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A kickoff specialist is a special teams position in gridiron football. They are responsible for kicking the ball in the kickoff. These players tend to have a strong leg, often capable of making touchbacks, and capable of keeping a ball in the bounds of the field of play but do not have the accuracy or technique required to be a full-time placekicker or punter. For most teams, the placekicker is the kickoff specialist.
Dedicated kickoff specialists that handle only kickoff duties are now seldomly-used. Some kickoff specialists later become full-time placekickers, while some are marginal placekickers who are soon out of football. Due to modern roster restrictions (and a 2016 rule change discouraging the kicking of touchbacks by awarding the receiving team possession at the 25-yard line instead of the 20), most NFL teams do not elect to have such kickoff specialists, and instead use their placekickers (or, less often, punters) on kickoffs.
The most recent NFL pure kickoff specialist was Jordan Gay, who played the position for the Buffalo Bills under special teams coach Danny Crossman from 2014 to 2016. Prior to Gay's being claimed off waivers, Buffalo's kickoff duties were handled by Billy Cundiff and John Potter, who likewise were kickoff specialists during their time in Buffalo; for 2017, the team brought in former high school kicking phenom Austin Rehkow as a contender for the position but opted not to use a kickoff specialist that year. Other players who have spent at least some time as kickoff specialist for an NFL team since 2006 include Stephen Hauschka, Rhys Lloyd, David Buehler, Todd Carter, and Brandon McManus. As of the end of the 2014 NFL season, punters Thomas Morstead, Matt Bosher, Sam Martin, Pat McAfee, and Michael Koenen handle kickoffs. There is at least one example of a backup quarterback serving as a kickoff specialist; in 1965, Bob Timberlake did so for the New York Giants.
In high school football and most other professional leagues, such as the Arena Football League and, until recent roster expansions, the Canadian Football League, one kicker handles all three kicking positions. Even college football teams usually do not implement dedicated kickoff specialists despite the much larger rosters at that level; however, if an underclassman has a stronger leg than the upperclassman kicker, but is not yet ready to assume placekicker or punter duties, they will usually handle kickoff duties while being the primary backup placekicker and punter.
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t
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Positions in American football and Canadian football
Offense (Skill position)
Defense
Special teams
Linemen
Tackle, Guard, Center
Linemen
Nose tackle, Tackle, End, Edge rusher
Kicking
Placekicker, Punter, Kickoff specialist
Quarterback (Dual-threat, Game manager, System)
Linebacker
Snapping
Long snapper, Holder
Running backs
Halfback/Tailback (Triple-threat, Change of pace), Fullback, H-back, Wingback
A kickoffspecialist is a special teams position in gridiron football. They are responsible for kicking the ball in the kickoff. These players tend to...
as a "kickoffspecialist", handles kickoffs. Most, however, use a single kicker for both jobs, and rarely, the same player may also punt. Kickoff specialists...
return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There...
wrestling color commentator, as well as a former football punter, and kickoffspecialist. McAfee is an analyst on ESPN's College GameDay, a television program...
Jordan Lane Gay (born March 29, 1990) is a former American football kickoffspecialist. He has also been a punter and a kicker. Gay signed with the Carolina...
points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoffspecialist and occasionally in youth football, also acts as the punter. The kicker...
for the football team at the University of Central Florida as their kickoffspecialist and holder from 2015 to 2016. He was backup placekicker behind Matthew...
redshirt freshman, Stout served as a kickoffspecialist for the Hokies and recorded 60 touchbacks on 71 kickoff attempts. After the end of the season...
on October 7, 2023, and was named to the all-SEC First Team as a kickoffspecialist. He finished at Arkansas with a career field goal percentage of 82...
freshman, Romo served mostly as a kickoffspecialist for Central Arkansas; He finished the season with 2,556 yards on 44 kickoffs, with 7 touchbacks in 8 games...
training camp following a quadriceps injury, and briefly replaced by kickoffspecialist José Cortéz, who had not been expected to make the team. Cundiff was...
performs punts, kickoffs, field goals and/or point after touchdowns. The special teams counterpart of a kicking specialist is a return specialist. Kicking specialists...
opponents, the UCLA Bruins. On October 30, 2022 New York Jets punter/kickoffspecialist Braden Mann unsuccessfully attempted a rabona onside kick against...
and kickoff duties for the Gamecocks. His 251 career points ranks 10th on South Carolina's all-time list. In 2005, as a freshman, he was the kickoff specialist...
career. Lutz then enrolled at Georgia State University. Lutz was the kickoffspecialist during the 2012 season and became the placekicker for Georgia State...
change. Borgognone left college early, to pursue an NFL career as a kickoffspecialist. Much like Ove Johansson, whose 69-yard field goal in the NAIA in...
games while serving as the team's kickoffspecialist. He finished the season with recording 42 touchbacks on 66 kickoffs for 4,197 yards, with an average...
May 15, 1970) is an American former football wide receiver and return specialist who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played...
school, playing tight end and defensive end, as well as freshman kickoffspecialist, supposedly due to his having the biggest feet on the team; center...
cleared before making his college debut as the Wolf Pack's starting kickoffspecialist in their second game against Toledo. He recorded three touchbacks...
specialist when Marc Trestman became the Bears' head coach. In week two against the Minnesota Vikings, Hester broke the team record for most kickoff return...
as a kickoffspecialist. As a junior in 1989, he walked on at the University of California, Los Angeles. He handled 46 of the team's 48 kickoffs and had...
reserve, Folk became the Patriots’ main kickoffspecialist. Folk struggled handling kickoffs as he allowed 3 kickoff returns for touchdowns, one against the...
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