Tulsa Special Teams Update

A LOOK AT THE SPECIAL TEAMS …

TULSA, Okla. –– Fans may lose sight of the importance of the third phase of the game of football – special teams – until there's a blocked field goal, or a return for a touchdown or a punt downed at the one-yard line that turns the tide of a game.

Special teams is so, so important in the game of football. One just needs to go back to last season in Tulsa's 27-24 season finale win over SMU. It was a blocked field by Tulsa's Zaven Collins at the end of the first half that proved to be the difference-maker in a 3-point win for the Hurricane.

In 2019, Tulsa returns its punter, deep-snapper and holder, as well as a group of return specialists who shared time last season. Senior punter Thomas Bennett returns for his third season, as does deep snapper Adam Higuera. Sophomore Cannon Montgomery returns as the holder on all placements.

Bennett has established himself as one of the nation's top punters. He ranked fifth in the NCAA last season with a 46.6-yard average per punt, while placing 12 of his punts inside the 20-yard line. Higuera has been steady at the deep-snapper position since starting the season opener as a true freshman in 2017.

"Adam has done a spectacular job in all the snapping duties and I think Thomas has a chance to be an NFL punter. His production since he's been here has been really good," said Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery.

"The biggest question still is figuring out who the kicker will be, whether we do it by committee – one guy handles kickoffs then one handles placements or do we have just one guy do both of them. That's still to be determined," said special teams coach Calvin Lowry

The responsibility of handling kickoffs and placements come down to three guys vying for the spot –– red-shirt freshman Jacob Rainey, junior Zack Long and graduate transfer Danny Donley. The Drake transfer Donley is the only one to have kicked in a college game.

"Leg strength is one thing when it comes to placements, but it's about a guy who can run out there when everything is on the line and be consistent with his production," said Montgomery.

Tulsa's coverage and return units will be filled with guys that are in the two-deep discussion on offense and defense.

"The important thing this year is that the younger guys who had to play trial-by-fire last year are now older and understand what they need to do at their positions on those units," said Lowry. "We have more depth offensively and defensively this year, and now your twos are on special teams as starters whether it's on coverage or return units. Our guys have really worked hard to get better."

Tulsa Special Teams Update

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Players Mentioned

Thomas Bennett

Zaven Collins

Danny Donley

Adam Higuera

Zack Long

Cannon Montgomery

Jacob Rainey

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