Syracuse football hopes its special teams are special this season

First year special teams coordinator Ricky Brumfield has brought his own style and personality to his coaching, along with new schemes on the multiple units he oversees. Improvement from last season is paramount to Fran Brown, he relishes special teams and always wants to win that one-third phase of the game.

Nov 2, 2024; Syracuse, New York, USA; Syracuse Orange punter Jack Stonehouse (41) is pressured by Virginia Tech Hokies tight end Zeke Wimbush (88) during a punt in the first quarter at JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Brumfield certainly had a busy summer checklist getting ready for August camp. With some comfort having a preseason all-conference punter in Jack Stonehouse to lead, while supervising a battle for the kicking duties between returnee Jadyn Oh and Iowa transfer Tripp Woody, and utilizing the best athletes on the team to contribute to the kick coverage and return games, the Orange coaching staff is leaving no detail to chance.

Brumfield, a veteran of over twenty seasons coordinating specials teams collegiately, was on the other side of the field as recently as last September, when SU beat his-then Georgia Tech team 31-28 in the Dome. Two forgotten special teams plays that mattered in that eventual three-point game: 'Cuse kicker Brady Denaburg had a 43-yard FG attempt blocked in the first quarter, and Tech kicker Aidan Birr missed a 45-yard field goal on the final play before halftime.

An "all hands on deck" approach to staffing the special teams units

Brumfield has brought with him expected changes to X's and O's schemes on the field, and a concentration on how his players prepare mentally for their assignments and potential situations where they are called into action depending how a specific game unfolds.

He and Brown also agree on having the best players play on special teams, within reason.

"Obviously, our key guys that are getting 100 plays on offense or defense, we can't put them on all four phases," Brumfield stated to the media this week during camp. "But that was our starting point. Then work and see what (unit) we can take them off of for maybe a younger guy, and put a different guy in that position. He (Brown) wants to play the best guys."

Brumfield's message to his kickers has stayed as consistent as he wants them to be

While the reshirt sophomore Oh may have the stronger leg than the reshirt freshman Woody, according to Brumfield's observations in camp, it's basically neck-and-neck at this point to decide the field goal kicking and kickoff roles. Who knows? The duties may even up being split between the two.

Oh's last game in last December's Holiday Bowl win he handled all SU kickoffs, finishing with nine kicks for 542 yards and two touchbacks, after relinquishing the field goal and PAT duties to the departed Jackson Kennedy over the last half of the season. Woody has yet to kick in a college game.

Brumfield has long learned that his kicking specialists have the technique and off-season personal coaches and trainers to ensure maximum physical performance on the field come time to prepare for the season. He prefers to emphasize the thought process that goes into the game. In other words, be ready to perform to expectations.

"I think it is about the focus and mental preparation coming into the game that's most important," Brumfield explained. "Mental preparation will bring consistency. If players don't have that mental capacity to be ready, then they don't have a consistent technique all the time, and that's when they veer off the technique they're supposed to have."

One statistic Brumfield will expect improvement on this season is field goal percentage. Three Orange kickers made just 59% (13/22) of their FG attempts last year, and just 3/8 between 40-49 yards out, not acceptable in Power 4 play.