West Virginia wants to be a fair catch team when it comes to punting coverage.
Last season, the Mountaineers allowed only 19 punt return yards on the entire season with the longest attempt being 10-yards. And through ten games that total is at 0.
That’s a testament to the battery of punter Oliver Straw and long snapper Austin Brinkman and the versatility that those two can throw at the opposition.
Because they’ve worked together so much, Brinkman is able to put the ball where he needs it to be depending on the versatile kick that he’s pulling out his bag.
It’s akin to a quarterback leading a wide receiver and the chemistry they’ve been able to make helps the unit have success.
The goal for West Virginia is to be at over 60-percent when it comes to fair catches and that’s an obtainable goal especially with how close the unit was last season. So far, Straw has punted 36 times with 16 of those being fair caught and only 12 returned for 0 yards.
“The thing that Ollie does is he puts so many spins on the ball and his ball is very difficult to catch,” special teams coordinator Jeff Koonz said. “If you go back to last year there are a lot of guys that caught balls that are falling down because they can’t judge it.”
While distance is often the much-ballyhooed statistic when it comes to punting, what’s actually more important is the hangtime.
If you boot a 50-yard punt with little hangtime the opposition has plenty of time to catch it and return the football. That isn’t the case if the ball hangs in the air.
Last season, the net punting for Straw was around 42-yards but he had a four second hang time which helped to create the inability to effectively return the football due to somebody in their face. This season his net punting is on track at over 41-yards per boot and he has pinned 16 inside the 20-yard line.
“We want to lead the country in fair catches while we get that net punt in the 42 or 43,” Koonz said.
It’s been a strength for West Virginia over the past few years and in the instance of punt coverage the less opportunities that an opponent has to attempt a return, the better.
“We want to be a fair catch team so the hangtime is important,” head coach Neal Brown said.
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