ESPN.com: ASU’s special teams are in ‘great shape’

ASU made a splash in the offseason with their hire of former Green Bay Packers special teams coach Shawn Slocum.

Now, their special teams are in “great shape.”

David Lombardi of ESPN.com’s Pac-12 blog wrote a position group breakdown of the Pac-12, saying that the Sun Devils are looking strong on special teams next season.

Zane Gonzalez made a strong case to be considered the Pac-12’s most reliable kicker in 2014, and he’ll make another push for the Lou Groza Award this season. Punter Matt Haack ranks in the top tier of league punters, so the Sun Devils are set with their legs.



Arizona State truly excelled in the kickoff return department last season, pacing the conference with their average of 24.1 yards per runback. Although the team must replace returners Kyle Middlebrooks and Damarious Randall, success in the return game is often a product of solid team-wide fundamentals and athleticism, and there’s plenty of explosiveness on the roster to replace that duo.

ASU’s kick and punt coverage units struggled in giving up big returns last season, allowing 23.3 yards per kick return and 13.1 yards per punt return while allowing three total return touchdowns.

Junior kicker Zane Gonzalez returns after going 22-for-27 on field goal attempts, including a perfect 9-for-9 on attempts between 20-29 yards.

Junior punter Matt Haack returns for the Sun Devils after punting 53 times for 2,296 yards (43.3 yard average) last season. He downed 17 punts inside the 20-yard line, with 14 punts of 50 yards or more (65-yard long).