UC Davis Football Preview: Special Teams

Aug 23, 2024, 3:29 PM

UC Davis football special teams go through training camp in preparation of their season-opener next...

(UC Davis Athletics)

Sactown Sports

This story was originally published by UC Davis Athletics

UC Davis football can feel pretty good about its 2024 special teams unit, with a talented crop of returning and incoming Aggies the everyday competition is high creating a unit that enters the season paying attention to the details that have them ready to make game breaking plays all season long.

“Our expectations as a unit are to show up and execute everyday both in games and in practice,” said special teams coordinator Isaiah Jackson. “We have set about achieving those goals by creating an environment where iron sharpens iron.”

Highlighting the returners on special teams is preseason Big Sky All-Conference honoree junior kicker Hunter Ridley. Finishing second in the conference in field goal percentage, Ridley, who went 13-17 in field goal attempts, was an honorable mention All-Big Sky following the 2023 season.

He kicked at a percentage of .765 and his 1.18 field goals per game also ranked him second in the conference. In terms of scoring, the Aggie kicker averaged 6.5 points per game, the seventh-best in the conference.

Returning with Ridley are junior kickers Angelo Genetti and Cade Cox. And they are joined by incoming graduate transfer kickers Ben Banks-Altekruse and Rory Bell.

“The addition of Bell has pushed Ridley to even greater heights as the two of them battle it out through the spring,” said Jackson. “We like to say we have TLC, toughness, leadership and competition and with these two all camp they have been great examples of that TLC.”

Bell comes to UC Davis football from Cincinnati, where he spent 2023 as a kickoff specialist, kicking off 31 times for 1,828 yards with an average of 59.0 yards and 14 touchbacks. Banks-Altekruse comes to Davis after four years at Lehigh where he handled the punting duties for the Mountain Hawks.

In two seasons as the Lehigh starting punter, Banks-Altekruse racked up 4,582 yards, placing 46 punts inside the 20 and he smashed 16 punts over 50 yards.

“At punter we have had a battle between Cox and Banks-Altekruse,” said Jackson. “Both have shown that they deserve to play and I expect to see each of them getting a crack at it on Saturdays as we head into the season.”

Last season that Aggies finished 23rd in the nation in kickoff returns, averaging 21.95 yards per return. And in punt returns UC Davis sat just outside the top 50, ranking 58th in the country.

The Aggies also return their leading punt returner in senior wide receiver Trent Tompkins and their leading kickoff returner in junior wide receiver Samuel Gbatu Jr.

“We like to call our special team workouts “steams” because we want to improve one degree each day,” said Jackson. “It’s a one degree difference every day and by doing that we have created a difference that is helping us become a championship team.”

The 2024 UC Davis football special teams unit is poised to be a force for the Aggies this season, setting the tone in field possession, execution and energy, all while getting one degree better on each snap.

This story was originally published by UC Davis Athletics