Under Jeff Banks, Texas is reaping the benefits of high-quality special teams

Jeff Banks is the most well-compensated special teams coordinator in the country, and the Longhorns are getting their money’s worth from his area of expertise through the first three games of the 2023 season.

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Banks, currently making $1.1 million per Football Scoop, along with analyst Jeff Crosby and special assistant to the head coach Joe DeCamillis, oversees a third phase that has been crucial to the Longhorns’ successes this year, with Saturday’s 31-10 win over Wyoming the most recent example.

“We were really sound on special teams,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday “We got two explosive returns out of (Xavier) Worthy in the punt return game. (Ryan) Sanborn punted the ball extremely well. Our kickoff coverage unit continues to be just tremendous. They brought one out and we tackled the returner inside the 15-yard line. That’s been a real positive of ours. I know sometimes we’re always looking for the wow plays with the blocks and things, but we’ve been very steady on special teams.”

Texas’ special teams currently rank

• No. 22 in ESPN’s special teams SP+
• No. 2 in net punting
• No. 48 in kickoff returns
• No. 16 in kick return defense
• No. 49 in punt return defense
• No. 19 in punt returns

Many of those rankings have to do with Sarkisian and Banks playing a mix of starters or promising youngsters on special teams as opposed to only freshmen or walk-ons. Tre Wisner, Jelani McDonald, and Liona Lefau are a handful of the young talents who have been able to earn early playing time for Banks.

Worthy, a key part of Texas’ return game, sees how much the third phase means to the Longhorn football program now that he’s a key part of the return operation.

“At this university, they take special teams seriously,” he said Monday. “I feel like everybody is working in our special teams. It’s really like a competition in our special teams.”

Worthy provided two excellent returns versus Wyoming and has been cautiously secure in the punt return game, making sure Texas maintains possession after kicks even if it sacrifices some yardage.

The standout special teams play also is thanks to a group of talented specialists Banks, Crosby, and DeCamillis work with regularly. Place kicker Bert Auburn is 6-for-8 on field goals this year and hasn’t missed any of his 12 extra-point attempts. Deep snapper Lance St. Louis has flown under the radar, an excellent attribute for anyone at his position. Kickoff specialist Will Stone has nine touchbacks on 19 kickoffs. One of his kicks has sailed out of bounds. Every other return opportunity? Opponents are averaging 13.8 yards per return.

Sanborn, a graduate transfer from Stanford, is also enjoying a strong start to his season. Even he noticed an increased focus on special teams on the Forty Acres compared to The Farm.

“Every meeting I go into with Coach Banks, there’s something different for the day,” Sanborn said Monday. “The energy he brings, I think a lot of the guys on the team recognize it as well. He’s got a big role because he’s one of those guys that is talking to offensive guys and defensive guys. It really is a like a whole other team meeting in and of itself.

“The energy that he brings translates on the field and you see it with the guys running down on kickoffs, blocking field goals on field goal blocks. The effort that guys are playing with on special teams here is one of, if not the best in the nation.”

Sanborn has proven to be one of the more useful transfer portal pickups for the Longhorns, even if he isn’t making “wow” plays like Adonai Mitchell or Jalen Catalon. Through the first three games, Sanborn has nine punts and is averaging 48 yards per kick. One quarter of the way through the season, that’s 4.7 yards ahead of his career best 43.3 yards per punt set in 2021. In addition, three of his punts have been fair caught, three have gone 50 or more yards, and three have been downed inside the 20-yard line.

There is strategy to punting. Placement is one aspect of it, and power is another. Sanborn has the leg to send the ball deep. This year, he also has 10 players surrounding him to make that the right course of action.

Sarkisian has called Keilan Robinson and Kitan Crawford, the two players who most often are at gunner on Texas’ punt team, the two best in the nation in their role. Sanborn found no reason to disagree.

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“They’ve made back-to-back plays in two weeks on the goal line, stopping the ball from going in which is huge for momentum in the field position game,” Sanborn said. “Even on some of these long punts I’ve been hitting, the only reason I’m able to hit them is these guys have been getting down there, making plays, and making sure the returners aren’t getting down on the field.”

Sarkisian admitted Monday his special teams unit hasn’t produced a blocked kick or a return touchdown quite yet this year after blocking four kicks and returning one punt for a touchdown in 2022. But across the board, no matter what aspect of special teams, the Longhorns have been one of the best in 2023 under Banks’ watch.

“I feel like all three phases of our game are really good,” Worthy said.