ATHENS – Marshall Morgan and Collin Barber both got married this spring. Drew Butler celebrated his 28th birthday this week. Blair Walsh signed with the Seattle Seahawks last week. So now that we’ve caught up on all these former Georgia kickers and punters, it leads to the nostalgic question:

Hey, remember when there was no drama about who would kick and punt for the Bulldogs.

Oh sure, each went through a few slumps, and Barber lost his job near the end of his career. But between 2008-15, entering the year Georgia knew who its starting kicker and punter would be.

Now … not so much.

Georgia had a different starting kicker and punter at the beginning and end of last season, though at punter it was because of injury. Still, the confidence level in the returning starters apparently isn’t high enough, as Georgia brought in graduate transfers to compete at each spot.

That makes special teams a particular source of intrigue this preseason – and we’re just now getting around to mentioning the void at the return spots left by Isaiah McKenzie and Reggie Davis.

Georgia’s special teams were, shall we charitably say, a bit lacking in some areas last year. The guess here is there will be improvement this year, due to the team’s overall increased depth this year, which should benefit the special teams. (When your second-teamers are better, so are your special teams.)

But there’s no way of knowing yet whether the key specialists will be better – or even knowing for sure who they will be. Let’s try:

PLACE-KICKER

  • Returning starter: Rodrigo Blankenship, Soph. (walk-on for now).
  • Notable reserves: Tanner Stumpe, Jr. (walk-on).
  • On the way: David Marvin, Sr.
  • Analysis: Blankenship would normally be secure in the job after going 14-for-18 on field goals last year and making all his extra points. But after the controversy over his scholarship status, and with coaches concerns about his kickoffs, the team recruited Marvin, who kicked well the past three years at Wofford, an FCS school. Marvin arrives in August as a blue-shirt, which means he goes on scholarship. Marvin was told he was being brought in for kickoffs and to compete for the place-kicker job. Blankenship didn’t have a great G-Day, but Kirby Smart defended him, perhaps a sign of increasing confidence. And if there was one area of Blankenship’s G-Day that was good, it was actually the kickoffs. That could make it a very interesting August.
  • Prediction: Blankenship holds on to the place-kicking job, while Marvin is the kickoff specialist to start the season. There’s not a huge amount of confidence behind either prediction, but let’s go with that for now.  

PUNTER

  • Returning starter: Marshall Long, Soph.
  • Notable reserves: Cameron Nizialek, Sr. (walk-on).
  • On the way: None.
  • Analysis: Long was okay as a freshman, averaging 38.7 yards on 49 punts, 14 of which were downed inside the 20. Then he broke his kneecap and missed the final four games. He suited up for spring practice but didn’t do any live punting. That was left on G-Day to Nizialek, another graduate transfer from an FCS school, Columbia. It was thought that Nizialek was mainly being brought in as an insurance policy, but one of the stories that emerged from the spring was that Nizialek would give Long a real run for the job. Nizialek then averaged 39 yards on four punts, one of which was downed inside the 20.
  • Prediction: There isn’t a clear starter after preseason camp, and the two either alternate punts against Appalachian State, or Long is named the starter but is given a short leash.

KICKOFF RETURNER

  • Returning starter: None.
  • Main contenders: Mecole Hardman, Soph.; Tyler Simmons, Soph.; Jayson Stanley, Jr.
  • On the way: D’Andre Swift, Fr.
  • Analysis: Hardman was the top backup last year to Davis, and would seem to be the favorite. He had two returns for 51 yards on G-Day, while Stanley had two for 56 and Simmons had one for 24. All three are swift athletes, as is, literally, Swift.
  • Prediction: Hardman is the deep man when Appalachian State lines up for its first kickoff. The order of likelihood for the others: Simmons, Swift, Stanley. But we wouldn’t rule out Terry Godwin or someone else, especially if Hardman’s increased role on offense means the coaches want him to concentrate on that.

PUNT RETURNER

  • Returning starter: None.
  • Main contenders: Terry Godwin, Jr.; Hardman, Simmons.
  • On the way: D’Andre Swift, Fr.
  • Analysis: It was amusing to hear some fans minimize the importance of losing McKenzie, who besides his receiving exploits last year became Georgia’s all-time leader in punt return touchdowns. Remember how pedestrian Georgia’s punt return game was like before McKenzie arrived? So the drop-off this year might be significant … or it could be just modest. Godwin, filling in four times for McKenzie as a freshman, averaged 14.5 yards per return. Godwin will offer experience, while the aforementioned younger players offer up speed.
  • Prediction: Godwin begins the season in the role, but the team turns to a younger player eventually, unless Godwin runs away with the job.

Note: Yes, we didn’t cover long snapper and holder. Trent Frix will be the long snapper and Jacob Eason will be the holder. There, we covered it.

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