Syracuse special teams looking for a bounce back year

The Juice Online's position-by-position preview continues with a look at special teams, which is looking to recovery from a rough 2024 campaign, particularly in the kicking 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

The Orange special teams units did not cover themselves in glory last year.  Three different kickers saw action and the trio combined to go 52-of-53 on extra point attempts, but a mere 13-of-22 on field goals.  The lone missed extra point was blocked by the opponent, as were one field goal and three of Jack Stonehouse’s punts.  All told, the FEI special teams rankings listed Syracuse 114th of 134 FBS teams last season.

Brady Denaburg was the starting placekicker last season, but lost the job after going 3-of-6 on field goals over the first four games, including missing both his attempts against Holy Cross.  Jadyn Oh took over the job and was 2-of-5 on field goals before being replaced.  Jackson Kennedy took over the job from there, making 8-of-11 over the rest of the season.

The result of these struggles was a change of both special teams personnel and coach.  Oh is the lone returnee placekicker and is competing against Trip Woody, a transfer from Iowa who redshirted as a freshman.  Those two are duking it out under new special teams coach Ricky Brumfield, who has a long history in the position, including stops at Virginia and Georgia Tech.

The strength of the unit is its all-conference punter

When given enough time to get his punts away, Stonehouse was quite good, averaging just over 45.7 yards per punt.  Ten of his punts went inside the opponent’s 20-yard-line and ten punts went at least 50 yards, including a season long of 64. Stonehouse was named to the Preseason All-ACC Team prior to this season.

Yasin Willis, Malachi James, and Emanuel Ross each had kickoff return duties last season, combining for a 20.1-yard average.  Willis will likely be removed from the group due to his responsibilities in the running back rotation.  Davien Kerr is the only returnee from last season to return a punt, having brought one back for 46 yards against Holy Cross.

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