• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Houston Sports Today

Houston Sports News Continuously Updated

  • Football
    • Roughnecks
    • Texans
  • Astros
  • Rockets
  • Soccer
    • Dash
    • Dynamo
  • Colleges
    • Rice
    • Texas A&M
    • University of Houston

SEC’s Top Returning Specialists For 2023

August 4, 2023 by Last Word On College Football

Who Are The Best Of The Best?

Hello friends, our long wait is finally over. At the end of this month the most wonderful time of the year, college football season, is back. To get you ready for 2023 we’re counting down the best returning players in each of the Power 5 conferences. We wrap up our series with who else but the SEC because as you know “it just means more.” We begin our countdown of the SEC’s top returning specialists for 2023 with the kickers.

Clutch Kickers

3- Alex McPherson– Auburn- The redshirt freshman took over the kicking duties when Anders Carlson was struggling to recover from a torn ACL. Over the last three games, he made all nine extra points and six of seven field goals. Oh by the way his older brother is Evan, who stars for the Cincinnati Bengals.

2- Harrison Mevis– Missouri- Last season Mevis made all 33 of his extra point attempts and 22 of 28 field goals. In fact, his 61 field goals rank second in school history. Furthermore, he’s made 10 kicks of more than 50 yards, the most in program history. Mevis earned SEC Special Teams Player Of The Week when he made five goals, including two of more than 50 yards.

1- Will Reichard– Alabama- The days of the Crimson Tide having kicking questions are certainly not an issue with Reichard. Back in Tuscaloosa for one more year as a graduate student Reichard already owns the school record for total points with 426. For his career, he’s made 240 of 242 extra points and 62 of 75 field goals. He was third on our list last year and tops it in 2023.

We move to the punters as we continue our look at the SEC’s top returning specialists for 2023.

Big Game Boomers

3- Jeremy Crawshaw– Florida– The Australia native ranked ninth in the league in total punting yards. However, he led the SEC on average with a whopping 47.9 yards per punt. The junior had 13 punts of 50-plus yards and 12 fair catches.

2- Nik Constantinou– Texas A&M- Another Australia native, Constantinou’s stats dipped a little from 2021 when he led the conference with a 46.6-yard average. He was the SEC’s Special Teams Player Of The Week against Miami. In that game, he landed three punts inside the 10-yard line. Look for a bounce-back year in 2023.

1- Kai Kroeger– South Carolina– A first-team All-SEC selection and first-team by ESPN and The Athletic, Kroeger had one of the best seasons in school history. He had 18 punts of more than 50 yards in 2022. In addition, he landed 20 balls inside the 20-yard line. Kroeger ranks second on the Gamecocks all-time punting list averaging 44.2 yards per kick. Put it all together and he sits at the top of our list.

We wrap up our SEC’s top returning specialists for 2023 with a look at the return men. We’re breaking this one into two categories, top kickoff and also top punt return men.

Ace Return Men

Kickoff Return Specialists

2- Barion Brown– Kentucky- In his first game as a college player Brown took a kick 100 yards to the house in the Cats win over Miami (Ohio). In the process he became the first UK player with a kickoff return for a score since 2009. Overall Brown ranked third in the league with a 27.5-yard average per return.

1- Lideatrick Griffin– Mississippi State- A first-team All-American by the FWWA, Griffin led not only the SEC but all of college football in kickoff returns. His 32.2 yards per return were the second-best in league history behind Evan Berry of Tennessee in 2015. Nicknamed “Tulu” Griffin has gone back to back as he led the league in return average in 2021.

Punt Return Specialists

2- Ainias Smith– Texas A&M– Smith was a first-team All-SEC selection as a punt returner in 2021. That included Special Teams Player Of The Week against South Carolina when he took a punt 95 yards for a touchdown. He was off to a big start in 2022 before suffering a broken right leg. At the time he was responsible for more than a quarter of the Aggies total yards.

1- Kool-Aid McKinstry– Alabama- The player with one of the best names in college football tops our punt return list. In 2022 McKinstry averaged 15.8 yards per punt return, leading the SEC and second in the nation. As a result, he earned second-team honors from the SEC and FWWA. If you are curious, and we know you are, his given name is Ga’Quincy.

Thanks for checking out the SEC’s Top Returning Specialists For 2023 here at Last Word On College Football.

Photo Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The post SEC’s Top Returning Specialists For 2023 appeared first on Last Word on College Football.

Filed Under: Texas A&M

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh: All-Star closer Andrés Muñoz was tipping pitches against Yankees
  • Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo loses no-hit bid in 8th inning at Yankee Stadium
  • Some Catcher Thoughts
  • Jacob deGrom is vintage again, now an All-Star ace in Texas after several injury-filled seasons
  • Astros Prospect Report: July 9th

Categories

  • Astros
  • Colleges
    • Rice
    • Texas A&M
    • University of Houston
  • Football
    • Texans
  • Rockets
  • Soccer
    • Dash
    • Dynamo
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • July 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023

Our Partners

All Sports

  • 247 Sports
  • Bleacher Report
  • CBS Houston
  • Houston Chronicle
  • House Of Houston
  • OurSports Central
  • The Sports Daily
  • The Sports Fan Journal
  • The Spun
  • USA Today

Baseball

  • MLB.com
  • Last Word On Baseball
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Climbing Tals Hill
  • The Crawfish Boxes

Basketball

  • NBA.com
  • Amico Hoops
  • Hoops Hype
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Last Word On Pro Basketball
  • The Dream Shake
  • Real GM
  • Pro Basketball Talk
  • Space City Scoop

Football

  • Houston Texans
  • Battle Red Blog
  • Last Word On Pro Football
  • NFL Trade Rumors
  • Our Turf Football
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Football Talk
  • Texans Wire
  • Toro Times

Soccer

  • Dynamo Theory
  • Last Word on Soccer - Dash
  • Last Word on Soccer - Dynamo
  • MLS Multiplex

College

  • Busting Brackets
  • College Football News
  • College Sports Madness
  • Forgotten 5
  • Good Bull Hunting
  • Gig Em Gazzette
  • Last Word On College Football - Texas A&M
  • Saturday Blitz
  • Zags Blog

Recent Posts

  • Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh: All-Star closer Andrés Muñoz was tipping pitches against Yankees
  • Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo loses no-hit bid in 8th inning at Yankee Stadium
  • Some Catcher Thoughts
  • Jacob deGrom is vintage again, now an All-Star ace in Texas after several injury-filled seasons
  • Astros Prospect Report: July 9th

Recent Comments

    Archives

    • July 2025
    • June 2025
    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • February 2025
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • August 2024
    • July 2024
    • June 2024
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • March 2024
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • October 2023
    • September 2023
    • August 2023
    • July 2023

    Categories

    • Astros
    • Dash
    • Dynamo
    • Rice
    • Rockets
    • Texans
    • Texas A&M
    • Uncategorized
    • University of Houston

    Meta

    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org

    Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in