Nebraska Football Fall Camp Preview: Special Teams

Matt Rhule’s first fall camp with Nebraska football is right around the corner. The HuskerOnline team dives into what to expect from the Huskers with our position-by-position fall camp previews.

Nebraska’s special teams conclude the series. One portion of the unit is solidified. The other will be decided by a battle in fall camp.

Related: QB | RB | WR | TE  | OL | DL | LB | CB | S |

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What we know right now: Nebraska’s punting is in good hands

Brian Buschini’s 2022 season was one of the best by a Nebraska punter in nearly a decade.

Not since the late great Sam Foltz in 2013 has a Husker punter achieved an average yardage per boot at or above 44 yards. Buschini’s 15 punts inside the 20-yard line are more than NU’s group of punters managed in the 2020 or 2021 seasons. His return percentage (29.4%) is the lowest since Isaac Armstrong in 2019 (18.6%).

When Buschini announced his return in late November, the Huskers secured an incredibly sturdy piece of its special teams.

The former 2021 FCS Punter of the Year and FCS First-Team All-American likely hasn’t reached his ceiling in Lincoln either. He averaged 45.7 yards per punt a year ago along with 37 punts inside the 20-yard line and a hangtime of 4.05 seconds. All of those numbers are better than Buschini’s 2022 performance, suggesting he has room to grow.

On the return side, it’s clear NU can count on Billy Kemp IV. The former Virginia standout fielded 140 punts in 50 games, of which 76 were caught compared to 64 return attempts. Kemp averaged 5.7 yards per return over the course of his career with 371 total yards.

Another addition of note is long snapper Marco Ortiz. The graduate transfer from Florida already has five years of collegiate experience under his belt. Ortiz was the No. 6 long snapper in his class according to Rubio Long Snapping.

His competition for the starting job is Camden Witucki who has yet to appear in a game throughout three seasons with the Huskers. Westside walk-on Will Depooter will also be in the mix.

Nebraska’s coaches and fans should feel confident in this area of special teams.

Player	Field Goals 0-19 Yards	Field Goals 20-29 Yards	Field Goals 30-39 Yards	Field Goals 40-49 Yards	Field Goals 50+ Yards	Overall Field Goals	Extra Points
Timmy Bleekrode	0-0	5-5	2-4	2-2	0-1	9-12	34-35

Biggest question: Who wins the kicker battle?

There’s a legit kicking competition brewing for fall camp. Tristan Alvano’s arrival presents a challenge to the job Timmy Bleekrode won after transferring in from Fuhrman a year ago.

The Westside product famously went 5-for-5 on field goals during the Class A state championship game. That included four kicks from beyond 40 yards, one of which was a 45-yard game winner. In that game alone, Alvano made more field goals in Memorial Stadium than Bleekrode did all season. The freshman’s 16 field goals in the 2022 season is a state record.

Bleekrode has plenty of experience on his side. The junior from Atlanta, Georgia, has kicked for four collegiate seasons and went 21-of-25 on field goals during his career at Furhman. He also tallied 47 made PATs on 51 attempts.

Should Bleekrode be passed over in favor of Alvano, he could still make an impact as a secondary punting option. At Furhman he averaged 42.9 yards per punt and has one punt in his Nebraska career, a 51-yarder against Oklahoma.

There’s one last kicking question to answer. Who handles kickoffs?

Brendan Franke transferred to Georgia Southern after kicking 36 touchbacks a year ago. Apart from Bleekrode and Alvano, the only other place kicker on the roster is Bleekrode’s former Furhman teammate Spencer Pankratz who is yet to appear in a game during his career. Alvano could have the edge in this department.

Kick returns will be a battle, too. Zavier Betts and Kemp each returned a kickoff during the spring game while Tommi Hill was a part of that unit a year ago. Special teams coordinator Ed Foley mentioned Hill and Kemp as well as sixth-year senior Josh Fleeks during his recent appearance on Sports Nightly.

Projected Fall Camp Depth Chart

Kicker
1. Timmy Bleedrode OR Tristan Alvano
2. Spencer Pankratz

Punter
1. Brian Bushini
2. Jacob Hohl

Long snapper
1. Marco Ortiz
2. Camden Witucki
3. Will Depooter