Inside Carolina put o a stat today that really surprised me about the Tarheel Special Teams. Between Corbin Daly and Hunter Lent, the Tarheels have punted the fewest times in the NCAA with 18 and they are also the only team in college football that has not allowed a punt return. Combine that with Ryan Switzer 14.4 yard punt return average (it would be much higher if not for the "phantom" fair catch against Wake Forest) and T.J. Logan's kickoff returns and UNC has one of the top ranked Special Team's units in the nation.
Larry Fedora has always emphasized special teams play since he was introduced as North Carolina's football coach and that is how many players earn playing time as freshman by cutting their teeth on special teams. That is how Wide Receiver Mack Hollins first caught the attention of the coaches and Coach Fedora has never been afraid to use his starters on these units.
Several games a season are won or lost with special teams play. The Georgia Tech-Florida State game and the Michigan State-Michigan are recent examples. The first involved a blocked field goal and the second involved a botched punt attempt. Both games were played out on the national stage and both were the deciding score in the game and occurred on the last play.
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