Szymanski to retain punting, field goal double duty Posted on 08/29/2010 by PonyFans.com
For decades, coaches have talked about the three facets of the game — offense, defense and special teams — all being equally important. But for many teams, the overall impact special teams can have on the outcome of games has been hard to see. Field goals produced immediate points, and punts factor into the battle for field position, but to many, that was the extent of the importance of special teams.
Senior Matt Szymanski will be the Mustangs' primary punter and placekicker again in 2010 (photo by Travis Johnston).
SMU head coach June Jones understands the importance. It was no accident that he hired the late Frank Gansz — widely considered to be the greatest special teams coach who ever lived — to coach the special teams at SMU. When Gansz died, Jones turned the reins over to Dennis McKnight, who continues to make special teams a priority for the entire team. Every practice, without exception, includes a special teams segment that has the fastest skill-position players and burliest linemen working on coverage and blocking and tackling.The effects of the meticulous and intense teachings of Gansz and McKnight are visible at SMU. Gansz’s punter and field goal kicker, Thomas Morstead, is now punting for the New Orleans Saints. McKnight’s top punt returner, Emmanuel Sanders, is a Pittsburgh Steeler now, and his top kickoff returner, Bryan McCann, is in camp with the Dallas Cowboys.One part of the SMU special teams that is settled is the kicking game. Senior Matt Szymanski will handle both the field goals and punting again in his final season on the Hilltop. In 2009, Szymanski hit 11 of 16 field goals, including a career-long 53-yarder, and averaged 41.9 yards on 70 punts, with just nine touchbacks. He dropped 19 punts inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.McKnight said he thinks Szymanski has NFL-caliber talent as both a punter and field goal kicker, and assuming he stays healthy, he will handle all of the Ponies’ kicking chores. Just in case, SMU has several kickers in camp this fall; freshman Mike Loftus will serve as Szymanski’s backup.Who handles the punt returns and kickoff returns remains to be seen. Since camp opened, McKnight has worked numerous players at the position, but has been mum about who he’s leaning toward using in the opener against Texas Tech. Among those who have gotten the most work have been senior running back Chris Butler, freshman running backs Darryl Fields and Kevin Pope and freshman cornerback Kenneth Acker.
