Asking Kelly Poppinga to select his top five plays on special teams in 2024 is like asking a parent to choose a favorite child. Poppinga loved them all — and there were a lot. However, his top five (or five and a half) have back stories that make them stand out from the others.
Here they are.
No. 5: Fake punt vs. Baylor
Midway through the third quarter, on fourth and 10 at its own 35, BYU’s Sam Vander Haar faked a punt and ran 10 yards for a first down to extend a drive that ended with a field goal.
“We had called it, but (Tyler) Batty was supposed to check out of it because we didn’t get the exact look we wanted,” Poppinga, BYU’s special teams coordinator and defensive ends coach, told the “Y’s Guys” podcast this week. “At the last second, their guy shifted over, but Batty made the call before the shift. He was like, ‘We’re going with it!’”
Poppinga told head coach Kalani Sitake, “I think he stayed with (the call).”
“But that’s not the look?” Sitake shot back.
“I know,” said Poppinga. “Then all of a sudden, the kid shifted over and we were like, ‘OK.’”
No. 4A: TD punt return vs. Kansas State
When Parker Kingston botched the catch of a Kansas State punt in the third quarter, only to recover it and proceed to run 90 yards (more like 140) for a touchdown, Poppinga was stunned.
“It’s probably the most unbelievable play I have seen in my life,” he said. “But the reason I don’t have it higher (on my list) is because he muffed the (catch) and then he dropped the ball as he crossed the goal line — I went from ‘Oh my gosh! I’m gonna kill this kid’ to ‘Oh my gosh! This is the greatest play ever.’”
No. 4B: TD punt return vs. Colorado
Kingston’s second punt return for a touchdown, a 63-yard burst in the second quarter against Colorado, triggered BYU’s 36-14 rout in the Alamo Bowl.
“When that play happened the game was over,” Poppinga said. “It was awesome to see special teams change a game.”
3. Onside kick vs. Colorado
Leading 10-0 late in the first quarter against Colorado, BYU executed an onside kick. Will Ferrin kicked the ball 10 yards and Ethan Slade jumped on it.
“That play showed Colorado that we were not messing around,” Poppinga said. “We came here with guns ‘ablazing. We are going to throw everything at you guys.”
During film study, BYU spotted a tendency on kick returns by the Buffaloes that left them vulnerable.
“Colorado had given that look all season long and when we did the first kickoff, Kalani saw it and said, ‘Hey, it’s there.’
“I know,” Poppinga responded.
“Next time, we are running it!” said Sitake.
2. TD kickoff return vs. Utah
Trailing 7-3 in the second quarter at Utah, Keelan Marion returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown.
“They had just scored and that place was going nuts,” Poppinga said. “They kicked it to us, and you could hear a pin drop.”
For Marion, the return sealed his All-American honors.
“The thing I love about that play was it was the best blocked kickoff return I’ve maybe ever coached,” Poppinga said. “Everybody hit their guy 100% and (Marion) was untouched, except for maybe the kicker.”
1. Field goal vs. Utah
Will Ferrin’s 44-yard field goal with nine seconds remaining defeated Utah 22-21 in Salt Lake City.
While both fan bases held their collective breath on the game’s final drive toward the south end zone, Poppinga was having flashbacks to 2010 and 2012 — and they weren’t pleasant.
“We are going the same direction (as those two games) and both of those kicks got blocked,” he said. “I’m not saying this to anybody, but in my head, I’m thinking, ‘Gosh dang it guys! Do not do this to me again!”
After Hinckley Ropati’s run moved BYU into field goal range, Poppinga walked over to his kicker.
“A-Rod is asking me where (you) want (the ball placed) and (Will) said, ‘Coach, it doesn’t matter. The ball is going in wherever it’s at.”
True to his words, Ferrin made the kick.
“The operation from the snap to the hold to the kick — everything was money,” Poppinga said. “The protection was awesome, and Will drilled that thing.”
Applying pressure
Nothing can change a football game faster than turning up the pressure on a quarterback or bringing the heat on special teams. BYU did both in 2024 and Poppinga’s fingerprints can be found all over the Cougars’ 2024 success.
“I think all great defenses start with pass rushes. Look at the Super Bowl. The Eagles had a great pass rush, the Chiefs couldn’t block them, and they just destroyed them,” Poppinga said.
BYU’s pass rush didn’t generate near the number of sacks they had hoped for, but what it did down field was unlike any previous season. Forcing the quarterback to throw under duress led to 22 interceptions, which tied Texas for most in the country.
Poppinga cites the Cougars 41-19 win against Arizona as a perfect example.
“(Noah) Fifita got hit over 20 times. I don’t think we sacked him once, but we hit him a ton,” he said. “If you go back and look at Tanner Wall’s interception, Viliami Po’uha (Freshman) smacks Fifita. Nobody sees that big hit — but it’s a big hit. Fifita throws it and Tanner (Wall) makes a great play.”
Bringing more pressure this fall is priority No. 1 with big shoes to fill on the defensive line with Tyler Batty, Blake Mangelson, John Nelson and Isaiah Bagnah graduated.
“I feel very confident about the interior guys,” Poppinga said. “The defense ends are really young but very talented. Probably more talented than what we have had, they are just young. They have been working their tails off.
Special teams
The Cougars return just about everybody from a 2024 special teams unit that may have been BYU’s best ever. Marion (kickoff returner), Kingston (punt returner), Ferrin (kicker) and Vander Haar (punter) will all be at spring practice next week looking to get better.
“The expectation is set. That’s the message from me going into spring ball. We set a high standard. What are we willing to do to take the next step? That’s the next challenge,” Poppinga said. “It’s keeping them healthy and hungry and helping them understand there is a whole other level we can take this thing to.”
Poppinga laughed at the initial suggestion by then-BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall in 2013 that he was being promoted to special teams coordinator. Admittedly, he didn’t know much about it beyond his own playing time on punt and kickoff details.
Surrounded by mentors, including Mendenhall, Patrick Higgins, Nick Howell, Paul Tidwell, Lance Reynolds, Ricky Brumfield (Virginia), Keith Bhonapha (Boise State) and Jay Hill, Poppinga has evolved into one of the best coordinators in the country.
“It’s a combination of all those guys,” he said. “I took from each of those guys what I thought were the best things and Jay has taught me a lot.”
Attracting talent
Nothing helps recruiting more than winning and BYU’s 11-2 season during its second season in the Big 12 is working wonders.
“We just had the best recruiting class in BYU history and if we land all the top Latter-day Saint and BYU-connected players in the 2026 class, this will be by far and away the best class BYU has ever had,” Poppinga said. “But we have to land them and there is still a lot of work to do.”
When four-star linebacker McKay Madsen went on national television to announce he was choosing BYU over Oregon and would suit up for the Cougars after his two-year church mission — Poppinga saw that as a sign of the times.
“The top quarterback in the country is LDS, the top tight end is LDS, one of the top linebackers is LDS, it goes on and one — and we have to land those guys,” he said. “Winning solves all the problems in recruiting (if) you are doing it the right way. Let’s treat the kids the right way, but let’s also coach them really hard. That’s what kids want these days, along with winning, and I think they will realize that (BYU) could be a great spot for them.”
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.