Zero Players From Last Eight Years Make All-Northwestern Special Teams

The 'Cats could use improvement from this group.

Oct 22, 2016; Evanston, IL, USA; Northwestern Wildcats wide receiver Solomon Vault (4) celebrates with wide receiver Macan Wilson (15) after catching a touchdown pass against the Indiana Hoosiers in the first quarter at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-Imagn Images | Jerry Lai-Imagn Images

Wildcat Report's Louie Vaccher has been slowly releasing his Northwestern Football All-Quarter Century Team over the past couple weeks. After publishing his offense and his defense in separate articles, he finished the task on Thursday with his special teams.

Special teams is the hardest aspect of the game for any fan to appreciate, but just ask someone who's played football before. Every one of them will preach its importance.

The most notable takeaway from Vaccher's article is that the Wildcats haven't produced great talent on special teams in a while. In fact, nobody who made the list has played for Northwestern in the last eight years.

At kicker, Vaccher tabbed Jeff Budzien, who played with the program from 2010-2013. Budzien owns the school record for points, as Vaccher points out, so this wasn't a surprise.

At punter, J.J. Standring got the nod, another obvious choice who played for the 'Cats from 1998-2001. Standring owns the Northwestern record for career punts and career punts over 50 yards.

Rounding out the group, Vaccher named Solomon Vault (2014-2017) at kick returner and Venric Mark (2010-2013) at punt returner. Neither seemed to be particularly difficult decisions for Vaccher, according to his article.

For a program facing an uphill battle in a conference like the Big Ten, the little things matter. Northwestern needs to squeeze every point it can get out of its roster, and things like kicking and returning are crucial.

Northwestern hasn't had a player on special teams worthy of an All-Quarter Century Team selection in quite a while. But it has recruited one of the top punters in the 2026 class, Noah Sur. Sur is the No. 3 ranked kicker in the country, according to industry standard Chris Sailer Kicking's rankings.

If Sur could help Northwestern's special teams get back on track, that could help the 'Cats become a more efficient team putting points up on the board.