Special Teams Need the Work

UCLA special teams had their day Sunday, an entire practice devoted to kicks, punts and returns.

Most of this the Bruins do well. Chris Griffith has made 75% of his field-goal attempts the last two seasons. Punter Nate Fikse averaged 43.3 yards last season and Tab Perry set records for kick returns and yardage.

But there is room for improvement.

Bruin punt returns resembled the Etch-A-Sketch drawings of a 4-year-old in Saturday’s scrimmage. On one return, Craig Bragg dashed from sideline to sideline, back to the middle of the field, then back to the sideline, picking up all of four yards in the process.

“They can’t do that,” Coach Bob Toledo said. “They’ve got to get up the field.”

And opposing punt returns must be stopped. UCLA gave up a whopping 11.3 yards per return last season.

Rather than having one special teams coach, a separate assistant is responsible for each unit. That doesn’t mean there is any less emphasis on the kicking game. Toledo said more starters will play on special teams than in previous seasons.

Fikse, a junior from Anaheim, is one of the most valuable Bruins. Last year, 19 of his punts traveled at least 50 yards and 17 were downed inside the 20.

The leg of backup Chris Kluwe, a redshirt freshman who kicked a 60-yard field goal for Los Alamitos High in a playoff game, is just as strong.

They each boomed punts of more than 75 yards during the scrimmage, and the crowd of 1,500 responded with the oohs and ahs heard during Fourth of July fireworks.

“I’m feeling very confident,” Fikse said. “I think I’m still getting better all the time.”

Griffith, a junior from Gardnerville, Nev., came to UCLA as a walk-on but has been on scholarship since after the 1999 season, when he made 13 of 18 field-goal attempts. He made 11 of 14 last season, among them all eight from inside 40 yards.

His biggest challenge is adjusting to his third holder in three seasons. Backup quarterback Scott McEwan and reserve defensive back Garrett Lepisto are alternating.

Drew Bennett held last season, Joey Strycula in 1999.

“They are all good, it’s just a matter of getting timing down,” Griffith said.

Providing he learns to run north-south, Bragg will get opportunities to return punts and kicks. Toledo loves his speed.

“He’s a playmaker,” Toledo said. “He can do some special things with the ball in his hands.”

Bragg, a redshirt freshman, was named outstanding offensive player on the scout team last season.