Special teams may be the most under-appreciated part of a football team. Field goals and field position can be the deciding factor in a game. From inside their own 40, teams score one out of every eight attempts, while when starting from the opponent’s 40-yard line, teams’ scoring chances increase to one out of every three attempts.
The Wisconsin special teams, specifically the punting game, may have been an Achilles heel for the Badgers in 2002, but Coach Barry Alvarez hopes to change this trend in 2003.
The glaring soft spot of the Wisconsin special teams seemed to come from the punting game. Junior R.J. Morse handled all but two of the team’s punts last year, and some of his stats gave Alvarez a headache. While Wisconsin held opponents to a mere 6.9 yards per punt return, it was the distance of the punts that hurt the Badgers. Opposing punters posted better numbers than Morse in 11 of 14 games last season, and Morse averaged only a net 33.6 yards per punt, which is the worst posting of a Wisconsin punter since 30.4 yards in 1995.
As a result of this poor performance, the Badgers invited two walk-ons to pre-season camp: Kenneth DeBauche of Bay Port High School and Paul Standring of St. Rita in Chicago.
Both DeBauche (6-foot-2, 195) and Standring (6-foot-1, 190) are leaner then the hefty Hawaiian native Morse (6-foot-1, 245).
DeBauche played basketball and baseball as well as football in high school and averaged 44.3 yards per punt throughout his career. Standring, who averaged 40.2 yards per punt, is the younger brother of J.J. Standring, who competed for Northwestern as a punter from 1998 to 2001.
Alvarez will be taking a long look at the punter situation.
“From what I’ve seen, [DeBauche and Standring] seem to be very competitive and have strong legs,” Alvarez said. “They’ll have every opportunity.”
With Wisconsin’s first matchup against West Virginia, the incumbent and more experienced R.J. Morse is slated to start, but it seems Alvarez will keep him on a short leash, and if he doesn’t show signs of improvement, one of the other punters may get a shot.
The majority of place-kicking duties were handled by junior Mike Allen last season, who made 12-19 field-goal attempts and 30-30 PATs. Allen has had an exceptional spring practice, partially due to the confidence booster of hitting the game-winning 37-yard field goal against Colorado in the Alamo Bowl last season. This confidence may allow Allen to improve on his 64.3 percent field-goal percentage.
“His leg is stronger right now,” Alvarez said of Allen. “And the one thing that he improved dramatically is the height on his kicks.”
Allen will be backed up by senior Scott Campbell, who will also take on the responsibility of kickoffs. Campbell registered 20 touchbacks last season, while the Badgers held opponents to 17.1 yards per kickoff return, good enough for No. 2 in the Big Ten.
Junior Jim Leonhard will handle the Badgers’ punt returns again this year. In 2002, Leonhard averaged a healthy 12.1 yards per return, which was good enough for second in the Big Ten and No. 33 in the nation.
Kickoff returns, on the other hand, were not as good. The Badgers have slipped from the high mark of 24.5 yards per return in 1999 to less than 20 yards the last two seasons. Sophomore Brandon Williams returned the majority of the kickoffs last season, and the then-freshman showed much inconsistency. Alvarez and the Badgers are hoping with a year under his belt, Williams can improve his numbers.
