Editor’s note: This is the third article in a series wrapping up Utah football’s 2023 season.
After last season, Utah’s special teams group knew there was a lot to improve heading into the 2023 season.
Kickers Jordan Noyes and Jadon Redding struggled on kickoffs in 2022 and some untimely missed field goals led to Utah going for it more often on fourth down.
Punter Jack Bouwmeester had a good first season at Utah, but needed to improve in the offseason.
One of the offseason priorities was getting the kicking position figured out, and Utah brought in Colorado transfer kicker Cole Becker for the starting job.
Here’s a look at how each special teams position fared this year.
Place-kicking
Becker stabilized the position this season, making 15 of 18 field goals and all 28 extra points. Becker’s field goal percentage ranked No. 26 in college football.
Becker’s consistency was a big deal for the Utes, who struggled at the position last season.
“Just knowing the situation here really motivated me to come to a place that not only needed me, but wanted me,” Becker said.
Becker delivered one of the highlights of the season, a game-winning 38-yard field goal as time expired to give Utah a 34-32 win at USC.
It was the first game-winning kick as time expired for Utah since Louie Sakoda did it against Oregon State in 2008.
“It felt pretty good,” Becker said of the moment the ball came off of his foot. “If you watch the video, the execution is perfect. JT (Greep) and his snap, and every other team member.”
Kickoffs
Utah struggled with kickoffs in 2022, with only 29 touchbacks on 96 kickoffs (30.2%). In 2023, the Utes improved that percentage with 23 touchbacks on 62 kicks (37.1%), but it’s still a long way from where it needs to be.
When Becker was healthy, he handled kickoff duties and had a more respectable touchback percentage (17 of 35, 48.6%), while Chase Carter had six touchbacks on 26 kickoffs (23.1%) while filling in for Becker.
The dearth of touchbacks led to the next issue in the special teams unit.
Kick and punt return coverage
Kick and punt return coverage was the weak spot in Utah’s special teams this season. Too often, Utah allowed a big return when the kick wasn’t a touchback or fair catch, allowing an average of 22.81 yards per return — ranking No. 110 of 133 FBS teams this season.
It was a season-long issue, and one that needs to be corrected next year.
Punting
Bouwmeester took a big jump this year, averaging 45.5 yards on 55 punts with a long of 64 yards. Last year, he averaged 39.2 yards on 39 punts with a long of 52 yards.
His average yards per punt ranked 14th in the country and helped Utah flip the field in a year where the offense struggled.
Against Florida, Bouwmeester had two punts of 60-plus yards. It was the first time a Utah punter had done so since Tom Hackett in 2014.
“A bit of confidence is massive. Just more game reps. Another offseason under the belt. Yeah, it was good to get out there and have a bit of freedom and hit a few good balls,” Bouwmeester said.
Punt and kick returns
Utah returned 21 kickoffs this season for an average of 20.24 yards per return, which was good for 61st in the country. Mikey Matthews had a long return of 53 yards, while Dijon Stanley took one for 49 yards. Matthews, who entered the transfer portal after the regular season, fielded the vast majority of Utah’s kick returns.
Matthews also handled the lion’s share of Utah’s punt returns, with a long of 11 yards, while Mycah Pittman had a long return of 26 yards.
Utah had an average of 4.82 yards per punt return, which ranked No. 106 in FBS.