Examining the Florida Gators' kickoff return deficiencies

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — You don’t need to be an experienced football coach to watch the Florida Gators and see an issue. Before most offensive drives can start, the other team will kick off. Florida’s kickoff unit, part of the special teams that Billy Napier calls “game changers” are doing just that. They’re changing the game, just not in the way they would like to.

In 2018, after years of studies on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the NCAA passed a rule to incentive teams to not return kicks. Kickoffs lead to high-speed collisions, so the NCAA passed a rule allowing the returning team to fair catch a kickoff. It would essentially result in a touchback, gifting the returning team 25 yards.

It led to some confusion for fans watching games in 2018 when a player on their team would fair catch a ball on the two-yard line. When a punt is fair caught, the ball is placed where the returner is standing. On kickoffs, no matter where you call for a receive a fair catch, the ball goes back to the 25.

Florida’s kickoff unit has not only not been a weapon for the Gators, but it’s also hindered the offense. Florida is returning 48.1% of opponents’ kickoffs. Of those 13 returns, only 1 (7.7%) has gone past the 25-yard line without a penalty, and 38.5% of their returns have been penalized.

This glaring deficiency is something Gators Online brought up at Monday’s press availability with Billy Napier.

“In my opinion, those are undisciplined penalties, some of those in particular. Those are decision-making where you’re doing something that you know is absolutely not in the best interests of the team,” Napier said. “From a strategy perspective, we need to make better decisions relative to when we bring the ball out and when we don’t. I think we’re learning there. There’s no question we need to adjust our strategy.”

There have only been five penalties on kickoffs this season but they have all been costly.

“The penalties are what I really struggle with because when you’re returning the ball, whether it’s the punt return unit or the kickoff return unit, number one is secure the football. Get the ball back to the offense. Number two is don’t get a penalty. That’s the top two things on the list.”

Florida’s most successful game returning kicks was against South Florida. Why? The Bulls kicked the ball deep into the endzone on six of seven kickoffs, preventing Florida from returning. That gave Florida an average starting position of 23.1. If they had six touchbacks, why is that return number below 25? Well, the one return Florida had only made it out to the 25 and was brought back to the 12 because of a personal foul.

Lumping the kickoff return team into the “game changers” is correct. They’re changing the game just not the way the Gators need them to. Until Brandon James or Andre Debose walk through the door with more eligibility, Florida would be better served to throw an arm up and fair catch kickoffs.

Kickoff returns this season

Number of kickoffs: 27

Number of returns: 13

Number of returns that went past the 25: 1

Number of penalties on returns: 5

Average starting position on returned kickoffs: 14.9

Gators returns by game

Utah 

Number of kickoffs: 6 

Number of returns: 5 

Number of returns that went past the 25: 0

Number of penalties on returns: 2

Average starting position on returned kickoffs: 16.6-yard line

1. Ja’Markis Weston returns 14 yards to the UF 18 Holding (Dante Zanders) 8 yards from UF 16 to UF 08.
2. Xzavier Henderson returns 16 yards to the UF 18
3. Xzavier Henderson returns 19 yards to the UF 21 UF Holding (Jordan Pouncey) 10 yards from UF 21 to UF 11.
4. Ja’Markis Weston returns 20 yards to the UF 21
5. TOUCHBACK
6. Xzavier Henderson returns 14 yards to the UF 25

Kentucky

Number of kickoffs: 7

Number of returns: 4

Number of returns that went past the 25: 0

Number of penalties on returns: 1

Average starting position on returned kickoffs: 21-yard line

1. Xzavier Henderson return 18 yards to the UF 18
2. TOUCHBACK
3. Ja’Markis Weston, return 22 yards to the UF 30 PENALTY UF Holding (Chief Borders) 10 yards from UF 30 to UFL20.
4. Trevor Etienne return 11 yards to the UF 21
5. TOUCHBACK
6. TOUCHBACK
7. Trevor Etienne return 19 yards to the UF 25

USF 

Number of kickoffs: 7

Number of returns: 1

Number of returns that went past the 25: 0

Number of penalties on returns: 1

Average starting position on returned kickoffs: 12-yard line

1. TOUCHBACK
2. TOUCHBACK Personal Foul (Derek Wingo) 13 yards from UF 25 to UF 12.
3. TOUCHBACK
4. TOUCHBACK
5. TOUCHBACK
6. TOUCHBACK
7. TOUCHBACK

Tennessee

Number of kickoffs: 7

Number of returns: 3

Number of returns that went past the 25: 1

Number of penalties on returns: 1

Average starting position on returned kickoffs: 10-yard line

1. Xzavier Henderson return 15 yards to the FLA16
2. TOUCHBACK
3. TOUCHBACK
4. Xzavier Henderson return 23 yards to the FLA30
5. TOUCHBACK
6. Xzavier Henderson returns 6 yards to the FLA07 PENALTY UF Illegal Block in Back (Donovan McMillon) 3 yards from UF 7 to UF 4.
7. TOUCHBACK