When a new college football season begins, it provides players, coaches and teams with an opportunity to improve in areas where they may not have been as successful the previous year. If you’re looking for a unit that’s eager to put 2023 behind you and start a new season, look no further than Virginia’s special teams unit. It was absolutely abysmal in its first two years under Tony Elliott and his special teams coordinator Keith Gaither.
After ranking 90th in all of college football in special teams in 2022, things got even worse last season: The Cavaliers had two punts blocked for touchdowns in games ultimately decided by a single point, only 20 of 58 kickoffs resulted in touchbacks (second fewest in the ACC), and they ranked 11th in the ACC in average net kickoff yards and 13th in the league in average net punt yards.
“We weren’t very good on special teams. Our job as coaches is obviously to watch and analyze every aspect of our performance ourselves. We were last in the league on special teams, and rightly so, because we caught some bad stuff on tape,” Tony Elliott said during fall camp.
Virginia needs to flip the script on special teams, and that starts with eliminating the mistakes. The Cavaliers don’t need to hit a home run every time special teams takes the field, they just need to avoid the disastrous plays that almost single-handedly cost them multiple games last season.
Luckily for Virginia, the 2024 roster is filled with players who have plenty of experience, which should ideally translate into fewer missed assignments, fewer mistakes, and better execution overall. The Cavaliers should also be pretty optimistic about the names they have for key roles on special teams. Let’s take a look at the special teams section of UVA’s Week 1 roster released Tuesday and some key takeaways from it:
Daniel Sparks – Triple Duty
Sparks is the only Cavalier listed in the rankings as a starter at three different positions. The former All-ACC sophomore will be UVA’s starting punter for the third consecutive season and will also handle kickoffs and serve as a holder on field goals. For Sparks, the question will be whether he can regain the three yards per punt he lost on average from 2022-23, avoid having one of his punts blocked (which is only partially his responsibility) and then place more kickoffs from the back of the end zone for touchbacks than Matt Ganyard did last season.
Chris Tyree – Double Duty
Virginia is obviously trying to put the ball in Chris Tyree’s hands as often as possible, as the Notre Dame transfer is listed as both a punter returner and kick returner. That’s a sensible choice, as Tyree is a dynamic athlete with outstanding speed. Tyree, a former running back who converted to wide receiver in his final season in South Bend, became the first Fighting Irish football player in two decades to record a punt return, kick return, rushing and receiving touchdown in his career.
Other return candidates
Many of the names behind Tyree at the two returner positions in the rankings aren’t surprising. Trell Harris, who transferred from Kent State, had a great training camp and secured a spot at wide receiver early in the season. Ethan Davies has spent much of his UVA career coaching as a returner on special teams, returning 12 punts and two kickoffs over the past two seasons. Likewise, Suderian Harrison attempted eight punt returns as a freshman in 2023, so he’s a solid option as a punt returner.
The name that stands out from the crowd is Antonio Clary, who is listed as Tyree’s replacement at punt returner. Clary is back after missing all of 2023 with an injury and, according to the roster, could look to make an impact with the ball in his hands in addition to guarding Virginia’s defensive backfield from the safety position. The sixth-year senior has returned one punt in his career, a one-yard return during the 2021 season. We’re not sure how often that will actually happen, but we’d love to see Clary get a few chances to return a punt this fall.
Potential big year for Will Bettridge
Bettridge has plenty of experience entering his third season. In 2023, he converted 18 of his 21 field goal attempts, or 85.7%, making him one of only five kickers returning to college football this season who converted field goals at that rate last year. Bettridge has made 8 of 11 attempts of at least 40 yards in his career. Expect Bettridge to expand his range and, more importantly, continue to kick consistently.
Real newcomer appearances
Just as Bettridge played a significant role in UVA’s kicking game as a freshman, true freshman Max Prozny is now Bettridge’s replacement as placekicker and as Sparks’ backup on kickoffs. Meanwhile, Elijah Slibeck, who did not play in the 2023 season, is listed as Sparks’ backup as both a punter and holder.
Long snapper
Payton Bunch comes from Coastal Carolina and will be the starter for Virginia. He has played 29 games in four seasons for the Chanticleers, starting every game in the last two. Linebacker Stevie Bracey was considered as a long snapper before his season-ending injury, but now the backup job will go to sophomore tight end Hayden Rollison, who beat out Luke Byrne for the position.
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