Well if you’re talking field position, then special teams becomes a key factor. The bad news for Virginia is that Texas Tech is solid in the return and coverage categories. In the punting game in particular, the more involved piece of field position, the Raiders feature excellent coverage and a dangerous return unit.

We’ll focus on the rankings and yardage more below, but it’s the punt returners themselves that represent the strategy-busting, game-breaking threat. Eric Morris logged the most attempts during the season with 20; he averaged 9.6 yards per return. Morris, a junior that is the team’s third-leading receiver with 690 yards, has a long return of 34 yards, meaning he can flip field position in a heartbeat if the coverage is poor.

Morris’ return counterpart is Danny Amendola, a senior who is the team’s second-leading receiver. What’s the big deal about Amendola? Well, he’s only the third Red Raider to crack the 1,000-yard barrier in punt return yardage for starters. He’s experienced as the NCAA’s active leader in punt return attempts (114). And he’s talented. On the season, Amendola has averaged 16.7 yards per return, which ranks seventh in the nation.

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