Indiana University Athletics
IUFB Practice Report: Special Teams
8/22/2016 6:08:00 PM | Football
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Fall Camp on Social Video: Oakes | Godsil |
By: Nick Reith
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The special teams unit is often unnoticed in modern college football, but the group played a crucial role in Indiana's success last season. Much of that success came as a result of the performance of redshirt junior kicker Griffin Oakes and sophomore Dan Godsil, the team's long snapper.
Oakes returns for his junior year after leading the Hoosiers scoring tally in 2015. He converted 82.8 percent of his field goal attempts and accumulated 52 touchbacks. At season's end, Oakes was named the Big Ten's Bakken-Andersen Kicker of the Year, a first for IU football. Oakes is also the first Indiana kicker selected to the All-Big Ten first team since Austin Starr (2007).
So where does Oakes go from last season? The Greenwood, Ind., native says it's all about continued improvement when it comes to players in his position group.
"You want to elevate yourself from the level you were at last year, getting better every year," Oakes said. "It's all about working on accuracy with a little work on power, but you don't want to overpower anything. So my main thing is accuracy and fine-tuning the little things while not losing my form."
Godsil returns for his sophomore season after an outstanding 13-game stint as a true freshman in 2015. Godsil's efforts from last season resulted in 2016 preseason All-Big Ten recognition.
"I'm getting into full operation with the punt team and field goal team," Godsil said. "We're getting fluid right now, and everybody's doing their part to try and get better."
The key to Indiana's execution on special teams is rooted in their preparation. Despite the high volume of individual practice work, the kickers and snappers find ample time for live-game scenarios.
"Coach Wilson does a pretty good job with that," Godsil said. "He's always in the punter's ear, and he'll get a full rush going to make it feel like a game. Our coaching staff is good at hyping everything up on punts, which gives things a game-like feel."
