ATHENS — Georgia is one of two SEC teams that does not have a dedicated special-teams coordinator.
According to the 2011 SEC football media guide, Mississippi State is the only other school that does not delegate special teams as a whole to one of its nine assistant coaches. There, coach Dan Mullen serves as special-teams coach. It’s the model Urban Meyer employed at Florida when Mullen worked for him as offensive coordinator.
In Georgia’s case, coach Mark Richt has always split the duties among his assistant coaches. That is the way Bobby Bowden did it at Florida State when Richt worked for him from 1990-2000.
“It’s kind of what I was used to,” Richt said this week.
Traditionally, Georgia has been one of the nation’s best performers when it comes to special-teams play. However, it has been an area of disappointment this season. The Bulldogs rank last in the SEC in field-goal percentage, kickoff coverage, net punting and opponents punt returns and are seventh in punt returns and eighth in kickoff returns.
Richt said he considered hiring someone to oversee special teams full time two years ago.
“I looked at it,” he said. “But what happens is, if you have a guy and all he does is special teams, all of the sudden you’re robbing that position from either the offense or the defense. Our offense staff was already intact. We had coach [Todd] Grantham and coach [Rodney] Garner and coach [Scott] Lakatos [on defense], so if I had gone with a special-teams coach, they would have been shorthanded.”
Here’s how Georgia divides the special-teams responsibilities: punt team, tight ends coach John Lilly; punt return, running backs coach Bryan McClendon; kickoff team, inside linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti; kickoff return, receivers coach Tony Ball; PAT/FG, offensive line coach Will Friend; PAT/FG block, defensive line coach Garner.
Only Lakatos doesn’t have a special-teams assignment among the assistants. Coordinators Mike Bobo and Grantham are not involved.
Richt estimated that the Bulldogs spend about 5 1/2 hours per week practicing and meeting about special teams. That represents about 27.5 percent of NCAA weekly limit of 20 hours of practice.
The American Football Coaches Association has long contended that teams, which have 85 scholarship players each, 105 players total, are under-staffed with on-field coaches and has lobbied for more.
“I’d be all for it,” Richt said, “but I doubt that will happen anytime soon.”
Aggies good on offense
Through eight games, New Mexico State has scored more points (227) than it did in coach DeWayne Walker’s first two seasons. The Aggies have averaged 418.5 yards offense per game, nearly 300 of that passing. The difference has been first-year offensive coordinator Doug Martin, formerly coach at Kent State.
“They got 466 on Nevada, and they’ve had over 460 yards and averaged over 30 points in the last four games,” Grantham said. “They’ve got athletes, they’ve got guys that can move, they know how to throw the ball, they have good passing concepts. So we’re going to have to be ready to play.”
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