Why the New Kickoff Rule Shouldn’t Hurt the Dawgs Too Bad

Image Thomas Brown vs. UT (DawgPost.com)

By: Quinton McDawg

If you haven't heard by now, one of the noteworthy rule changes for the 2007 season is a new edict on kickoff ball placement. Instead of the familiar 35 yard line mark for kickoffs, the NCAA has moved the ball back to the 30 yard line, inspiring fear and altering strategies. An extra five yards of field position can be critical, especially at the end of a tight game. While I do not want to minimize the rule change in any way, I don’t think it will affect Georgia as much as other teams.

First, since Richt took over, Georgia has never kicked a lot of balls out of the end zone. In 2002 and 2003, we had no touchbacks. Zero. In 2004, Brandon Coutu, one of the best legs Georgia’s ever had, took over most of the kickoff duties and our touchbacks increased, but not drastically. In the past three seasons, 27% of our kickoffs have resulted in touchbacks.

The Dawgs seem to prefer a high, fluttering kick to the corner of the field and let coverage race down and tackle. So, Georgia is already familiar with the type of strategy most coaches are likely to employ because that is exactly the strategy we've been using for the past several years. Kick it high and stay in your coverage lane. It’s a strategy that has worked for UGA. Georgia hasn’t given up a kickoff return for a TD since Richt took over. Five more yards will undoubtedly help opponent’s field position, but shouldn’t result in a bunch of returns for TDs.

Second, the kickoff coverage for the Dawgs will be better. Richt has noted that the stockpile of redshirt freshmen are good looking athletes with size and speed. Reshad Jones, Darryl Gamble, Akeem Dent and Quintin Banks are often noted by Richt when kickoff coverage comes up. This year, Georgia has more of what Richt likes on special teams: big bodies that can run downfield and make a sure tackle. We’ve lacked an abundant supply of that body type in recent years, but not this season.

For the same reasons, Georgia's return game should be better both because of the rule and because of personnel. The same types of bodies that are good for kick coverage are also good for blocking on kick returns. Also, Georgia hasn't returned a lot of kicks in recent years, about 25%. Our opponents have been much better at getting us to take a knee than the other way around. That means we should get more returns. We should also have able returners with Brown, Moreno, and Henderson which should increase the potency of those returns.

So, while we may see less of this:

We should see more of this:

Thoughts?

Quinton McDawg
Guest Columnist
Georgia Sports Blog

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