Spring Breakdown: Catching Up With Special Teams Coordinator Turner West
5/11/2023 11:00:00 AM | Football
Taking a look at the Eagle Special Teams
STATESBORO - With spring practice in the books and summer workouts around the corner, GSEagles.com is sitting down with each of the three coordinators from the Georgia Southern football program to get their take on how things look after 15 practices. Up next is special teams coordinator Turner West.
Q: Let's start with your kickers. How do you feel coming out of spring ball about that group?
A: We've got a whole new operation regarding field goals and PATs. We have two new snappers that are fighting for the starting job. We've got a new holder and two new kickers, so we're continuing to work through the operation of it, the timing, all that kind of stuff. I'm really excited about where they are headed. We've got a lot of work to do, but they're trending in the right direction, and I look forward to seeing what they'll produce this year. Michael Lantz has improved tremendously in his mental approach. He's got a pro mindset. He's very meticulous in everything he does, and there's always a sequence and a pattern to everything he does. He's a very, very methodical human being. He's got his routine, and he's really, really good at performing that routine. It's good for our young guys to see that because he has the pro approach it takes to succeed.
Q: Let's talk about your punting. Again, a new operation there. How do you think Alex Smith did?
A: Alex has a very, very bright future. He's learning football. Obviously, he's never played the game. He's learning everything that comes with being a high-level punter in this conference, and he, like the rest of them, is trending in a really good direction. We will continue to build him and see where it can take us.
Q: What about the long snappers?
A: The long snappers have been really good. It's really good competition. Collin Springer did it for a long time at Wofford, and we're excited to have him here, and we saw Jackson Wheeler do it last year. Having that depth with those two guys who have both played in big-time football games is a good place to be. We're just continuing to work in terms of the timing and the relationship with them and the punters, but it's going in a good direction. Mark Langston is still trying to get his knee right, but we know what he can do.
Q: In terms of punt returners and kickoffs returners, how do you feel about those guys back there?
A: We got a lot of guys that have a lot of juice. Everyone saw it in the spring game on offense. It's really, really good to have depth at those two positions. The one thing I've always believed in is that I don't like the punt returner being the kick returner. The punt returner is a different deal. You get a guy back there you can trust, number one. Khaleb Hood's shown that in the past, and Jaylon Barden has done it at Pitt. We've got some young guys we're trying to train, like the Dalen Cobbs, DeAndre Buchannons, the Marc Stampley IIs, who was a punt returner for us a little bit last year. We've got OJ Arnold and some others, so we've got depth at punt returner. But for right now, Hood is the guy.
People don't realize that kick returner doesn't matter what scheme you run or who you have back there because they will be good. The other part people don't think about is that the off-returner is a huge deal regarding the main return guy's success. Those guys have to have a feel for it. They've got to be able to have return ability in case the ball is kicked to them. They've got communication aspects of it talking to the upbacks, and they've got to be able to see blocks quickly to get the return started. In that position, having return ability and blocking ability takes a special person, which will help us succeed in the back end.
Q: Can you give a few newcomers that stood out this spring from a non-kicker standpoint?
A: Number one, I would say a guy by the name of Chris Crouch. Chris is a safety who transferred from Warner. He's got really good speed. He's a really good cover guy. He has return ability. He can catch punts, and he can catch kick returns. He's got off-returner skills, and he has main returner ability. He is a guy who has so much position flexibility. He's a lot like Jeffrey Smyth, and you know how good Jeff is. So, you know, to have him is huge. In terms of other newcomers, I'd go with Elijah Hynes. He played a little bit for us last year, but I consider him kind of a newcomer since he was out of football for five years and in the Marine Corps. But he's really come on strong. Some other guys who were here but didn't play a lot for us last year would include Andrew Douglas, who is coming on strong. Jalen Denton's coming on strong. TJ Smith is a dude. You can see it on defense and special teams. He got elite speed. He's fearless and throws it in there when tackling. He's going to have a positive impact on us this year. Tracy Hill Jr., who played a bit for us last year, is a big body corner with a safety body with a lot of position flexibility on special teams. And Tyler Jordan showed up, also. We've got some big guys who can move in space, like Davion Rhodes, Davon Gilmore, and Damel Hickman. Hickman, in my opinion, has a true pro mindset. He's a guy that plays corner about every snap and then is willing to run down the field on kickoff and play whatever is needed to help our football team. So I think we've got a lot of new pieces of the puzzle that will help us succeed.
Q: And finally, in terms of special teams as a whole, how do you feel coming out of spring? What do you still want to work on in the fall?
A: The guys will be out there on their own working out throughout the summer while we're on the road recruiting. But areas of emphasis will include the entire field goal operation. I used to hear Rich Bassacia call it "The Battery," with the battery being the snapper, the holder, and the kicker. To be successful, those guys have to have a tremendous amount of trust in each other. They have to have their timing down. They must have the mechanics down to succeed and reach our full potential.
We've got Brendan Franke and Michael Lantz, two talented kickers. Matthew Daniel is a good holder. We got two good snappers. Them working together and putting in the extra work will get us where we need to be on field goals and extra points. With punting, we've got a lot of new pieces to that puzzle, too. I like where we're at right now, but we have a long way to go. We need to continue developing those guys and the schemes we will put forward. And finally, we have got to get better in the kick return. That was something that that last year I thought was probably our worst phase of special teams. We've got to put the fear in people that they don't want to kick it to our guys. We've got really good guys back there, and it's my job to make sure that we can put them in a position to be successful, and that's what we plan to do.
Georgia Southern opens its 2023 season on Saturday, Sept. 2, at home against The Citadel. Season tickets are on sale through GSEagles.com/Tickets.
SPRING RECAPS:
Offense
Defense
Q: Let's start with your kickers. How do you feel coming out of spring ball about that group?
A: We've got a whole new operation regarding field goals and PATs. We have two new snappers that are fighting for the starting job. We've got a new holder and two new kickers, so we're continuing to work through the operation of it, the timing, all that kind of stuff. I'm really excited about where they are headed. We've got a lot of work to do, but they're trending in the right direction, and I look forward to seeing what they'll produce this year. Michael Lantz has improved tremendously in his mental approach. He's got a pro mindset. He's very meticulous in everything he does, and there's always a sequence and a pattern to everything he does. He's a very, very methodical human being. He's got his routine, and he's really, really good at performing that routine. It's good for our young guys to see that because he has the pro approach it takes to succeed.
Q: Let's talk about your punting. Again, a new operation there. How do you think Alex Smith did?
A: Alex has a very, very bright future. He's learning football. Obviously, he's never played the game. He's learning everything that comes with being a high-level punter in this conference, and he, like the rest of them, is trending in a really good direction. We will continue to build him and see where it can take us.
Q: What about the long snappers?
A: The long snappers have been really good. It's really good competition. Collin Springer did it for a long time at Wofford, and we're excited to have him here, and we saw Jackson Wheeler do it last year. Having that depth with those two guys who have both played in big-time football games is a good place to be. We're just continuing to work in terms of the timing and the relationship with them and the punters, but it's going in a good direction. Mark Langston is still trying to get his knee right, but we know what he can do.
Q: In terms of punt returners and kickoffs returners, how do you feel about those guys back there?
A: We got a lot of guys that have a lot of juice. Everyone saw it in the spring game on offense. It's really, really good to have depth at those two positions. The one thing I've always believed in is that I don't like the punt returner being the kick returner. The punt returner is a different deal. You get a guy back there you can trust, number one. Khaleb Hood's shown that in the past, and Jaylon Barden has done it at Pitt. We've got some young guys we're trying to train, like the Dalen Cobbs, DeAndre Buchannons, the Marc Stampley IIs, who was a punt returner for us a little bit last year. We've got OJ Arnold and some others, so we've got depth at punt returner. But for right now, Hood is the guy.
People don't realize that kick returner doesn't matter what scheme you run or who you have back there because they will be good. The other part people don't think about is that the off-returner is a huge deal regarding the main return guy's success. Those guys have to have a feel for it. They've got to be able to have return ability in case the ball is kicked to them. They've got communication aspects of it talking to the upbacks, and they've got to be able to see blocks quickly to get the return started. In that position, having return ability and blocking ability takes a special person, which will help us succeed in the back end.
Q: Can you give a few newcomers that stood out this spring from a non-kicker standpoint?
A: Number one, I would say a guy by the name of Chris Crouch. Chris is a safety who transferred from Warner. He's got really good speed. He's a really good cover guy. He has return ability. He can catch punts, and he can catch kick returns. He's got off-returner skills, and he has main returner ability. He is a guy who has so much position flexibility. He's a lot like Jeffrey Smyth, and you know how good Jeff is. So, you know, to have him is huge. In terms of other newcomers, I'd go with Elijah Hynes. He played a little bit for us last year, but I consider him kind of a newcomer since he was out of football for five years and in the Marine Corps. But he's really come on strong. Some other guys who were here but didn't play a lot for us last year would include Andrew Douglas, who is coming on strong. Jalen Denton's coming on strong. TJ Smith is a dude. You can see it on defense and special teams. He got elite speed. He's fearless and throws it in there when tackling. He's going to have a positive impact on us this year. Tracy Hill Jr., who played a bit for us last year, is a big body corner with a safety body with a lot of position flexibility on special teams. And Tyler Jordan showed up, also. We've got some big guys who can move in space, like Davion Rhodes, Davon Gilmore, and Damel Hickman. Hickman, in my opinion, has a true pro mindset. He's a guy that plays corner about every snap and then is willing to run down the field on kickoff and play whatever is needed to help our football team. So I think we've got a lot of new pieces of the puzzle that will help us succeed.
Q: And finally, in terms of special teams as a whole, how do you feel coming out of spring? What do you still want to work on in the fall?
A: The guys will be out there on their own working out throughout the summer while we're on the road recruiting. But areas of emphasis will include the entire field goal operation. I used to hear Rich Bassacia call it "The Battery," with the battery being the snapper, the holder, and the kicker. To be successful, those guys have to have a tremendous amount of trust in each other. They have to have their timing down. They must have the mechanics down to succeed and reach our full potential.
We've got Brendan Franke and Michael Lantz, two talented kickers. Matthew Daniel is a good holder. We got two good snappers. Them working together and putting in the extra work will get us where we need to be on field goals and extra points. With punting, we've got a lot of new pieces to that puzzle, too. I like where we're at right now, but we have a long way to go. We need to continue developing those guys and the schemes we will put forward. And finally, we have got to get better in the kick return. That was something that that last year I thought was probably our worst phase of special teams. We've got to put the fear in people that they don't want to kick it to our guys. We've got really good guys back there, and it's my job to make sure that we can put them in a position to be successful, and that's what we plan to do.
Georgia Southern opens its 2023 season on Saturday, Sept. 2, at home against The Citadel. Season tickets are on sale through GSEagles.com/Tickets.
SPRING RECAPS:
Offense
Defense
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