Largely Ignored the Past Few Seasons, Special Teams is Now a Weapon for Indiana
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J-Shun Harris (left), Griffin Oakes (middle) and Haydon Whitehead (right) have given Indiana a boost on special teams. Original Images: Sarah Miller HoosierHuddle.com
Written By Evan McShane (@veryreasonable)
Spearheaded by three outstanding individual performances, Indiana’s special teams set the tone last Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia. Both the punt and punt return unit got some national attention after Haydon Whitehead was added to the watch list for the coveted Ray Guy Award, and J-Shun Harris was nominated for the 2017 Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award. Harris was also named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week after racking up over one-hundred return yards and a touchdown in IU’s win against the Hoos. Griffin Oakes joined in on the fun by making a pivotal 51-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. He followed up that act with a 48-yarder in the third quarter. Between Oakes’ four PATs, two field goals, and Harris’ touchdown; Indiana’s special teams combined for 16 of the Hoosiers 34 points. Oakes’ field goal provided a major momentum swing in Indiana’s favor heading into halftime. To top it off, Harris’ punt return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter all but sealed the victory.
Tom Allen’s offseason emphasis on special teams is proving to be beneficial. Indiana simply dominated that phase of the game from all sides. Special teams seemed to have taken a nosedive in recent years, so it became part of Allen’s mission to resurrect that side of the ball. When Hoosier Huddle interviewed Allen, he spoke at length about how much he valued special teams. Him and his staff took it upon themselves to invest a great amount of time selling the players on the importance of special teams play. It’s obvious the players have bought in. Allen vowed to have increased the level of focus and attention to detail on special teams, and it was on full display last week. Indiana’s kick and punt units showed they can not only get the job done, but potentially be used as a weapon moving forward.
Indiana got off to a slow start on Saturday after a scoreless first quarter, but the defense came out ready to play. They can thank Australian punter Haydon Whitehead for flipping field position multiple times during the game. His first punt was downed at the six-yard line, and helped the defense force a three-and-out. Whitehead’s second punt was fair caught at the 12-yard line. Haydon averaged just over 43 yards per punt, and four of his seven punts pinned Virginia inside their own 20-yard line. Just two of his punts were returned, and for a total of only 20 yards. Whitehead works extremely hard on perfecting his craft, and what he’s been able to do in his first two American football games is very impressive. Though he technically lacks game experience, he played under Australian rules in his native country for 15 years and can punt with both feet. Allen and his staff look wise to have recruited Whitehead from the Pro Kick Australia program as part of their forge to become better on special teams.
The punt game was strong, but the punt return game may have been stronger. J-Shun Harris’ inspirational return to the gridiron continued with an epic performance last week. His fourth quarter touchdown was obviously key to Indiana’s win, but it was also a special moment for Harris. His recovery from back-to-back offseason ACL tears is a remarkable story. Coming back from two devastating knee injuries as a student athlete must be overwhelmingly taxing. Simply put, J-Shun Harris embodies resiliency. He deserves to have all the success in the world. For now, he’s seizing every opportunity he can get on game day. Harris averaged nearly 22 yards on five punt returns. He consistently put IU in great field position, while playing a mistake-free game. His combination of straight-line speed and lateral quickness is the ideal combination you want in a punt returner. It is fascinating getting to see his skill set materialize on Saturdays. The in-state product is making highlight-reel plays and contributing to IU wins.
Lastly, Griffin Oakes appears to have had his confidence completely restored. Last season, Oakes wasn’t himself, making just 16-of-26 field goals. This year, he looks more like the guy who won the Big Ten’s Bakken-Andersen Kicker of the Year Award in 2015 as a sophomore. Oakes starting off his senior season strong after making his first two field goal attempts. Regarding his 51-yard field goal, Oakes said, “I told them I felt more nervous on the two PATs to start the game than I was for that.” Oakes reiterated his lack of nerves and echoed his coaching staff’s dedication to special teams. He said, “I'll be honest, I told the guys, the snap and hold guys, that I felt very calm. We’ve planned for this, we've trained for it, we put in the hours; it's something we've done over and over again during camp [and] the off-season.” Griffin knew it was good as he was approaching the ball. “When I was taking my steps, I knew I had it,” he described the 51-yarder, “I promise you when I say that.” Tom Allen doesn’t seem to have any doubt in Griffin Oakes’ abilities, and maybe that’s all Oakes needed. Even Oakes’ kickoff game was on point. Virginia averaged 12 yards on three kickoff returns, with a long of just 18 yards.
Oakes explained how he and his teammates felt after his first half field goal, “It was a chance for all of us to smile and be happy; just take it all in, all the effort we put in throughout the offseason.” Indiana fans called for a special teams makeover, and now they’re looking at it. Tom Allen is having the same impact on special teams this season that he had on the defense last season. Hopefully they can sustain this high level of play throughout the year and into conference play. So far, they haven’t given anyone a reason to believe they can’t. It’s about attitude. It’s about belief. It’s about playing for each other. Allen, by focusing on all the little things, is seeing the effort his players gave in the offseason pay dividends in games.