Michigan special teams coach J.B. Brown answers whether unit has lived up to expectations

Michigan football's special teams unit has been a strength of the team in years where the Wolverines have had success.

This year, while the Wolverines have generally covered kickoffs and punts well, there have been some inconsistencies in both the kicking game and return game.

In the offseason, the Wolverines acquired transfer punter Luke Bauer from Missouri. However, before Bauer played a snap with the Maize and Blue, he left the team to move into the working world.

In turn, senior Hudson Hollenbeck is now in the starting role and hasn't yet found the consistency to be heavily relied upon to help the Wolverines in the field position game.

On Wednesday, special teams coach J.B. Brown, who is in his second season with the Wolverines in that role, met with the media and answered questions about the unit, expressing confidence in Hollenbeck moving forward.

"If you watch Hudson in practice, he's doing a phenomenal job," Brown said. "He's becoming that guy. He's working on the transition from becoming the backup, to now the starter. I think you see 13 out of his 22 punts this year have been where we want them to be. The other three were in coffin situations where we were trying to pin the ball. So, the distance doesn't need to be there, it's just the accuracy at that point. Then you see about five that we probably want back at the end of the day. Overall, he's starting to get accustomed to the starting role and think you're going to see the consistency these next six games from him."

Brown said Hollenbeck, who has punted 22 times this season for an average of 42.1 yards per kick, has undergone "a couple different routines with him" in terms of his preparation.

"I think he's finally settled in on one on where he wants to be," said Brown. "So we're excited to see how it works this week and how it goes from now."

Field goal kicker Dominic Zvada was as steady as can be for the Wolverines in 2024, having made 21-of-22 field goals with several from over 50 yards. In 2025, Zvada is just 8-of-11, including two misses from short range.

Head coach Sherrone Moore has said he doesn't talk to Zvada after a missed kick and allows him to go through his routine and work things out without Moore's help. Brown was asked what role he plays as the special teams coach when Zvada does miss a kick.

"I think there's a fine line in how you deal with it," Brown said. "Dom is great—I mean, he's the most accurate kicker in Michigan history at this point in his career. He just needs to continue to be him. We have full faith in Dom. And yeah, we do talk and he also has a sports psychologist that he works with and what not. So, he's been doing great. He's in good spirits and we have a ton of faith in him when we put him out there for anything right now."

Michigan place kicker Dominic Zvada (96) attempts a field goal against New Mexico during the first half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, August 30, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Brown was asked if the unit as a whole has lived up to his standard this year at the halfway point in the season, saying he would like to see better results on paper but that they are going to continue to strive to improve.

"Yeah, I think the kids are trying their best, I think they're working as hard as they can," said Brown. "We want the results on paper a little bit more, but at the end of the day, we're going to continue to strive to work on the fundamentals, secure the football and create the field position for the offense and defense."

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