Boston College Athletics
Pressure-Packed Specialists Return Wealth Of Experience
August 26, 2021 | Football, #ForBoston Files
How does a sixth-year punter and sixth-year kicker sound for a college football team?
Watching specialists during training camp is always a fun exercise to observe. They work out in the same pads and helmets as their offensive and defensive counterparts, but their practices end without the same brand of bumps and bruises or overall physicality. They aren't banging heads like linemen or producing contact and tackles like running backs or linebackers. They're usually off on the side, away from the pure violence of the standard drill work.
It looks almost goofy, but one call from the coaching staff changes their job into some of the most critical checkpoints on a football field. Their plays - the individual kicks, kickoffs, point after attempts and punts - are almost more important to their team's success and operate on a razor's edge margin of error. Expectations are more simplistic, but how they connect and succeed requires unnoticed chemistry, precision and teamwork from players often more inexperienced in typical game scenarios.
"I look at special teams as fundamentals within a fundamental football game," special teams coordinator Matt Thurin said of his unit. "I see it as balls being kicked instead of snapped, but somebody is trying to score while someone else tries to prevent them from scoring. We're teaching the fundamentals of football and emphasize it very heavily on our side."
Glamorous specialists are nearly impossible to find, but BC discovered gems who distanced their positions from the missed field goals and extra points that once plagued younger, more inexperienced athletes. Boumerhi in particular is entering his third season with the Eagles after kicking three years for Temple, and his 16 field goals last season were the most since Nate Freese boomed two 20-kick seasons in 2010 and 2013. The backdrop of a shortened, 11-game season only intensified his success and moved him into 21st on the list of all-time leading scorers in program history.
Newcomers/Redshirts:Â Connor Lytton (Fr.), Matt Wilderson (Fr.), Gunner Daniel (Gr.)
Special Teams Coach: Matt Thurin (Second Season)
Boumerhi and punter Grant Carlson are both entering their sixth year of eligibility after the NCAA granted a blanket waiver for athletes from the 2020 season, and it offers a wealth of experience. Carlson stands to enter a pantheon of punters headlined by the likes of Kevin McMyler, Jason Malecki and Ryan Quigley this year if he produces similar statistics as his past, and his 41.7 per-kick average is right behind both Alex Howell and Gerald Levano, his two predecessor boots.Â
Boumerhi, meanwhile, kicked three field goals in three separate games last season and upped his career total in a BC uniform to 26, seven behind John Cooper for sixth all time. He likely will challenge for a spot in the top five among kickers and will tie the likes of Derrick Knight and Andre Williams on the all-time scoring points list.
He enters the season as the incumbent boot but is one of three kickers with significant game experience on the roster. John Tessitore notably served as his placeholder during the season and infamously executed a fake snap audible against Clemson after breaking the huddle in field goal formation.Â
Tessitore converted 14-of-18 extra point attempts during his freshman season while sharing kickoff duties with Danny Longman, who is returning for his fourth season after setting 31 touchbacks on 72 kickoffs in 2019. He served as a punter on two kicks during that season against Richmond and converted all three PAT attempts with a field goal against Temple during his freshman year in 2018.
"Our guys have now had a full offseason," said special teams coordinator Matt Thurin of his unit. "When you look at some of the younger guys that are here, they haven't been in the program for a long time. They got indoctrinated into a full offseason program (this year), and I think a lot of the veteran guys like Aaron Boumerhi and Grant Carlson, Danny Longman and Stephen Ruiz had a full offseason to get healthy. They all have a full year of normalcy underneath them, and it's made their attitudes absolutely fantastic. They're here, and they're ready to go."
It's unparalleled experience in a unit known for developing the next group of starters on both offense and defense. Special teams has long been a haven for young players who aren't sitting out the season as redshirted, and it teaches them the speed of the college game. They are able to work on their tackling and vision as they run down the field as gunners on both punt and kick coverage, and blockers on returns have to be aware of convoy spacing for returners.
The unit highlights the chemistry and relationship on directional kicks, and the timing and chemistry between long snappers Aidan Livingston and Gunner Daniel and the placeholders for the kicking game is almost as important as the kicks themselves. Snapping the ball into a particular place for the holder enables him to get it down and spun to the right degree quickly, which itself has to be done before the kicker swings his leg through the pigskin.Â
It's a measure of speed and physics unseen anywhere else, and the degree of difficulty is intense. One false inch one direction or another blows or busts the play for a unit that doesn't see the field as often, and mistakes on special teams can result in a loss in both field position and turnover battles. Success looks routine, but the truth is more nuanced for the players and coaches for whom the plays are a lifeline to the gridiron.
"For young guys coming in, this is an opportunity to get them on the field," Thurin said. "They can work on their craft outside of offense and defense, and I think they both realize and utilize that. They buy into the fact that it's going to help everyone get better on the field and (for positional players) on either side of the ball."
It looks almost goofy, but one call from the coaching staff changes their job into some of the most critical checkpoints on a football field. Their plays - the individual kicks, kickoffs, point after attempts and punts - are almost more important to their team's success and operate on a razor's edge margin of error. Expectations are more simplistic, but how they connect and succeed requires unnoticed chemistry, precision and teamwork from players often more inexperienced in typical game scenarios.
"I look at special teams as fundamentals within a fundamental football game," special teams coordinator Matt Thurin said of his unit. "I see it as balls being kicked instead of snapped, but somebody is trying to score while someone else tries to prevent them from scoring. We're teaching the fundamentals of football and emphasize it very heavily on our side."
Glamorous specialists are nearly impossible to find, but BC discovered gems who distanced their positions from the missed field goals and extra points that once plagued younger, more inexperienced athletes. Boumerhi in particular is entering his third season with the Eagles after kicking three years for Temple, and his 16 field goals last season were the most since Nate Freese boomed two 20-kick seasons in 2010 and 2013. The backdrop of a shortened, 11-game season only intensified his success and moved him into 21st on the list of all-time leading scorers in program history.
THE 2021 SPECIALISTS
Returning Letterwinners:Â Aaron Boumerhi (Gr.), Grant Carlson (Gr.), Danny Longman (Sr.), John Tessitore (RJr.), Stephen Ruiz (RJr.), Aidan Livingston (Jr.), Tito Pasqualoni (RJr.)Newcomers/Redshirts:Â Connor Lytton (Fr.), Matt Wilderson (Fr.), Gunner Daniel (Gr.)
Special Teams Coach: Matt Thurin (Second Season)
Boumerhi and punter Grant Carlson are both entering their sixth year of eligibility after the NCAA granted a blanket waiver for athletes from the 2020 season, and it offers a wealth of experience. Carlson stands to enter a pantheon of punters headlined by the likes of Kevin McMyler, Jason Malecki and Ryan Quigley this year if he produces similar statistics as his past, and his 41.7 per-kick average is right behind both Alex Howell and Gerald Levano, his two predecessor boots.Â
Boumerhi, meanwhile, kicked three field goals in three separate games last season and upped his career total in a BC uniform to 26, seven behind John Cooper for sixth all time. He likely will challenge for a spot in the top five among kickers and will tie the likes of Derrick Knight and Andre Williams on the all-time scoring points list.
He enters the season as the incumbent boot but is one of three kickers with significant game experience on the roster. John Tessitore notably served as his placeholder during the season and infamously executed a fake snap audible against Clemson after breaking the huddle in field goal formation.Â
Tessitore converted 14-of-18 extra point attempts during his freshman season while sharing kickoff duties with Danny Longman, who is returning for his fourth season after setting 31 touchbacks on 72 kickoffs in 2019. He served as a punter on two kicks during that season against Richmond and converted all three PAT attempts with a field goal against Temple during his freshman year in 2018.
"Our guys have now had a full offseason," said special teams coordinator Matt Thurin of his unit. "When you look at some of the younger guys that are here, they haven't been in the program for a long time. They got indoctrinated into a full offseason program (this year), and I think a lot of the veteran guys like Aaron Boumerhi and Grant Carlson, Danny Longman and Stephen Ruiz had a full offseason to get healthy. They all have a full year of normalcy underneath them, and it's made their attitudes absolutely fantastic. They're here, and they're ready to go."
It's unparalleled experience in a unit known for developing the next group of starters on both offense and defense. Special teams has long been a haven for young players who aren't sitting out the season as redshirted, and it teaches them the speed of the college game. They are able to work on their tackling and vision as they run down the field as gunners on both punt and kick coverage, and blockers on returns have to be aware of convoy spacing for returners.
The unit highlights the chemistry and relationship on directional kicks, and the timing and chemistry between long snappers Aidan Livingston and Gunner Daniel and the placeholders for the kicking game is almost as important as the kicks themselves. Snapping the ball into a particular place for the holder enables him to get it down and spun to the right degree quickly, which itself has to be done before the kicker swings his leg through the pigskin.Â
It's a measure of speed and physics unseen anywhere else, and the degree of difficulty is intense. One false inch one direction or another blows or busts the play for a unit that doesn't see the field as often, and mistakes on special teams can result in a loss in both field position and turnover battles. Success looks routine, but the truth is more nuanced for the players and coaches for whom the plays are a lifeline to the gridiron.
"For young guys coming in, this is an opportunity to get them on the field," Thurin said. "They can work on their craft outside of offense and defense, and I think they both realize and utilize that. They buy into the fact that it's going to help everyone get better on the field and (for positional players) on either side of the ball."
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