All-American Returners Headline Special Teams Units
August 24, 2023 | Football
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State may have one of the most dangerous return combinations in the country.
Kick returner Lideatrick Griffin and punt returner Zavion Thomas earned All-American and Freshman All-American honors last season and are poised to have another big year for the Bulldogs' special teams units this fall.
"They're both aggressive and want the ball in their hands," said special teams coordinator Eric Mele.
Griffin led the nation by averaging 32.3 yards per kickoff return last year, which was also the second-highest mark in Southeastern Conference history. He also ripped off a season-best 92-yard touchdown return in MSU's overtime win against Auburn.
The senior speedster has accumulated 1,333 kickoff return yards and two touchdowns during his career and his 33.3-yard return average ranks second all-time in the SEC.
Thomas topped all freshmen and finished fifth overall in the nation last season with a 13.5-yard average on punt returns. Of his 15 returns in 2022, Thomas took five of those for 20 or more yards including a season-long 63-yarder for a touchdown against eventual national champion Georgia.
"I already had a couple of explosive returns versus other teams," Thomas said. "But I knew it was coming, I just didn't know when. And scoring like that late in the season gave me a lot of confidence."
Mele, who enters his fourth season with the Bulldogs and second guiding special teams, trusts Griffin and Thomas to make solid reads and believes in the blocking both units can provide to spring them for more big returns this year.
"We know we have to block better up front for those guys and then those guys have to make some really good decisions," Mele said. "Some of those plays, they make them on their own. Maybe there's a cut here or a cut there or a missed tackle, but you really just get out of their way and let them be decisive."
Sophomore Simeon Price and junior college transfer Jacoby Bellazar are also returning kickoffs as well. Price had six returns for 99 yards a season ago while Bellazar averaged 28.9 yards per return as a sophomore at Southwest Mississippi Community College last fall.
Freshman Creed Whittemore and senior Jaden Walley are also fielding punts as well for the Bulldogs. Walley served as State's primary punt returner two years ago and as a backup in 2020. He has returned 18 punts for 151 yards (8.4-yard average) during his career.
Mississippi State will be breaking in brand new kickers and punters this season. The Bulldogs added a pair of proven kicking prodigies from the transfer portal that have both been on campus since January in kicker Nick Barr-Mira (UCLA) and punter Andrew Osteen (UCF).
Barr-Mira is 35 of 49 on field goal attempts (.714) over the past three seasons, including career-long 49-yarder in 2022. The redshirt senior is also 143 of 146 on career extra points and was perfect last fall, hitting all 61 PAT's.
"He's been solid," Mele said. "He's a veteran guy as well so you know what you're going to get with him."
Barr-Mira also served as the Bruins' punter last year, averaging 42.8 yards per punt, pinning eight inside the red zone and saw six travel over 50 yards.
Also competing for placekicking duties are William & Mary transfer Ethan Chang, redshirt freshman Marlon Hauck and true freshman Kyle Ferrie.
Chang was a second team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection as a redshirt sophomore last season. He has converted 29 of 41 career field goals - including a 57-yarder - and caught a 17-yard touchdown pass on a fake field goal last fall.
Hauck redshirted for the Bulldogs last season after transferring in from Southern Illinois while Ferrie comes in after leading after leading Harding Academy to three Class 3A state championships in Arkansas.
"It's an open competition," said head coach Zach Arnett. "Obviously, Nick Barr-Mira was here in the spring and we got a couple of other kickers in that are new and kicking it really good. The field goal kicking and kickoff competition will come down to game week before those decisions are made."
Osteen arrives in Starkville with 50 career games of punting experience to his credit. Across his four seasons on the field for UCF, the 6-foot-1, 200-pounder has punted 168 times for a 42.2-yard average.
He booted a career-best 71-yard punt as a redshirt freshman in 2019 and also connected with a 67-yarder that same season.
"Andrew has a lot of experience coming from UCF," Mele said. "He's also been an outstanding holder for us throughout fall camp as well."
Bulldog coaches also went Down Under to sign Keelan Crimmins to battle for the punting job. The 22-year-old freshman from Melbourne, Australia is transitioning to American football after being accustomed to playing under the rules of his home country.
"He played Australian rules football for about three years in some leagues there," Mele said. "We're just getting him used to the American game and the things we're looking for from our scheme and what we're trying to do."
Mele has been pleased with how his kickers and punters have performed and pushed one another throughout preseason camp.
"There's a lot more depth and a lot more competition," Mele said. "If you don't make your kick or execute, there's somebody that's ready to earn that rep. It's been good to have that in camp."
Mele has also been busy identifying some of State's younger talent to help his special teams units this year. He hopes freshmen Isaac Smith, Zakari Tillman and Avery Sledge can have a similar impact to what Marcus Banks, Jordan Morant and DeCarlos Nicholson did a season ago.
"Their fastest way on the field is special teams but that's also my job to get those guys ready for their respective side of the ball and using some of those skills to transition," Mele said. "You want them to be battletested."
Redshirt junior Hayes Hammond is back handling the long snapping duties for the Bulldogs. Hammond served as the starting snapper on punts in 2021 and added field goal and extra-point duties to his list last season.
Former East Central Community College snapper Manuel Hillman returns to MSU's roster after redshirting last year and is accompanied by true freshman Luke Beard.
