The season started ominously for Arizona’s special teams.
In the third quarter of the opener, Kyle Ostendorp lined up to punt in the UA end zone. His kick hit the arm of blocker Josh Donovan, resulting in a touchdown for San Diego State.
The mishap didn’t end up mattering. The Wildcats won going away. And the special-teams units, for the most part, stabilized over the course of the season.
We’ll break them down here in the finale of our series looking back at the 2022 Cats and ahead to what’s next.
Part 3: Special teams.
PERSONNEL BREAKDOWN
Key departures: ST Christian Young
Possible departures: ST Nazar Bombata, ST Christian Roland-Wallace
Key returnees: K Tyler Loop, P Kyle Ostendorp, LS Seth MacKellar, KR Anthony Simpson, ST DJ Warnell, ST Jaydin Young, ST Dalton Johnson
2022 AWARDS
MVP: Tyler Loop
In his first season as the full-time placekicker, Loop performed extremely well. His 85.7% success rate on field goals ranked third in the Pac-12.
Most improved: Jaydin Young
Young raised his Pro Football Focus grade on special teams by nearly 20 points. In 2021, he had two special-teams tackles and three missed tackles. This year: six stops (five solos), one miss.
Unsung hero: Seth MacKellar
Can you recall an errant snap by MacKellar this season? Or any season? We can’t. (We also hope this doesn’t jinx him.)
Top newcomer: DJ Warnell
The transfer from UCLA was the top special-teams performer who didn’t kick or snap the ball. Warnell had the highest PFF grade (minimum 50 snaps), the most tackles (11, including nine solos) and a key fumble recovery in the Territorial Cup.
2022 REPORT CARD
Placekicking/kickoffs: B+
Loop was perfect on field goals under 40 yards. He wasn’t bad in the 40-49 range (4 of 7). His touchback rate diminished down the stretch (78.8% first nine games, 22.2% final three games).
Punting: B-
We’re grading Ostendorp on a curve after an All-Pac-12 campaign in 2021. His gross average declined by almost 4 yards, from 49.2 to 45.5 (still second best in the Pac-12). He did improve his ratio of punts inside the 20 to touchbacks, from 17-11 to 10-3.
Kickoff/punt returns: C-
Despite using some of their best athletes here, the Wildcats seldom generated big plays. Their 17.7-yard average on kickoff returns ranked 11th in the Pac-12; their 7.2-yard average on punt returns ranked seventh.
Kick coverage/punt protection: B
Arizona did an OK job covering kicks, ranking eighth in the Pac-12 in kickoff-return defense and fifth in punt-return defense. The Wildcats shored up their punt protection, which was an issue in 2021. The only TD against them in the kicking game came on that fluky play vs. SDSU.
Coaching: B-
Jordan Paopao took over special teams this year and generally did a decent job. The most noticeable improvement came in punt protection. Anthony Simpson had the greenlight to return kickoffs that landed short of the end zone, and that often led to poor starting field position.
LINGERING QUESTION
Do the Wildcats head into 2023 with the best pair of specialists in the Pac-12?
Fun fact: We asked the same question heading into last season. And it just about came to fruition.
As noted, Loop ranked third in the league in field-goal percentage, while Ostendorp ranked second in gross punting average. No other school placed players in the top three in both categories.
Heading into next year, both players have room for further growth.
Loop at one point was 1 of 3 from 40-49 yards. A miss at the end of the Washington game made him 2 of 5 from that range. He made his last two, though, including a 47-yarder.
Loop never has attempted a field goal from 50-plus yards, but it’s not because he lacks the leg strength to do it. We’ve seen him hit from 60-plus during warmups. It’s just a matter of Jedd Fisch giving Loop a chance.
It’s unclear why Loop’s touchback percentage dropped off late in the season. Only one of the final three games took place in the moist, chilly air of Southern California; the other two were at Arizona Stadium.
Was Loop less than 100%? Was he a bit worn down from the long season? Whatever the case, it’s an area where Loop can improve.
Ostendorp’s numbers were more than respectable, but the ball just didn’t come off his foot as cleanly or as consistently this season. One stat in particular illustrates that: In 2021, nearly half of Ostendorp’s punts (28 of 58) traveled 50 or more yards; this year, it was barely over a quarter (9 of 34).
Some of that could be circumstantial. Where was Ostendorp punting from? What was the objective in those situations?
Ostendorp wasn’t asked to flip the field nearly as much as the previous season, when Arizona’s offense often sputtered. That doesn’t mean he can’t perform better. Or that he won’t do everything in his power to analyze and adjust his form. Ostendorp is probably the smartest player on the team.
Loop and Ostendorp are unlikely to earn first-team All-Pac-12 honors when the official squads are announced this week. But they have a legitimate shot to do so next season.
No. 4 Arizona cruised by Cal 81-68 on Sunday at McKale Center to win its first Pac-12 game of the season. The Wildcats were led by Azuolas Tubelis who recorded 25 points and 12 rebounds.
