Auditions for punt returner
Auditions for punt returner continued Monday with safety Cooper Taylor, A-back Embry Peeples and wideout Daniel McKayhan getting their shots.
The front-runners still appear to be A-back Roddy Jones and cornerback Jerrard Tarrant.
Tech is trying to improve a unit that ranked ninth in the ACC, averaging 6.7 yards per return.
(Quick aside on kickoff returns, which were also sub-par. Tech ranked 10th in the league, 19.6 yards per return. The candidates for that job include Jones, Tarrant and Marcus Wright.)
Talking to wide receivers coach Al “Buzz” Preston, who also coaches punt returners, it was clear that ball security will be the most important factor in choosing a punt returner. He kept going back to it.
Tech lost fumbles on three punt returns last season: Tyler Melton at Boston College, Roddy Jones at UNC, and Andrew Smith vs. LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
“No. 1, catch the ball and don’t fumble it,” Preston said. “If your guy can catch it, make quality decisions and get north, you’ve got a chance to be pretty good.
“No. 1, catch it. No. 2, good decisions, being able to know when to make a call to get everybody out of there, when to catch it, fair-catch it, not catch it – the decision-making process.
“Then the ability to make something happen after the catch.”
Improving the punt-return unit is critical.
“You’re talking field position, you’re talking turnovers,” Preston said.
So far in spring practice, Preston said, “Tarrant and Roddy have looked pretty good. Those guys are probably the two leaders right now. Roddy’s done it. And Tarrant, he was somebody that we thought was going to be special but we didn’t have him last year.”
Jones returned six punts last year for 53 yards, a healthy 8.8-yard average. (The average would have been good for fourth in the conference if he had more attempts).
So who would you like to see return punts?
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66 comments Add your comment
GTMan
April 7th, 2009
6:09 am
Kelly or Randy Rhino need to be recruited to work with the punt return team.They could give some good advice.
buzztrip
April 7th, 2009
6:58 am
As one of the coaches told me a couple of years ago, special teams are a function of depth. You really like to rest the starters and give the subs a chance to get in the game.
No secret that Tech has lacked depth for years, to the point that if only one punt returner could be designated that would catch the ball and prevent the turnover, real progress would be realized.
Maybe this year Tech can make the catch and then make some yards. The kickoff return team started showing real progress toward the end of last season.
My vote goes to Marcus Wright.
Tokyo jacket
April 7th, 2009
7:12 am
Buzztrip, I agree with your vote on Wright. But, I would take strategy from the best special teams head coach in all of football, Frank Beamer. He puts the best 11 on the field at all times. Harris, Hall, Hall, and Ekebe all played special teams and are all in the NFL (or going to be in three weeks). I’d like to see us do the same.
Agree that Rhino should coach punt returns. It would go like this:
Step 1: Never fair catch, but always catch the ball
Step 2: Never, ever ever fair catch, but always catch the ball
Step 3: Even if your arm is broken, you must never fair catch and always catch the ball
m
April 7th, 2009
8:25 am
Kelly Rhino is my favorite punt returner of all time. A lot of detractors tried to claim he only got his scholarship because of his family ties to Tech; but the truth is that O’leary saw what he was made of, and what he could do on a football field. He was fearless, and a very, very valuable asset to the team. I hope we have another one like him. It is just plain fantastic to watch the potential of this team. It is so wonderful to have a REAL college football coach now. After 6 long horrible years under a Braine-dead Gailey regime that destroyed our progam, it is so nice to have reason to be optimistic. It was made possible by DRAD’s proper decision to fire the worst coach in the history of the world. Thank God for DRAD and Thank God and Greyhound EVERY DAY FROM NOW ON that mediocrity is gone FOREVER.
rainman
April 7th, 2009
8:36 am
I think we have enough options to come up with some decent return men — provided they get adequate blocking.
The part of the special teams that should be of more concern is the kicking game. We need a FG kicker that can hit a 40 or 45 yarder and get near or in the endzone on KO’s. We need a punter that averages over 40yds. and has decent hang-time. I have heard about the search for return men, but almost nothing about the competition at PK and punter.
MinnesotaJacket
April 7th, 2009
8:43 am
Wright guys?? I don’t know I just don’t like the idea the idea of him returning punts, put if your talking Kick off team I agree that he should be one of the guys because his size actually gives him and advantage to hide behind the return team.
PR though has to go to Roddy or Tarrant (we haven’t seen him so I’m going purely with what Ken and Larry tell us) with their size they will be able to take a little more punishment and still gain yards IMO. If Tarrant is anything of the athlete that he looks I really do agree that he could be special for us this year.
All in all though KO team was getting better near the end of the year once Roddy started returning the ball so I think it is his job to lose for one of the returners this year.
Also do agree with Tokyo (good to hear from ya) that we should get some of our best athletes for the Punt team which is what Beamer and Meyer do for their teams, and thus they have some of their bigger plays on Punt team.
MinnesotaJacket
April 7th, 2009
8:44 am
Rainman, I asked Ken this earlier and he said their were 2 walkons I believe who are also working at Punt and Kickoff duties. I agree though that we need a more reliable field goal kicker who has a stronger leg, I 100% agree with you on that.
IE'66
April 7th, 2009
8:46 am
yellowblood, take your sissy-talk elsewhere. Go on to the liberal arts school in cow county. They like your NY commie leftist approach up there. It’s a LIBERAL arts school. It’s right there in the name.
Ok, now to the matter at hand. I’d rather us fair catch them and start the offense from there. I’ve got confidence in this machine that Johnson is building. Let his offense do the work, don’t rely on walkons and junebugs to run back kicks. That’s sissy ball. Like Georgia plays.
MinnesotaJacket
April 7th, 2009
8:52 am
IE…I agree that a fair catch tho means we stay neutral when I would like the PR and KOR teams be a real positive addition to Techs game this year!
Yankee Transplant
April 7th, 2009
8:55 am
IE’66 if the IE stands for Industrial Engineer, why don’t you call it like it is? IE=almost engineer.
m
April 7th, 2009
9:03 am
i feel confident that Paul Johnson will get our special teams straightened out. Our special teams were good under O’leary; and were allowed to go down hill (like everything else) under the 6 horrible years of the Braine-dead gailey regime. Thank God and Greyhound that those days are OVER.
IE'66
April 7th, 2009
9:26 am
Yankee, your comments mean nothing to me. And by that I mean I don’t even understand it. Nor do I care. Your life is a fumbled punt.
RAMBLE ON!!!
April 7th, 2009
9:28 am
JUST CATCH THE BALL.
Reality Check....
April 7th, 2009
9:30 am
Punt returner and kick returners need to be like Rhino….Fearless, make the first guy miss. All great PR and KR are shifty… I know CPJ know this and will make it happen.
Atlanta Jackets
April 7th, 2009
9:52 am
Expect big things this year from Marcus “catches the ball” Wright. LOL! He’ll surprise a lot of you guys.
wth
April 7th, 2009
9:53 am
IE’66? Wooo hooo, those Industrial Engineers (aka, janitors) are pretty tough. You better go take your Zyrtec now GIOT fan.
NYJacket
April 7th, 2009
9:58 am
The kicking game is the most important part of the game when two very good teams play each other.
Go back and talk to some of Dodd’s players and find out how much the kicking game was praticed. And practice did not mean the kickers getting reps.
He felt the kick off was the most important play and that more games are decided on a kick off than any other play. If a player was off sides on a kick off, that player was benched – Dodd meant what he said.
We can’t afford to put ourselves in a hole because of the kicking game.
I am very glad the CJP is insisting that we improve in this part of the game.
The players that demonstrate excellence in the kicking game should be on the field.
Atlanta Jackets
April 7th, 2009
9:59 am
wth, be proud of where you went to school and what degree you earned. Or did you not go to school? Sorry about that. LOL! Burn!!
eBuzz
April 7th, 2009
10:04 am
To all, let’s get off the Gailey bashing. I wanted him gone, too, openly said so, and he is, so let’s move forward. As to punt returners, it’s fun to speculate, but most of us are not at the practices and see exactly who is doing what. I’m confident the CPJ will use the guy(s) who show the most promise on the field, not on paper.
While Kelly Rhino may or may not have been recruited as a result of his family connections with Tech, he proved on the field that he deserved the scholarship, and we should respect that. Oh, and Tokyo jacket, like your 3 rules for punt returners.
Pi$$onaDAWG
April 7th, 2009
10:28 am
I love hearing about Chappel’s grandson so respected. Too small, too slow, not Div. 1 material, and got the Ship because of Grandpaw and dad. That is what was said when Kelly came from the Marist School, but as any TECH Fan knows Kelly caught the punts, never made a fair catch, and never lost yardage playing the hardest job in football. RHINO is how he played. In that respect have they given lil “Bull” Cox a chance to return punts?
MinnesotaJacket
April 7th, 2009
10:32 am
Wow bashing an IE major…I guess it must be easy for you talk about how hard your college…ooo yeah thats right you didn’t go to college…actually you didn’t even graduate high school….but hey even if you did, majoring in sports recreation is really just a miserable major now a days.
eBuzz I agree all we can do is speculate but all of the TRUE (non-annoying as hell fans) here are going by the information from Ken and Larry so I do believe it is just to talk about Wright and Roddy.
MinnesotaJacket
April 7th, 2009
10:34 am
PI$$ once again I agree with you 100%, Kelly was good at what he did and represented himself Chappels grandson want even sniff the playing field unless its the UGA vs. Middle Tennessee State game.
Pi$$onaDAWG
April 7th, 2009
10:39 am
M.SOTA Jacket I am a little biased on Kelly because pop Randy Snapped and Cracked my Spine for a few years after a bad motorcycle wreck, but Kelly HAD NO FEAR when returning punts.
MinnesotaJacket
April 7th, 2009
10:46 am
ooo I remember Kelly…balls of steel…the guy you like to have on your team because you know that no matter what happens its going to be positive yards every time he returns….what were his final stats for Punt Return?
runningmann
April 7th, 2009
10:48 am
GTMan, Randy already works with the team, as the chiropractor.
bb
April 7th, 2009
10:52 am
I loved Kelly Rhino’s punt return philosophy as well, it was perfect for the rules at the time. Unfortunately, the rules have changed, and his philosophy would/will not work now.
Kelly knew he had 2 yards of room to catch the ball and make the initial move (if he didn’t get it, it was a penalty). That’s not the case any longer, now the defender only has to make sure the ball gets to you before he does. A punt returner using Kelly’s philosophy of always catch the ball and NEVER fair catch is just asking for turnovers.
The coach is right, the punt return has to make good decisions now (it can’t be always catch the ball, never fair catch).
Ramblin Wrecker
April 7th, 2009
10:54 am
I want to know how Cooper Taylor does at punt returner. I read he has 4.38 speed and we know he’s very tough.
MinnesotaJacket
April 7th, 2009
11:07 am
Cooper is fast…but doesn’t seem to be shifty kind of guy you need to be as well for PR
GT
April 7th, 2009
11:29 am
I think it was Texas A&M that use to have the entire kick off team made up of walk ons. It was a tribute to the 12th man, in the stands and it would bring the place down every time they kicked off. Virginia Tech always has the best special teams mainly because they practice it harder than most. I think CPJ is doing that now and his blue collar team will become very good at special teams, just like the 12th man that bring their lunch in a brown bag.
Richard Simmons
April 7th, 2009
11:31 am
Ooooohhhh! I would just love to return punts in those cute, tight, little yellow uniforms! Count me in big boys!
Forrest Gump
April 7th, 2009
11:33 am
I was an all american kick returner. I don’t know if I have any eligibility left, but I’m sure I can still be the best player on your team.
addicted
April 7th, 2009
11:37 am
Special teams are absolutely critical to this team. Mistakes on special teams cost us chances at doing well in at least 2 games, the UNC and the LSU one. Despite both the final scores looking like blowouts, neither game would have been as bad (and both would potentially have been winnable, although we would have to climb out of a hole) if we weren’t let down by special teams at critical moments.
Glad Coach is focusing on this aspect of the game.
Baba O'Riley
April 7th, 2009
11:49 am
Richard Simmons- You should be a fan of the team whose QB and back-up QB spoon.
Josh
April 7th, 2009
11:52 am
Tarrant will win it. If you have seen him at practice you have seen him take the kicks all the way numerous times, he is a playmaker.
MinnesotaJacket
April 7th, 2009
11:52 am
addicted…very true…but the NC game also had to do with the fumbles on offense…
Jerry
April 7th, 2009
11:57 am
Kelly Rhino personally cost us the game against LSU the year he fumbled 3 punts in the Peach Bowl. Other than that he did a pretty decent job.
MinnesotaJacket
April 7th, 2009
12:03 pm
I just think we should never take a bid to that bowl…we have NEVER played well in that bowl haha…even though it is nice because I don’t have to rent a hotel haha
m
April 7th, 2009
12:12 pm
addicted and jerry…you both make very good points.
Baba O'Riley
April 7th, 2009
12:28 pm
m- that’s your best post ever
JM
April 7th, 2009
12:34 pm
not all the special teams have been bad the last 6 years. I recall GT having the best punter in the country for a few of those years. Some people can’t get over their hatred to see the real facts.
griffdawg1
April 7th, 2009
12:42 pm
you effin nerds are pathetic! If you think that a punt returner is all you have to worry about, you’re sad!! What’s wrong, you’re fast guys too scared or you don’t have ANYONE that can field a punt??? I’d guess SCARED AND SLOW!!!!!!!
griffdawg1
April 7th, 2009
12:50 pm
What’s wrong? Ramblin On must be one the Dawg article blog keeping up with the team he really loves. I know you all are closet edawg fans anyway!!
macrotech
April 7th, 2009
12:57 pm
griffdawg1, you’re little turd eatin’ defense TOO SCARED TO TACKLE?! I suppose your little leg humpin’ self has plenty to worry about…. QB, RB, ENTIRE DEFENSE, taking the fries out BEFORE they burn, clean out the shake machine…. you effin blog hoppers are PATHETIC!!! GO TECH….AGAIN!!!!! ;0)
MinnesotaJacket
April 7th, 2009
12:58 pm
really would be nice if UGA fans that come onto the blog to make fun of Tech could at least speak in English with enough grammar that I could understand and make a comment back. Yet, why am I surprised they are UGA fans after all they can all understand gibberish!
Tom
April 7th, 2009
1:18 pm
His name is Kelley…..not Kelly.
Greyhound
April 7th, 2009
1:27 pm
Guys- Let me make a suggestion. When trolls like Griffdawg1 and yellowblood (the guys who way too proud of his tickle pile posts) get on here and try and stir things up with their predictable rhetoric. Ignore them. Its too easy to fall into a the war of words but I promise whatever perverse satisfaction these tools get from trolling every GT blog and trying to throw sophomoric jabs all day will be diminished.
The fact that they are fixated on our program speaks volumes though and it is fun to take swipes at them since their program is in decline and they are a wannabe powerhouse but resist the urge.
10 to 1 that ‘m’ has a poster of Chan Gailey in his secret room.
Baba O'Riley
April 7th, 2009
1:28 pm
I think the pronunciation is the same
spread10
April 7th, 2009
1:34 pm
2 words for Kelly Rhino’s success…….halo rule!
Baba O'Riley
April 7th, 2009
1:41 pm
One word…..guts! Sometimes, he ran through oncoming traffic to catch shorter punts. Guts, not only because he could have been decapitated, but also because he could have muffed the punt, but caught it anyway to save his offense some yards. Rhino was not successful because of some rule. He was successful because he had a great mindset for the position.
m
April 7th, 2009
1:42 pm
greyhound, the only poster that i would have of gailey would be on the face of a dartboard. I don’t like anyone that hurts Tech’s football program…certainly not a coach (sic) that destroyed the program for 6 long, horrible years. Thank God and Greyhound that the worst coach in the history of mankind is gone FOREVER….AMEN!!
MinnesotaJacket
April 7th, 2009
1:52 pm
Greyhound good point…going point
mk52
April 7th, 2009
2:01 pm
IMHO, Tarrant should be returning kicks. The guy was amazing at Carrollton runnning back punts and kickoffs. He was just flat-out special when he had the ball in his hands on a return.
dawggone
April 7th, 2009
2:40 pm
The dawgs are gonna kick your ASS this season and the stars will then move back into proper alignment. You and your little piss ant stadium, your bug mascot, your ugly women, your getto campus, your washed out school colors…your stuped car. GOD WHAT A PATHETIC BUNCH OF NURDS! PS. Don’t bother writing back. I’ve got better things to do than stick around.
Ya'll R Dumb
April 7th, 2009
2:42 pm
wow, we went this long before someone noticed that if jones had 8 returns for 53 yards he DID NOT avg 8.8 yds/ret it was only 6.63 yds/ret. so everyone bashing everyone else about their degrees and what not, are wasting space here for not critiquing what we are here to critique and thats the actual article and our thoughts on the team. Bunch of morons! pay attention.
Anyways…
the punt return will be better, probably like 5-7 in the conference. While an improvement is still mediocre.
cluett peabody
April 7th, 2009
3:30 pm
M, May I respectfully remind you to always sign your post with Tgag. It makes my day, is very funny and irks those with no sense of humor.
Tgag!
Larry Hartstein
April 7th, 2009
3:56 pm
Thanks for catching that typo. It was six punt returns by Jones, not eight. Fixed now.
MinnesotaJacket
April 7th, 2009
4:24 pm
I wouldn’t mind seeing Tarrant running back punt returns this year what so ever. I still see it as Roddy’s job to lose though in the end. Also anyone want to make realistic guesses that Tech will struggle in? I would say the Clemson game will be an early indicator of our year with Spiller testing how good our D will be but I say our D-Line is better than people will give us credit and that will be the big thing for us which will get us through them and Miami. The VT game will be a close game and I say we pull it out since we are at home, but the game at Virginia is were I see us slipping (because Tech NEVER wins AT Virginia) and the other potential loss being to NC at home (don’t know why I just see us struggling in that game) but then I still see us winning the ACC against FSU in the championship game. I don’t even need to mention the fact that Georgia poses no concern considering they can’t tackle and our secondary will actually be able to cover people this year and we all know good ole Joe ain’t going to be playing at the GT game and our d-backs will give their freshmen quarterback fits the entire game and our linebackers allowing no running room for Caleb!!
THWG Go Jackets!! (Heading home from work now haha)
surfrider
April 7th, 2009
4:46 pm
It’s great they are focusing on special teams. Bobby Ross was comprehenssive in his preparation of every aspect of the game. Dodd from what I heard believed in field position. It’s a big difference if one can start at their own 35 yard line or better verse inside the 20 yard line. Randy Rhino and Willie Clay were two of better ones I’ve seen at Tech but there have been several. The Dawgs had a great one named Woerner in the late 79’s. Catching the ball is critical and like the coach said north south and look for the seams. It’s hard to remember when Tech had so many options in their return game.
well
April 7th, 2009
4:48 pm
It’s obvious that nobody here has been to practice. Tarrant will win the PR job easily.
Dawg fans- Good luck with Joe Tereshinski…err I mean Joe Cox
Minnesota Jacket
April 7th, 2009
5:22 pm
Well…kind of hard for most of us when I think some of the most represented people here don’t live in the state of Georgia at the moment so please enlighten us…
superDawg
April 7th, 2009
9:02 pm
PHRASE FOR THE YEAR TECH SUX!THAT MEANS ALL OF YOU!AND DON’T YOU EVER FORGET IT.
superDawg
April 7th, 2009
9:03 pm
M you have a pretty mouth.
patrickr
April 7th, 2009
10:07 pm
Larry – You and Ken are doing a great job covering GT football, keep it going! Also, could you please provide us with some insite on what criteria the coaches decide to switch a player from the offensive line to the defensive line and visa versa? Is it a player’s request to be evaluated for a switch, or does it have more to due with size, agility, aggresiveness, quickness, etc… It seems to me that the type of offensive lineman we want are quick, aggresive, and the bigger the beter. Those traits would also be good for Defensive lineman.
Jackets1
April 7th, 2009
10:43 pm
still leads me to conclude T. Evans was the most underrated returner we ever had. Wish we could bring him out of retirement. In his two years bf he got hurt he averaged 9.7 yards/return with ZERO drops (which would have been nice last year). Although not the complete homerun threat, he was SURE HANDED. Not to mention he finished 2nd to Eddie Royal in total return yards in the ACC in 2007 (a stat that not many people look to). But to the present….Terrant will win the job. Great hands and great “home run” ability.
Tokyo jacket
April 7th, 2009
11:19 pm
MN Jacket, you should probably reflect on size of punt returners a little bit. Wright is a clone of Charlie Rogers. Charlie was DEFINITELY the best return man at Tech in the past 15 years. He led the NFL in punt return yardage and TDs in his rookie season. He was 5′9″ and about 180 lbs. Wright has the same build, the same shiftiness, but is a butt ton faster! He’s a water bug and that’s what you need at punt returner.
Regardless, I want to see positive gains from PR and KR this year. If it’s Terrant, cool. If it’s Wright, cool. If the waterboy gets us 10 yds per PR, cool. Our guys on the end have to keep the gunners at least a yard away from the returner to give him an opportunity to move.
Tarrant is THE MAN!
April 8th, 2009
12:06 pm
Jerrard Tarrant is the best option for punt returns – book it. If PJ has him returning punts it’s gonna be fun to watch …. kind of like “Neon Deion” Sanders with the (ATL) Falcons. And with a weapon like Tarrant returning punts it will put TONS of pressure on the opposing punt teams, especially when these kids start trying to “angle” punts away from him [JT]. This is where Tech’s return team will see lots of shanked punts.
Now, all of the folks on here thinking Kelly Rhino was good should be ashamed of themselves. This kid should not have been on a D-1 roster, much less actually playing at the D-1 level! But I guess that’s what you get when your dad & granddad were as good as they were. Fact, K. Rhino was a joke, and YES, his 3-FUMBLE performance in the Peach Bowl summed-up his career. I’m not denying he had heart, and a motor that never stopped, but his size & ability were more suited for D-1AA or lower.
Punt returns can change a game; a team needs a returner that has the ability to take it the distance EVERY time he touches the ball. Kelly Rhino was NEVER that threat. Jerrand Tarrant, on the other had, is.