Wait so everybody's obsessing over tonight's NFL Draft and who's going #1 overall and nobody's talking about what actually wins games at the FCS level? Special teams. LeMoyne-Owen Magicians ranked dead last in the SIAC in punt return average last season and it cost them at least two games they should have won. Field position matters more than people want to admit.
The Magicians gave up 14.2 yards per punt return last season which is basically giving away a first down every time you kick it away. Meanwhile the offense was starting drives inside their own 20 constantly. That's not a recipe for winning anything. You can have all the fancy offensive schemes in the world but if your special teams unit is giving opponents 10-15 free yards per possession the math just doesn't work.
Spring practice needs to be about fixing this. The new special teams coordinator has to install a coverage unit that actually gets off blocks and makes tackles. Net punting average tells the real story and LeMoyne-Owen was sitting at 32 yards which is basically giving the other team a short field every single time. That's losing football. Fix the return game and coverage units and suddenly those close SIAC losses flip.