Reese Burkhardt, coverage units on point for Texas Tech football
Texas Tech football coaches signed Reese Burkhardt out of the NCAA transfer portal this past off-season, intent on improving their touchback rate on kickoffs.
The former Alabama-Birmingham kicker has done that, bettering the Red Raiders' touchback rate from 51.25 percent last season to 63.16 percent midway through this season.
Even so, the old college football player in Kenny Perry can still get satisfaction when Burkhardt doesn't boot kickoffs through the end zone.
"I like seeing our guys go down there and hit somebody too, honestly," the Red Raiders' associate head coach and special teams coordinator said Tuesday. "I don't like just running down there for no reason."
So far this season, the Tech coverage teams have done their jobs with no major breakdowns. Tech ranks No. 12 among 130 FBS teams in net punting, helped by the fact Austin McNamara is averaging 48.7 yards and only four of his 23 punts have been returned.
The Red Raiders rank No. 50 in kickoff coverage. They've not allowed a kickoff return of more than 28 yards, limiting opponents to an average return of 18.4 yards.
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"We've been doing a great job," said cornerback Bralyn Lux, a starter on kickoff coverage. "I've been on kickoff since my freshman year at Fresno, so I'm so used to it. We've been running to the ball, making good tackles, so we've been doing pretty good right now."
The job the Tech coverage units do could be magnified this week with the Red Raiders hosting Kansas State, renowned over the years for its game-changing special-teams play. K-State has beaten Tech seven games in a row and 11 of the past 12, in part because the Wildcats' scoring hasn't been limited to their offense.
In the past 16 Tech-KSU games, the Wildcats have scored six touchdowns on kickoff returns, six on interception returns, one with a blocked punt, and they've added three safeties. Three years ago, they set up a touchdown with a blocked punt against McNamara. Seth Porter's the one who blocked the punt, and he still plays for the Wildcats.
Phillip Brooks, a sixth-year senior receiver and return man, has four career punt-return touchdowns. With Brooks having doubled as Kansas State's primary return man this season on both punts and kickoffs, he'll be the focal point of Tech coverage units that frequently have bottled up opposing offenses.
Defensive edge player Terrell Tilmon leads Tech with four special-teams tackles. Senior defensive back Cameron Watts and a pair of true freshmen — linebacker Mike Dingle and free safety Chapman Lewis — have been credited with three apiece and Lux with two.
In the Red Raiders' 39-14 victory Saturday at Baylor, Tilmon and Dingle each cut down kickoff-return men at the Bears' 16-yard line and McNamara had three punts fair caught inside the 15. In Tech's 49-28 victory two weeks ago against Houston, Lewis tackled a Cougars kickoff-return man at the UH 13.
Tyler Owens led Tech in special-teams tackles last year with five, but the speedy safety suffered a strained quadriceps in week two against Oregon.
"When he got hurt, we just put Chap (Lewis) in there, because he plays behind him on defense," Perry said, "and Chap's a headhunter."
Tilmon transferred to Texas Tech after two seasons at Oregon. Perry called him "a great addition." He also singled out defensive back Chief Collins, inside receiver Nehemiah Martinez and Lux. Tilmon and Collins are walk-ons, and Martinez began his career as a walk-on.
The McGuire staff refers to the non-scholarship players as "The Dead Rabbits," a reference to an infamous New York City street gang that operated from the 1830s to the 1850s.
Perry said his modern-day sports version of "The Dead Rabbits" are vital to the coverage units.
"We've just got to keep going," he said. "We've lost a lot of guys (to injury), and that's the best part is a lot The Dead Rabbits step up and make some plays. Guys that we're not counting on on offense or defense, but we are counting on on special teams. If those guys can help us, it saves some of those starters from having to get on there."
Among the contributions missing from the coverage teams so far is a tide-swinging turnover.
The Red Raiders thought they had one of those, too, at a key moment late in the Sept. 23 Tech-West Virginia game. After Tech moved within 20-13 on a field goal with 4:45 left, Mountaineers return man Beanie Bishop lost the ball as he was tackled. Officials ruled Bishop was down before Watts pulled the ball loose. On review, the call stood.
"He had stripped it, and they didn't give it to us," Lux said. "We want to make plays on special teams. It's a tough one, but you can't get all the calls, I guess."
College football
Who: Texas Tech vs. Kansas State
When: 6 p.m. Saturday
Where: Jones AT&T Stadium
TV: Fox Sports 1
Records: Kansas State 3-2, 1-1 in the Big 12; Texas Tech 3-3, 2-1
Rankings: Both teams unranked
Line: Texas Tech by 1 1/2. Over-under: 56 1/2 points.
Last game: Oklahoma State 29, Kansas State 21; Texas Tech 39, Baylor 14
Last year: Kansas State 37, Texas Tech 28 in Manhattan, Kansas
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football coverage units, kicker Reese Burkhardt on point
