TicketsWEST HARRISON, Ind. – Three weeks before the Aug. 31 season opener against Austin Peay, the University of Cincinnati has yet to settle on a kick returner and a punt returner, but one thing is almost certain: Mike Boone won't be returning kicks this year.
Boone returned 21 kickoffs last year and ranked fourth in the American Athletic Conference with a 24.1-yard average, including a long return of 60 yards vs. Temple. But under first-year head coach Luke Fickell, Boone is the featured running back and is expected to be one of the Bearcats' primary threats on offense, which means he's considered too valuable to risk injury on kickoff returns.
But Fickell did not rule out the possibility that Boone will return punts, which he considers "not nearly as violent" as returning kickoffs.
"He's going to be a featured guy on offense, so we've got to be smart about what we do," Fickell said Wednesday at the Higher Ground Retreat Center. "It all comes down to the number of touches we want him to have with the ball. There's a bunch of guys (competing to return kickoffs) right now - Kahlil Lewis, Devin Gray, and there's some young guys that if they've got the courage to catch the ball, put it away and protect it, they could be real good for us."
Boone said he'll miss returning kickoffs.
"I really took pride in the kickoff return," he said. "I loved being back there. I loved getting the opportunity to score points early without even letting the offense get on the field. Just to see people running down at you and then you just watch the kickoff return, watching the blocking scheme set up and when the hole's there you get to hit it. That's the best part of it."
The senior from Macclenny, Fla., hasn't returned punts since he was in high school, but he said he's eager to embrace the assignment if he's asked to do it.
"I've been getting the hang of it," he said. "I've taken a bunch of reps out here. Anytime we do any punt drill, I've been back there."
That doesn't necessarily mean he'll be the main punt returner, though. Lewis and Gray, along with several others, have also been part of the mix.
Lewis, who caught 48 passes for a 12.6-yard average last year, also figures to be a big part of UC's offense, but he has no problem returning either punts or kickoffs or both. He returned six kickoffs last year for a 16.3-yard average.
"We're all competing right now," Lewis said. "I'm all over the place on special teams, so I don't know if I'm gonna be that guy because I'm gonna have a heavy load on offense. But I'm not complaining about that."
Special teams play is one of several areas where the Bearcats have plenty of room for improvement. Last year, they ranked eighth in the American in kickoff returns and punt returns. They averaged 6.1 yards per punt return and 19.9 per kickoff return.
The Bearcats have not returned a kickoff for a touchdown since Ralph Abernathy IV returned one 90 yards against Vanderbilt in the Liberty Bowl on Dec . 31, 2011. They haven't returned a punt for a touchdown since Mardy Gilyard returned one 53 yards against Southeast Missouri State on Sept. 12, 2009.
More importantly, a quality return operation provides favorable field position so the offense doesn't have to drive 70 to 80 yards to score every time it has the ball.
"Field position is an incredible part of what we do," Fickell said. "Anytime you've got a threat to go the distance, people have to play you a little bit different. We're not gonna say, hey, we're just gonna find somebody back there who can secure the ball and get it to the 22-yard line and fall down.
"But it's not just about that guy. It's about those guys that are blocking. I think we've stressed that enough in our special teams meetings to say, 'Hey, if I'm that guy catching the ball back there, I've got to be able to look up front and know that I can count on every one of those guys. When I put my foot on the ground and get vertical, I know they're fighting for me and that they're gonna do everything they can to get body on body and give me an opportunity and not just let somebody on free."
Even though it's been a while since he's returned a punt, Boone said he remembers how challenging it can be simply to catch the ball.
"Some of those balls you'll feel like you're up under it and the last second it'll just curve on you," Boone said. "That's the hardest part. When they punt it up in the sun you completely lose track of the ball so you've just got to try to locate it and square it up. Then you've got to make a move quick. You can't be nervous at all back there. You've got a lot of people running down at you wile you're staring at the ball. You've got to be a man back there."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January, 2015.
Boone returned 21 kickoffs last year and ranked fourth in the American Athletic Conference with a 24.1-yard average, including a long return of 60 yards vs. Temple. But under first-year head coach Luke Fickell, Boone is the featured running back and is expected to be one of the Bearcats' primary threats on offense, which means he's considered too valuable to risk injury on kickoff returns.
But Fickell did not rule out the possibility that Boone will return punts, which he considers "not nearly as violent" as returning kickoffs.
"He's going to be a featured guy on offense, so we've got to be smart about what we do," Fickell said Wednesday at the Higher Ground Retreat Center. "It all comes down to the number of touches we want him to have with the ball. There's a bunch of guys (competing to return kickoffs) right now - Kahlil Lewis, Devin Gray, and there's some young guys that if they've got the courage to catch the ball, put it away and protect it, they could be real good for us."
Boone said he'll miss returning kickoffs.
"I really took pride in the kickoff return," he said. "I loved being back there. I loved getting the opportunity to score points early without even letting the offense get on the field. Just to see people running down at you and then you just watch the kickoff return, watching the blocking scheme set up and when the hole's there you get to hit it. That's the best part of it."
The senior from Macclenny, Fla., hasn't returned punts since he was in high school, but he said he's eager to embrace the assignment if he's asked to do it.
"I've been getting the hang of it," he said. "I've taken a bunch of reps out here. Anytime we do any punt drill, I've been back there."
That doesn't necessarily mean he'll be the main punt returner, though. Lewis and Gray, along with several others, have also been part of the mix.
Lewis, who caught 48 passes for a 12.6-yard average last year, also figures to be a big part of UC's offense, but he has no problem returning either punts or kickoffs or both. He returned six kickoffs last year for a 16.3-yard average.
"We're all competing right now," Lewis said. "I'm all over the place on special teams, so I don't know if I'm gonna be that guy because I'm gonna have a heavy load on offense. But I'm not complaining about that."
Special teams play is one of several areas where the Bearcats have plenty of room for improvement. Last year, they ranked eighth in the American in kickoff returns and punt returns. They averaged 6.1 yards per punt return and 19.9 per kickoff return.
The Bearcats have not returned a kickoff for a touchdown since Ralph Abernathy IV returned one 90 yards against Vanderbilt in the Liberty Bowl on Dec . 31, 2011. They haven't returned a punt for a touchdown since Mardy Gilyard returned one 53 yards against Southeast Missouri State on Sept. 12, 2009.
More importantly, a quality return operation provides favorable field position so the offense doesn't have to drive 70 to 80 yards to score every time it has the ball.
"Field position is an incredible part of what we do," Fickell said. "Anytime you've got a threat to go the distance, people have to play you a little bit different. We're not gonna say, hey, we're just gonna find somebody back there who can secure the ball and get it to the 22-yard line and fall down.
"But it's not just about that guy. It's about those guys that are blocking. I think we've stressed that enough in our special teams meetings to say, 'Hey, if I'm that guy catching the ball back there, I've got to be able to look up front and know that I can count on every one of those guys. When I put my foot on the ground and get vertical, I know they're fighting for me and that they're gonna do everything they can to get body on body and give me an opportunity and not just let somebody on free."
Even though it's been a while since he's returned a punt, Boone said he remembers how challenging it can be simply to catch the ball.
"Some of those balls you'll feel like you're up under it and the last second it'll just curve on you," Boone said. "That's the hardest part. When they punt it up in the sun you completely lose track of the ball so you've just got to try to locate it and square it up. Then you've got to make a move quick. You can't be nervous at all back there. You've got a lot of people running down at you wile you're staring at the ball. You've got to be a man back there."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January, 2015.