JONESBORO — Eli Drinkwitz wiped sweat from his face and answered with an edge to his voice.
A blocked punt, a muffed punt return, ineffective kicking overall and a quick-snap field-goal attempt pushed wide against Memphis on Saturday night made special teams play the subject of the day, and the Red Wolves’ first-year coordinator quickly bore responsibility.
“We just had a couple people that didn’t do their job,” Drinkwitz said. “It’s my fault as a coach for not having them prepared.”
If special teams is an area of special concern heading into Saturday’s 11 a.m. non-conference game against Nebraska in Lincoln, Neb., it’s not something that can’t be improved upon, Drinkwitz said.
“It’s all things that are correctable,” Drinkwitz said. “We’re going to get them corrected this week, focus on the fundamentals and get them cleaned up.”
The biggest problem for ASU has been field position, or rather a lack of it. ASU is averaging 574.5 yards and 33.5 points per game, but that’s because it has had more ground to cover than its opponents, who are averaging 449 yards and 42.5points per game.
The Red Wolves’ average starting position on 28 drives has been just past their 21, exasperated by a net punting average of 30.1 yards on 9 kicks, 4 turnovers and 1 blocked punt. ASU has started one drive, after an interception against Oregon, inside its opponent’s territory.
Opponents have had an average starting position at the 36 on 30 drives, which means Oregon and Memphis had to cover 492 fewer yards to get in position for field goals orscore touchdowns.
Sixth-year senior punter Neely Sullivent averaged 39.3 yards per kick last season while splitting time with Ryan Wilbourn, but he has cut back to a two-step approach.
The change in mechanics hasn’t produced an increase in yardage.
“I just need to keep working on the two-step right now,” Sullivent said. “I’ve been adjusting to it, and it’s getting better week to week.”
The Red Wolves defense has been defending a short field because of it. Against Oregon, the Ducks had an average starting field position of their own 39, while Memphisstarted around its own 33.
Drinkwitz said Sullivent will spend this week “going back to fundamentals” that include making sure that his drop is right and that his foot is underneath his hip so he can explode up through the ball.
“There’s no magic formula,” Drinkwitz said.
Then there was the punt block, when the Red Wolves allowed Memphis reserve receiver Tevin Jones to come unblocked and take the ball off Sullivent’s toe with 10:45 left in the first half, which resulted in a touchdown recovery.
“There were several people that didn’t execute their assignments the way they weresuppose to do and let an extra guy go free,” Drinkwitz said.
Opposing punters areaveraging a net of 42.9 yards per kick to keep ASU pinned in its end. Of his eight punts Saturday, Memphis’ Tom Hornsey put seven inside the ASU 15.
Hornsey, who was named national punter of the week, averaged a 4.5-second hang time that made coverage easier for the Tigers.
The hang time was part of the problem when J.D. McKissic had a punt deflect off his chest at his 10. Hornsey’s 43-yard punt hung up in the lights and a wall of white jerseys circled McKissic. Reserve linebacker Wynton McManisrecovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.
“I just didn’t see the ball coming that good,” McKissic said.
Finally, there was Davis’ missed 38-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, a scenario that mirrored a 29-yard miss in the season-opening loss at Oregon.
The fix is putting Davis, 4 of 6 this season, in that situation more often, Drinkwitz said.
“It’s a matter of when it was,” he said. “We’ve been doing some specific things in practice to work on him running on the field and making those kicks.”
Sports, Pages 17 on 09/13/2012