hopefully, be special again in 2010:
The Cajuns unit is also very good. Special teams has been one of the bright spots for them under head coach, Rickey Bustle (who doubles as the special teams coach) thus far.
For those who didn't know, Bustle was an assistant coach at Virginia Tech from 1993-2002 and he picked up a thing or two about how to run a special teams unit from the master—Frank Beamer.
Louisiana ranked 26th in the nation in both kick and punt return defense in 2009, allowing 20.15 and 6.15 yards per kick/punt—respectively.
They also are third in the nation since 2002 in blocking kicks (41)—an impressive distinction to be sure.
Spencer Ortego is the team's punter and, in 66 attempts last season, he averged just over 40.0 yards per attempt. More remarkable is the fact that only 21 of the 66 punts attempted were actually returned—for a grand total of 21-yards.
Their place kicker, Tyler Albrecht, also returns. His longest field goal in 2009 went for 48-yards, but it was for the win against Kansas State so he has some proven ability in the clutch.
The Cajuns are a lot less impressive in the actual return-game as they haven't been able to find a reliable kick or punt return man who offers the explosiveness you'd like to see on the field. Bustle is hopeful that he will be able to find a guy this season who can take the ball and run with it—literally—because last season, the Cajuns ranked 118th in the nation in kick return average (18.06).
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