Secrets of Central Florida’s Elite Kickoff Units

UCF had the best combined kickoff return and coverage statistics in the FBS.

Central Florida’s elite kickoff units aren’t built exclusively with elite athletes. In fact, when building the coverage and return units, physical traits like speed, strength and size often take a backseat to effort, attitude and toughness. The formula works.

    Special teams coordinator Tim Salem’s kickoff return team finished No. 1 in the nation, averaging 27.78 yards per return with two touchdowns.

    The Knights were nearly as good on kickoff coverage. They finished third in return defense, allowing a measly 17.48 yards. Those numbers are even more impressive when you consider UCF’s coverage unit benefited from only four touchbacks. No other top-5 kickoff coverage unit had to defend more than 52 returns. The Knights didn’t allow a TD in 77 returns and held Georgia star returner Brandon Boykin to just 17 yards on three returns in a 10-6 Liberty Bowl win.

    “We had to make a lot more tackles than some other teams,” lamented Salem with a chuckle and a sigh.

    Fresh off the Knights’ upset of Georgia, Salem opened up his playbook with American Football Monthly and shared the secrets to his kickoff units’ outstanding success.

Personnel:
Building UCF’s Kickoff Teams

    There are a handful of starters on Central Florida’s kickoff teams.

    “We’re going to make use of starters. They are going to contribute to special teams, but we don’t want the starter to be on more than two of the four units,” Salem explained. “These days, I don’t think teams have the luxury of using all back-ups on special teams. You still want your good players contributing; yet, we don’t want to be wearing them out so they become tired or fatigued.”

    Salem’s kickoff units are comprised of team members who are identified through preseason drills and then hand-picked.

    For the kickoff coverage unit, Salem obviously looks for “runners and hitters,” but says he’s frequently surprised by the players who end up being the best fit for the unit.

    “It’s always amazing to me, how a guy that runs 4.8 can beat a guy down the field who runs 4.6.” said Salem, who stresses the importance of looking at a player’s intangibles in addition to his athleticism when building your special teams units. “You have to find guys that want to run down there to make a hit, sacrifice and throw their body around to make a big collision after a 40-yard sprint. That’s not an easy thing to do.”

5 Kickoff Coverage Keys

    Salem strongly believes that his coverage unit’s mindset is the most important factor in its success and emphasizes it on a sheet that each member of the unit receives. At the top of the one-page document, it reads, “This unit must develop these keys.”

1. Attitude –
“Group is on a Mission.”

    The goal of the group’s mission is to set the tone for the defense by making a tackle inside the 20. A tackle inside the 10-yard line is considered a game-breaker, inside the 15 superior, and inside the 20 excellent.

2. Effort –
“I will lead the team down the field.”

    Salem wants his players to be at full speed when the ball is kicked and work to stay in their four-yard coverage lanes. 

    Players line up 10 yards behind the ball and start when the kicker crosses the 25-yard line. “When practicing this technique, you must not be either offsides or not close enough to the 30,” Salem notes in his coverage principals. “This takes practice. The players all are running full speed. If a player is offsides, or if a player is not at the 30 when the ball is kicked, he adjusts his speed after his takeoff. By utilizing this full-speed start, a player can shave as much as 5/10 of a second off of his 40 time, thus giving himself a head start. This is why we call it a “flying 40.”

    Salem says it is important to use the 30 yard line (where the ball is kicked) to evaluate whether or not all 11 members are at full speed, not just beginning to run.

    To give the players’ a gauge of how wide their coverage zones are, Salem will run drills horizontally across the field, using the yard lines as guides.

3. Toughness –
“Nasty and physical.”

    Players must attack and aggressively run through blockers, before “violently disengaging to side of the returner.”

4. Coverage –
“Be ready to sell out for the team.”

    When the Knights enter the 10-yard ‘Avoid/Attack Zone’ between the opponent’s 30 and 20-yard line, the battle begins. Players must close the distance between themselves and the blockers and deliver an aggressive blow in the 2 Gap Area.

5. Desire –
“No one will stop me from making the play.”
    Salem looks for relentlessness from his coverage team and the willingness of each player to sacrifice themselves for the better of the unit. The Knights’ desire is quantified by engaging two blockers in the wedge, trading one player for two.

5 Kickoff Return Principals

    Salem’s objectives for his kickoff return team are to set the tempo of the game by creating good field position and feature a hard-hitting, intimidating style.

The Diagram above details “56 Right”, a UCF kickoff return play with player responsibilities.

1. Know the rules

    Salem constantly reminds the members of his return unit about the rules, even providing the deep backs with an entire tips sheet with 20 coaching points. Among the rules he addresses are:

•  You must down a ball that is muffed in the field of play and rolls into the end zone.

•  You must down a ball that is muffed in the end zone and recovered in the end zone.

•  You must return a ball that is muffed in the end zone and rolls into the field of play.

•  A ball caught in the field of play but brought back or fumbled into the end zone must be run out.

•  You may fair catch a kickoff by using a legal fair catch signal.

2. Ball Security

    Salem stresses to his returners to practice fundamentals when handling the ball. He instructs them to look the ball into their hands and tuck it away tight. He wants his ball carriers to put pressure on the rear of the ball with their elbow and arm and run with it in a secure position that allows the ball to swing back and forth in a natural rhythm, while still keeping the ball close to their body and protecting it with both hands.

3. Watch for alerts

      The Knights are instructed to be on the lookout for signs of where the kick may be headed. It starts with tee alignment. “Did the guy put the ball on the hash or did he put it four yards inside the hash in the middle of the field?” Salem said as an example. “Also check out player spacing. Some teams flip sides and kick toward one of their top coverage men. One play, No. 28, may be on the left; the next time he’s on the right. So that would be a good indication.”

    UCF’s coverage team also is told to keep their eyes on the kicker until the ball is kicked and to “think onside,” in an effort to eliminate being caught off guard. 

4. Avoid blocks in the backs

    Penalties on kick returns are killers and difficult to avoid. Salem preaches to his players to work to get in position before the block so they are not caught out of position and forced to push a defender in the back.

    “You can’t really block them until you see the whites of their eyes,” Salem explained. “That’s a big coaching point we use. If you’re not seeing the whites of their eyes, then obviously you’re hitting them from behind.”

5. Fundamentals of a good return

    Ideally, Salem wants his returners to be fielding the kick on the fly and going full-speed forward. He recommends downing any kickoff that goes two or more yards in the end zone and communicating effectively with your fellow returners.

Film Study

    Effort, or a lack thereof, is glaringly evident on film, especially on special teams. It’s easy to spot in your opponents and in your own team.

    At UCF, each special teams play is analyzed and graded in front of all the members of the unit.

    “That’s what is real noticeable – when someone is not giving great effort he stands out,” said UCF coach George O’Leary. “That is what I always talk to the coaches and players about – when one guy is not doing what he is supposed to be doing. You almost can pick him right out as a layman, not even knowing what he is supposed to do. You can pick out who the guy is that is not giving great effort. So that is a good sign. We always show the tapes so everybody can see what their partners are doing as far as what their teammates are doing. I think that has helped in making sure there is a little peer pressure, keeping everybody on top of it.”

    Salem uses a similar process when scouting opponents’ return and coverage units.

    “You’re going to look for a weak link,” he explained, “maybe a guy that is not as tough, not as physical, doesn’t run down the field or doesn’t take on a block very well. He’s the softest spot on the return.”

    To take advantage of the opponents’ weak link, Salem brings a diversified game-plan into each game.

    “As a general philosophy, we like to make sure that every game-plan that we have contains a return to the right, a return to the middle and a return to the left,” he said. “At least, that way if you go into a game and there is something that they have changed, you have a way to attack them no matter the change.”

    Salem also breaks down the opposing kicker during film study and makes sure his returners are familiar with where the kicker puts the ball, his average distance and hang time.

Tim Salem and his UCF kickoff and return teams had a significant impact on the team’s 11-3 record and first-ever top 25 season-ending national ranking. Coaches everywhere can learn from his attention to detail and tips to maximize coverage and produce big returns.