PROMO: Join BeaversEdge.com and get 30 DAYS FREE!
With the 2021 Oregon State football season now in the rearview, BeaversEdge continues an article series analyzing how each position group fared throughout the season.
Up next we take a closer look at how the special teams fared...
MORE: 2021 Position Analysis: RB | WBB Bracketology Update | Around the Pac-12: How Each Team Fared In Recruiting | Where OSU's 2022 Class Ranked Nationally
Who's Gone?
Trevon Bradford - Punt returner (graduation)
Champ Flemings - Kick returner - Transfer Portal
Who's Back?
Kicker Everett Hayes - Jr.
Punter Luke Loecher - Rs-Sr.
KR - Jesiah Irish - Rs-Jr.
PR - Anthony Gould - Rs-So.
2021 Stats
Hayes - 48-for-48 on PAT's - 12-of-18 of field goals (66.7%) - Hit game-winning field goal against Washington & had a career-long of 60 yards against Colorado. That's an OSU record and the second-longest in Pac-12 history.
Loecher - 31 punts for 1,459 yards (47.1 avg)
Bradford - 11 punt returns for 100 yards
Flemings - Six kick returns for 112 yards
Gould - Four punt returns for 41 yards
Irish - Seven kick returns for 155 yards
Luke Musgrave - One blocked punt and recovered touchdown vs Utah
2021 Special Teams' Analysis
With both kicker Everett Hayes & punter Luke Loecher set to return in 2022, Oregon State's special teams' unit is going to look very similar to what we saw this past season.
In terms of Hayes, he had himself quite the season. While his overall accuracy of 66.7% on kicks isn't the greatest number, Hayes hit several huge kicks this season including a game-winner against Washington and a 60-yarder against Colorado to force OT.
Heading into this next season, if he can tighten up the accuracy, he could be a real weapon for the OSU special teams...
On the flip side, because OSU's offense was quite efficient this season, Loecher didn't punt enough to qualify for Pac-12 leaders. If he had, he would have been the fourth-best punter in the conference by overall average as he sported 47.1 yards per kick and had some big field-flipping punts.
It'll be interesting to see if backup punter Josh Green or backup kicker Atticus Sappington can push Loecher and Hayes for the starting positions as spring and fall camp typically sees a lot of reps being distributed.
However, given that both Hayes & Loecher had pretty decent campaigns in 2021, I think it would take a lot to change the guard. So with that, the Beavers will likely enter this next season with an established kicker and punter who are both pretty reliable.
In terms of who will take on the kick and punt return duties with Trevon Bradford & Champ Flemings departed, I'd say that Jesiah Irish and Anthony Gould are the leaders in the clubhouse. Both are quite experienced and have all the tools to be really good returners.
If the coaching staff wants to keep those guys fresher as receivers, look for Silas Bolden, or Trevor Pope to work their way into the mix as well...
Previously
----
• Talk about it inside The Dam Board
• SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCASTS on APPLE & SPOTIFY
• LIKE US on FACEBOOK
• Follow us on Twitter: @Beavers_Edge, @b_slaught & @JaredHalus
• Subscribe to our YouTube page.
