He also had a 100 -
yard kick return touchdown and a 99 - yard interception return in Troy's season finale to win a share of the Sun Belt title.
(With a 28 - yard punt return, a 46 -
yard kick return, eight carries for 44 yards, and six catches in seven targets for 62 yards, Hill lived up to expectations in his first FBS game.)
More importantly, his diverse skill set — the 102 career receptions, the nearly 28 -
yard kick return average — could give the Penn State product more ways to make an impact than your typical running back.
Not exact matches
He has 2,133 career
kick return yards with four touchdowns.
Pharoh Cooper, who'd been merely a part - time
kick returner in 2016, continued his run toward a potential Pro Bowl trip with a 40 -
yard return.
In just two games this season, Harvin has 18 catches (tied for 2nd in the NFL) for 188
yards, while also being utilized in the run game and on
kick returns.
Novak would usually
kick to the 5
yard line, allowing
returns.
Jabrill Peppers today: * 90 + plays * 16 rushing
yards, TD * 43
kick return yards * 41 punt
return yards * 2 pass breakups
The Denver Broncos opened up halftime receiving the football, but Matt Willis was tackled at the 15 -
yard line on the
kick return.
Indiana held him to 56
yards on 20 carries but allowed 51 receiving
yards and a
kick return touchdown.
So the
kicks get
returned somewhere between the 10 and 20
yard line and half the time there is a penalty moving everything back.
Kick it very high short of the goal line but inside the 5
yard line which increases the possibility that the coverage keeps the
return inside the 25... many times inside the 20.
The game of trying to drop the
kick in between the 5 and the goal line and force the other team to
return it while you attempt get them behind the 25
yard line does not seem to work consistently enough to make up for the
kicks out of bounds,
kicks that don't go far enough, and times when the coverage doesn't get the guy down short of the 25, and the injury risk that is being taken by covering the play.
McCaffrey was certainly more versatile — Derrick Henry led the country with 339 rushing attempts this season, but he only caught 10 passes for 97
yards compared to McCaffrey's 41 for 540 this season, to say nothing of punt and
kick returns (McCaffrey also passed for 39
yards and a pair of touchdowns).
I think most of us agree that a 35
yard kick that sticks inside the 10 is more valuable than a 45
yard kick that is
returned.)
It'll be interesting, too, to see how the Panthers»
return game (2016: 7.0
yards per punt
returns, 22.4
yards per
kick returns, both mediocre) is impacted.
Including a delightful Celebration Bowl between NC A&T and Alcorn State — a 41 - 34 A&T win — there were eight
return touchdowns (three punt
returns, a
kick return, three interception
returns, and a fumble
return) and 10 touchdowns on gains of 30 - plus
yards in Saturday's six bowls.
(I wish there were a reliable statistical method to value
kicks based on the point w / in the 20
yard line where it is downed;
kicks not
returned;
kicks that pin a returner to the sideline.
Clemson drew to within 31 - 27 with a field goal, and Kenyan Drake (who lost one of Alabama's
kick return fumbles against Ole Miss)
returned the ensuing
kick 95
yards for a 38 - 27 lead.
Bama blows up a Hardman
kick return at the UGA 7, and after Fromm finds Godwin for 14
yards, Averett trips Chubb up in the backfield for a loss of eight.
The
kick return duo of Johnathan Hawkins and Jamarl Eiland was able to produce efficient if less - than - explosive
returns, and Eiland averaged a not - awful 7.1
yards per punt
return.
Jacoby Jones
kicked off the second half action with a 108 -
yard kickoff
return for a touchdown, putting the Ravens ahead 28 - 6.
Before Southern coaches and players rushed the field celebrating an end - of - game goal line stand, the two teams would combine for almost 1,000
yards, three 100 -
yard receivers, a 100 -
yard rusher, 16 plays of 20 - plus
yards, and nearly every possible special teams event: blocked
kicks,
return touchdowns, a muffed
kick return, a long punt
return, a punt snap hitting an upback in the face, a surprise onsides
kick, and one of the worst fake field goal attempts you'll ever see.
In the first meeting with Pittsburg, Rivers rushed for 157
yards and two TDs while also completing a 9 -
yard touchdown pass early in the game and a 97 -
yard momentum - changing
kick return for a score in the third quarter.
And in a bowl loss to Appalachian State, they were dominant on a per - play basis (6.9
yards per play to 5.1) but gave up a
kick return touchdown and allowed App State to play keep - away (total snaps: ASU 82, UT 54) in a three - point loss.
Heisman Watch: Louisville QB Lamar Jackson - 21 for 42, 317 pass
yards, 64 rush
yards, 3 pass TD, 1 INT UCLA QB Josh Rosen - 34 of 56, 463 pass
yards, 32 rush
yards, 4 pass TDs, 1 rush TD, 2 INT USC QB Sam Darnold - 28 of 49, 397 pass
yards, 3 pass TDs, 2 INT Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield - 17 of 27, 331 pass
yards, 4 pass TDs Okla St QB Mason Rudolph - 23 of 32, 497 pass
yards, 5 pass TDs, 1 INT Penn St RB Saquon Barkley - 10 rushes for 47
yards, 4 catches for 142
yards, 1 REC TD, 37
kick return yards
The Tigers ranked second in
kick return success rate (Tony Pollard averaged 28.1
yards per
return with two scores), fourth in kickoff success rate (68 percent of Jake Elliott's
kicks were touchbacks), fifth in punt success rate (Spencer Smith averaged a booming 45.1
yards per
kick), and 16th in field goal efficiency (Elliott made an incredible 12 of 15 field goals longer than 40
yards).
But the
return game was inefficient (I'm talking about
kick returns here — opponents didn't punt), and Thomas Bennett's punts didn't travel far enough (42.3 -
yard average with minimal fair catches) to justify allowing 8.5
yards per
return.
Kickoffs were an issue, and Papi White wasn't amazingly productive in punt
returns, but Michael Farkas» punts were unreturnable (he combined a 40.9 -
yard average over 69
kicks with 28 fair catches and 26 punts inside the 20),
kick returns were steady, and place - kicker Louie Zervos was a major weapon.
As the Bruins
kick off to Clear Lake, # 21 Rodrigo Lupercio has a nice solid
return for 32
yards.
He gained twice as many
yards in a single
kick return (56) as he did catching passes (three receptions for 27
yards).
He
returns punts and
kick - offs, as does Wallace, and has caught 22 passes for 666
yards (30
yards a catch) and seven touchdowns.
Plus, he has rushed for 68
yards and averaged 34
yards per
kick return in that span.
Then, in quick order, Safety Nick Rassas intercepted a pass and ran it back 92
yards for a touchdown, Ken Ivan
kicked a 23 -
yard field goal and Rassas, on the loose again,
returned a punt 72
yards.
He averaged nearly 25
yards per
kick return in his college career,
returning a pair for touchdowns.
The sophomore DB has only 9.5 tackles, but the four punt
return stops he's been involved in have averaged minus - 1.3
yards each, and the seven
kick returns have averaged 18.7.
Granted, this is Kansas, so most of the tackles have centered around damage control — he's participated in five punt
return stops that have averaged 13
yards per
return and nine
kick return stops that have averaged 26.8.
In 2012, LSU
kick returners Michael Ford, Odell Beckham, Jr., and Jarvis Landry are averaging a still - competent 22.9
yards per
return, and Beckham is averaging 9.3
yards per punt
return with one touchdown.
In 1 game, 103 rushing
yards on 19 carries Threw 3 TD passes 201
yards on punt
returns 171
yards on KO
returns And he
kicked / punted And he played defense too.
Lastly, he served the Patriots» primary
kick returner with 23
returns for 570
yards and one touchdown.
In fact, Auburn's past four SEC opponents have averaged more than 40
yards per
kick return and 30
yards per punt
return.
In Saturday's 24 - 23 win over Syracuse, Daniels
returned a
kick for the first time — 100
yards for a touchdown...
He was also sensational in the
return game, with 7 punt
returns for 69
yards, including a 32 - yarder, and five
kick returns for 96
yards, including a 44 -
yard runback.
He's the program all - time leader in
kick return yards.
Snap for
kick from the 15 -
yard line, 2 - pt try stays at 2 -
yard line and defense can
return.
Meanwhile, punter Dalton Parks averaged a decent 41.8
yards per
kick but also allowed 8.3
yards per
return.
The
return, plus a Milpitas penalty, moved Campolindo into field goal position for Matt Blair, who confidently nailed a 32 -
yard game - winning
kick with 26 seconds left.
Miles Harrison: The Clayton Valley Charter senior rushed for 337
yards and 5 TDs while also adding a
kick return TD in the Eagles 48 - 40 win over Concord on Oct. 24.
Miami boasts one of the MAC's better
kick returners in Maurice Thomas, whose 24.2 -
yard return average helped the RedHawks rank 15th in
kick return success rate.
The Wolverines have not shown much in the
kick return game, and primary returner Kekoa Crawford is averaging 17.4
yards per
return with a long of 27.