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Special teams seldom get the attention they deserve from the fans, and what little attention they do receive is focused on the kicking specialists and return specialists. There 11 men on the field for every play including kickoffs, punts, field goals, and PAT attempts, and other than the kickers and return men, most of the members of special teams remain relatively anonymous; so for this article we will focus on those positions included in the special teams depth chart for each game.
Punters
Army West Point had one of the best punters in the country the past two seasons, with Zach Harding. As Army fans know, HC Jeff Monken doesn’t like to punt the ball, but when he does, he wants it done right, and Zach Harding did it right. Zach Harding will be getting a look from some pro teams, but is unlikely to be drafted, if for no other reason than the pros seldom waste a draft pick on a punter. Harding's backup was classmate Brooks Hosea, who was the holder for the placekicking team.
Hosea never got a chance to actually punt the ball, and neither did anyone else on the roster; so the position is wide open in 2022 with the only punters listed on the current roster being sophomore Billy Boehlke and freshman Richard McDermott who is listed as a K/P, but was likely recruited more as a place kicker.
Boehlke will be No. 1 going into camp with Matthew Rhodes backing him up. It should be noted that McDermott won’t be competing at punter.
What should also be noted is that there is a level of excitement surrounding the special team players (P, K & LS) who are currently at the prep school, along with those coming in direct.
Place Kickers
The situation is considerably better on the place-kicking side of special teams, but the departure of Quinn Maretski via the Transfer Portal left the PK position a bit thin as well.
Rising senior Cole Talley is likely to be the top candidate for place-kicking duties coming into spring ball, but his record has been spotty. Talley was sidelined his entire sophomore season but had a record of 1 conversion in 3 FG attempts and 19 of 20 PAT attempts in his plebe season. He converted a respectable 8 of 11 field goal attempts in 2021 but missed two of his 46 PAT attempts, which are pretty much automatic for the best placekickers, and he missed a couple of relatively short field goal attempts as well. He saved his best for last, converting the game-winning 41-yard field goal against Missouri. With a career-high of 41 yards, Army has to get inside the opponent's 25-yard line to be in field goal range.
As witnessed in the Armed Forces Bowl Game relative to Talley’s game-winner, it is safe to say that he would have hit that from +50-yds. The senior has a really strong leg and the coaching staff is excited to see him continue to develop both on the mental and technical side of his craft. His talents are a huge asset when it comes to coaching decisions during the course of a game.
Other than Talley, freshman Trey Gronotte is the only returning kicker to have actually put his foot to a ball in a game, and that was a 65-yard kickoff. Three of Gronotte’s classmates are also listed as kickers on the roster, including McDermott mentioned above, along with Tyler Johnson and Matthew Rhodes, but we have no information on any of them.
Others
The only members of special teams, other than the kickers who are listed as such on the depth chart are the Holders, Long Snappers, Kick Return and Punt Return specialists.
Holders
As mentioned above, graduating senior Brooks Hosea did most of the holding for the placekicking team last year; so he will need to be replaced. Typically, we see this position held by a reserve quarterback, of which there are abundant possibilities, or the backup punter, which is an unknown at this point.
Long Snappers
Ryan Aguilar returns at Long Snapper rising to the top of the depth chart at that position in 2021. The 2022 roster lists two additional long snappers, junior Patrick Szczesniak with experience in one game, and sophomore Cole McCutcheon with no varsity experience to date.
Return Specialists
Tyrell Robinson handled most of the kick and punt returns in 2021 and was recognized for his performance as a return specialist in Phil Steele’s All-Independent Team for 2021. Robinson handled 11 of the 14 punts returned by Army last season for an average of 12.82 yards.
AJ Howard was usually the second man back on kick returns last season, and he will need to be replaced. Typically, we see the slotbacks used as kick return men; so watch for Brahaem Murphy or Ay’ Jaun Marshall as potential replacements for Howard.
In addition to the aforementioned names, Special Team Coach Sean Saturnio and that staff will continue to evaluate all skill players that may have a chance to add value as punt and kick returners.
2021 Special Teams Points of Interest:
Our Assessment of the Status of the Unit
With Harding, Hosea, Maretski, and Howard all leaving, we expect to see some rebuilding required on special teams this spring. Finding a new holder and a second kick return specialist should not be a big issue, but replacing Harding is likely to be a challenge, and we would welcome an improvement in placekicking as well.
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