The college football season is about to begin and many games will come down to a couple of points or a couple of yards. College football is so exciting because of the competition and equal playing field that has surfaced the last five to ten years. The 2016 class of kickers, punters, and snappers will not have an impact on college football this season but they surely will in the years to come. In the special teams world every good program starts with a good kicker, punter, and snapper. These three positions play a vital role in helping a coach establish a way to attack an opponent. The players listed below have proven themselves in many events and shown to be good enough for college coaches to invest scholarships into. Here is a summary of the top players in the 2016 class:
Logan Tyler (Florida State commit) - Tyler is one of the best athletes in the state Missouri. He is a running QB who has helped his team have much success the last couple of years. His FG refinement and consistency have improved to the point he can call on the big leg he posses. He has hit a 75 yard FG in practice and has the most potential to be great in the 2016 class. He is being recruited to compete as both a kicker and punter at Florida State. The strong lefty seems to do better when the pressure is on and at Florida State he should be in a lot of big games in the years to come.
Braden Mann (Texas A&M commit) - Mann hit more 5.0 second hang-times at Kohl’s National Scholarship Camp than anyone has in the last five years. He is a true threat to compete immediately in both kicking and punting. Texas A&M waited one day after the 2015 class national signing day to lock him up to be an Aggie. His hips are very explosive and his hang-time on punts are already at the college level. He is a solid FG kicker who has been kicking off the ground for years. The Aggies should be set at the specialists positions with him and Daniel LaCamara from the 2015 class both on campus in the years to come.
Dom Maggio (Wake Forest commit) - Maggio is another athlete who can legitimately compete at either kicking or punting once he steps foot on campus. His greatest strength is that he can punt with a consistency that is rarely seen at the high school level. Maggio is a slender athlete who should be able to grow into his frame in the years to come. Maggio has proved he likes pressure in many situations over the last two years. His dad is a former UCLA punter, so for Maggio he should be able to adapt to the college game as good as anyone.
Tucker McCann (Missouri commit) - McCann might be the most game ready kicker day one of college. His ability is hard to argue. He hit a 60 yard FG in a game last season and got an offer from Alabama and other top programs before deciding on Missouri. McCann’s ball striking is impressive as his “A” ball has very little movement and his rotation is excellent. McCann’s punting has improved greatly over the last nine months and he is a legitimate contender at Missouri to punt if needed by the Tigers.
Ricky Aguayo (Florida State commit) – Jimbo Fisher wanted to secure up the specialists at FSU for the years to come. He wanted to have top level competition at every position and that’s what he got. Aguayo’s brother, Roberto, is arguably the top kicker in college football currently and the top NFL prospect at the position. Ricky has seen everything his brother has accomplished and is very talented in his own right. The younger Aguayo gets great hang-times on his kick offs and great height on his field goals. He and Logan Tyler should give the Seminoles some great options in the years to come.
J.J. Molson (UCLA commit) - Molson is the first Canadian in recent memory to crack the top 10 list as kicker or punter. Molson is a very coordinated athlete who reminds people of current Saints kicker Dustin Hopkins. The ball explodes off Molson’s foot and he went head-to-head with Tyler and other top kickers at multiple Kohl’s events and showed he is in their class. Molson is still somewhat new to kicking and should continue to develop in the years to come. He is surely excited about the weather change from Canada to California.
Drue Chrisman (Ohio State commit) - Chrisman may be the best pure punter in the 2016 class. He was the most consistent punter at Kohl’s UC Challenge in January of 2015 and he received 8-10 offers in the months that followed before deciding on Ohio State. He has a great punting frame and his hands and drop are excellent. He does not kick field goals or kick off so his impact on a game may not be as much as the others listed ahead of him. He is ahead of his age when it comes to delivering college level punts with consistency.
Snapper Turner Bernard (undeclared) - Bernard currently has offers from Utah and Northwestern and there are other schools in the mix. Bernard is a good athlete who is an exceptional snapper. He clocked 41 mph snap at Kohl’s National Scholarship Camp. That is the same speed that Joe Cardona (5th round draft pick of the New England Patriots) recorded a year earlier at a Kohl’s event. Bernard has a gift in snapping and has worked for years on refining it. He is definitely game ready day one when he arrives on a college campus.
This past summer has seen many of the nation’s best kickers, punters, and snappers make a name for themselves. As is often the case with specialists keep an eye out to who draws interest during the fall season and even into the winter months before signing day. It should be an interesting ride for the 2016 class.
