2013 Boston College Football Unit Preview: Special Teams

Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

We’ve reached the final Boston College unit preview: special teams. This one will be relatively brief for two very important reasons:

• The preseason depth chart does not assess it.
• Aside from several core positions (kicker, punter, long snapper, returners, and holder), everyone else who participates on specials is just kind of, you know, out there.

We’re here to make some educated guesses, though.

2013 BC Football Unit Preview: Special Teams

The Kicker

Nate Freese, senior

No-brainer. Freese will almost certainly be BC’s all-time leading kicker by the end of this year and has been noticed for his contributions, as he is on the Lou Groza Award Watch List. I think we’d all prefer he kicks more extra points and not as many field goals, though.

The Punter

Alex Howell, sophomore

This is the way BC has to go. Howell is good at punting and placekicking, but he’s now listed on the roster as just a punter and BC can get several good years out of his leg. Besides, the only other punter listed is Nate Freese, and I don’t think you want him doing both.

The Kickoff/Punt Returner

Spiffy Evans, junior

Spiffy did a nice job here last season, so I say we let it ride, at least for now. His signature moment was his 82-yard punt return for a touchdown against Maine.

The Long Snapper

I have absolutely no idea, but it’ll probably be one of these three guys:

• AJ Caruso, redshirt freshman
• Leonard Skubal, redshirt freshman
• Michael Fischer, redshirt freshman

Skubal had a lot of recognition as a long snapper, so I think we’ll just assume it’ll be him until we learn otherwise.

The Holder

Who knows. Maybe Mike Marscovetra? Maybe Alex Howell? It’ll be someone, don’t you worry.