LeVar Woods named FootballScoop Special Teams Coordinator of the Year
LeVar Woods was recognized as the nation’s finest by FootballScoop. It was announced on Thursday that Woods is the 2023 FootballScoop Special Teams Coordinator of the Year.
Woods beat out fellow finalists Jeff Banks of Texas, Jacob Bronowski of Miami (Ohio) and Ricky Brumfield of Georgia Tech. Finalists were chosen based on nominations by coaches, athletic directors and athletic department personnel.
It’s the first time Woods has been honored as the FootballScoop Special Teams Coordinator of the Year. Woods, Iowa’s special teams coordinator since 2018, led a series of units that ranked toward the top of the national ranks.
Those that watched Iowa closely understand that the Hawkeyes simply don’t accomplish what they did in winning the Big Ten West and 10 regular season games without the contributions from Woods’ special teams units.
Led by the Ray Guy Award winner in punter Tory Taylor, Iowa ranked third in the FBS with 47.7 yards per punt with 6.7 punts per game.
For a third consecutive season, Taylor set the Iowa Hawkeyes‘ single-season punting yardage record. Taylor leads the NCAA with 86 punts for 4,119 yards. His 47.9 yards per punt average leads the Big Ten and ranks third nationally.
In 2023, 36 of Taylor’s punts have traversed 50 or more yards and six went for 60 or more yards. Thirty of Taylor’s punts have been downed inside opponents’ 20-yard line, 11 inside the 10-yard line and six inside the 5-yard line. Opponents average just 8.8 yards per punt return. Only 26 of Taylor’s 87 punts were returned.
Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes were terrific returning punts, averaging 10.52 yards per punt return. That was headlined by star defensive back Cooper DeJean’s game-winning, 70-yard punt return touchdown against Michigan State in the Hawkeyes’ 26-16 Week 5 win over the Spartans.
Iowa also excelled in the kick return game, ranking 21st nationally with 23.39 yards per kickoff return. Conversely, the Hawkeyes surrendered just 15.57 yards per kickoff return to rank No. 8 in the country in kickoff coverage.
Iowa was one of just 29 teams to block at least three kicks or punts over the course of the season. Kicker Drew Stevens connected on 18-of-26 field goal attempts and 19-of-20 PAT tries. The sophomore drilled a 52-yard field goal with 14 seconds remaining to effectively walk-off Northwestern from Wrigley Field in Iowa’s 10-7 win on Nov. 4.
Then, backup kicker Marshall Meeder walked off the Nebraska Cornhuskers with a 38-yard field goal in Iowa’s 13-10 win over the Huskers.
Iowa enters the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl versus Tennessee at 10-3 (7-2 Big Ten). Kickoff is set for noon CT on New Year’s Day.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnREF
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Hawkeyes Wire operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
