Who Are The Top Special Teams Players?
Hello everyone, and welcome back to our ongoing series looking at the best returning players in college football. The last of the Power Four conferences we’re featuring is the SEC, where, of course, “It Just Means More.” Our focus today is on special teams, and as we always say, you may not always pay attention. However, if your team’s struggling with special teams play, you’re going to know it. In case you missed them, our previous installments started with the Big 12. From there, we moved to the Big Ten and finally featured the ACC. Let’s begin the SEC’s Top Returning Specialists for 2025 with the kickers. As we do, there’s one important note to keep in mind. Players who transferred within the SEC are eligible for our list. However, players coming in from a different league are not.
Coming Through In The Clutch
3- Brock Taylor- Vanderbilt- As a sophomore, Taylor hit on 39 of 40 extra points and 18 of 21 field goals. As a result, he was named All-SEC third team and a Lou Groza Award semi-finalist. His 93 points tied for the second most in Commodore history. Taylor earned SEC Special Teams Player of the Week after making a 51-yarder in Vandy’s upset win over Alabama. His five made kicks of over 50 yards is also a school record.
2- Trey Smack- Florida- Another Groza Award semi-finalist, Smack made all 44 extra points and 18 of 21 field goals. In fact he’s a perfect 73 for 73 on extra points for his career. He also had 4,717 yards on kickoffs last year, with 53 of his 76 kicks going for touchbacks. He “Smacked” a season-long 55-yard field goal in the Gators’ win over LSU. He’s also a returning player from last year’s list.
1- Peyton Woodring- Georgia- Like the other two players on our list, Woodring is a Groza Award semi-finalist and appeared on Last Word’s 2024 list. A season ago, he was named a Coaches First Team All-SEC selection as a kickoff specialist, and AP and Coaches Second Team All-SEC kicker. Woodring nailed all 48 extra points last season and 21 of 23 field goals. He hit a career-long 55-yarder in the Bulldogs’ win over Clemson in the season opener. Woodring was sixth in the league with 114 points, and he starts 2025 as our top kicker.
Continuing on with the SEC’s top returning specialists for 2025, let’s move to the punters.
Big Game Boomers
3- Jackson Ross- Tennessee- In 2024, Ross led not the SEC but the nation in punts downed inside the 10-yard line with 15 of 53 punts. That is a pretty good 28 percent average. In addition, he had 10 punts of over 50 yards and 21 kicks inside the 20. Ross earned All-SEC freshman honors back in 2023. He also serves as the team’s holder for kicks.
2- Tyler White- Texas A&M- Coming out of high school in 2024, White was the first ever punter or kicker ranked by 247Sports as a four-star recruit. White earned All-SEC freshman honors in 2024 after averaging just under 45 yards per kick. Overall, he boomed 12 punts over 25 yards and landed 25 inside the 20-yard line.
1- Brett Thorson- Georgia- The senior added four yards to his punt average, going from 43.8 in 2023 to 47.6 last year. As a result, he earned first-team, AP All-SEC, and second-team, AP All-America honors. Thorson landed 22 kicks inside the 20 and had 18 go for more than 50 yards. Add to that only five of his 42 punts went for touchbacks. For all of his accolades, he was a Ray Guy Award finalist as the nation’s top punter. To top it off, he’s the Last Word On College Football’s top returning SEC punter.
Game-Breaking Performers
3- Junior Sherrill- Vanderbilt- As a sophomore, Sherrill led the conference with a 26.7-yard average per kick return. He was fourth with 424 return yards. He also took one 100 yards to the house against Tennessee. He’ll be a big part of the Commodore offense in 2025.
2- Zavion Thomas- LSU- A former freshman All-American at Mississippi State, Thomas put up big numbers in his first season in Baton Rouge. He led the SEC in return yards with 634 and was second with a 26.4 average. In addition, he also handled punt return duty. For his career, Thomas has three career returns for a score, two kick,s and one punt.
1- Barion Brown- LSU- What could be better than having one of the best return men in the league? If you are Brian Kelly, you have two. Brown left after three years at Kentucky, holding numerous records. They include most kickoff returns for a TD in a career at five and in a season (3 in 2023). Furthermore, he holds the record for kickoff return average for a career (30.33) and season (36.0 in 2023). Even with teams kicking away from him, he still averaged 25 yards per return last season. Brown tops our list of top return men.
Thanks for checking out the SEC’s Top Returning Specialists for 2025 here at Last Word On College Football.
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