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Kyle Whittingham reveals likely Michigan special teams starters
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- Kyle Whittingham reveals likely Michigan special teams starters
ANN ARBOR, Mich. --New Michigan football head coach Kyle Whittingham was mum about the depth chart on Friday, noting that he holds similar opinions as former head coach Jim Harbaugh -- why let the opponent know who is going to be out there? But when it comes to special teams, he was willing to put some names in ink.
While special teams don't get as much attention as offense or defense, it's crucial and vitally important as a unit that can win or lose games. And when it comes to the kicking and punting of it all, Whittingham was willing to share who the starters will be in each come Week 1.
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"Yeah, (Trey) Butkowski is the kicker. He's the No. 1 guy. He's the guy you'll see on September 5th," Whittingham said. " Cam Brown , the punter that we brought in in the offseason, is going to be the punter as of right now. We've still got two weeks to go, but if we played today, that's who you'd see.
"Butkowski has settled in. He struggled for a little bit getting used to a snapper, his hold, and all that stuff. But I think now he's kicking his best right now. In fact, today was a really good day for him."
Butkowski was a transfer from Pitt and Brown from UNLV. Butkowski is battling with Stuart Blake while Brown appears to have an edge over incumbent punter Hudson Hollenbeck, who struggled mightily through much of the past year in the punt game.
But that's not the only area of special teams where Whittingham has a good idea of who will be out there.
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Earlier in the offseason, Whittingham shared that the most athletic type should be a returner on punt, and that he considers punt to be the premier aspect of special teams. On kick returns, he said he wanted more of a bigger body who can potentially bulldoze encroaching special teams defenders. And he has a name he expects to return on each, and another who could do both.
"Still in progress, but Andrew Marsh is a dynamic returner," Whittingham said. "Savion Hiter, kickoff is a possibility, and he will be back on that. Smith Snowden as well, punt and kickoff return. I think that we're just about settled in on that, but maybe not quite 100% yet."
Snowden didn't return punts for Utah last year, but he did return three kicks for 20 yards.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Kyle Whittingham reveals likely Michigan special teams starters
