The Virginia football team wrapped up spring practice with the annual Spring Game on Saturday. The Orange offense defeated the Blue defense, 20-7. There’s more to discuss beyond the result, though. Here’s the third and final article in a short list series.

1. Special teams didn’t do much in the Spring Game, but punting and place kicking are miles apart.

UVa fans didn’t get to see much in the way of special teams at the Spring Game. No kickoffs or returns. No punt returns. The Hoos punted – to fair catches – and attempted field goals. That was it for special teams.

What little observation time was available, the two units in action are far apart on the consistency scale. The punting situation had some booming shots and some off-kilter kicks too. Nicholas Conte, the front-runner for the job, hit four punts for an average of 40.5 yards. Conte’s longest kick covered 60 yards, while the other three averaged 34.0 yards. James Coleman’s three punts averaged 42.7 yards with two touchbacks on the three kicks.

In replacing Alec Vozenilek’s role this season, UVa likely won’t need to worry about the best punts – Conte can send some rockets into the air, for example. The gap from the best kicks to the worst kicks, however, is concerning. With a team whose season could swing on close games again, that’s not a comforting thought.

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