They tried Faison back there and he averaged 14.0/per return don't know what Math you were in but I can assure you it's definitely greater than the 6.0 Hurleman averaged, as it should be with a shifty/speedy guy back there. You citing how many returns those teams had makes my case furthermore, even though you forgot Wake (My older bros Alma Mater) who I watched live 6 games this year and Morin was a stud on PRS, so your telling me that those five teams COMBINED returned 71 punts for damn near 1200yds (1186) 16.7avg and 6 TD's and that makes no difference on the game?? Tell that to the opposition
I'm talking 2 or 3 plays a season you say? Well I beg to differ but if that's the case I can think of 2 or 3 plays that change our season this past year and the one before as well, how about you? It can be statistically proven that ST's can be the most important part of the game and that's something i've experienced first hand and not just from a bird's eye view or as a spectator. If you've played before at least at a PREP level its something i'm sure your coaches told shared with you as well. Field position is KEY in a game of inches and being a fan of Notre Dame since the '80's it's something I was spoiled by with our embarrassment of riches (and SPEED) we had in our return game year after year especially with Holtz, Davie and Weis.
Now the what if game? What if I was playing for Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl instead of against them, what if Tim Brown turned his ankle against MSU, Rocket got turf toe against Michigan, Rossum pulled a hammy against Pitt or Purdue, Mike Miller wasn't eligible against Michigan....Would playing a walk-on to return punts benefit the team in any of those situations instead of having your gamebreaking speedsters on the field? You know the guys you recruited for that exact reason as opposed to just a guy to fair catch?? I'm sure you would rather all those moments be erased because boy if your worried about a Faison injury on a PR i'm sure you would've had a heart attack at the thought of Brown, Ismail, or Rossum getting an injury, while I would be more concerned about causing heart attacks for the opposition in the fear they have in kicking our guy the ball. Whether to give up field position kicking it away from them or give them a chance to touch their head on the goal post.
Lastly I can wager anything that MF surely doesn't tell Biagi that PRs is statistically insignificant, because Freeman has said over and over again how important it was as well as field position and that Special teams is the most important phase of the game. Do you watch his press conferences??
I'll do you one better, you care to wager on who will or certainly won't be returning punts in '25?
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