2026 College Kickoff Specialist Rankings

Every college football kickoff specialist with enough work in the 2026 regular season (at least 15), ranked by kickoff points added. Each kickoff's expected-points result compared with the league-average kickoff, added up over the season. Onside kicks are left out. It credits the kicker and the coverage team together. This season is in progress (through Week 7), so the numbers change each week.

College rule: a kickoff touchback, or a fair catch inside the 25, starts the receiving team at its 25, so a touchback is a good result for the kicking team. Kickoff Points Added accounts for the rule, so it is the fair way to compare kickoff specialists across leagues and seasons.

Data through Week 7 of the 2026 season, updated October 24, 2026.

2026 College Leaders

Kickoff Touchback Percentage

Carter Cremascoli (Air Force): 97% 36 of 37
Brody Laga (BYU): 96% 22 of 23
Nick Reed (SMU): 95% 18 of 19
Brendan Baird (SMU): 94% 16 of 17
Aidan Birr (Georgia Tech): 94% 29 of 31

Full Kickoff Touchback Percentage leaderboard

Average Kickoff Return Allowed

Nico Gramatica (South Florida): 8.9 9 returns
Marcello Diomede (Ohio State): 10.2 5 returns
Jack Scullion (Rutgers): 11.4 5 returns
Gage Hurych (Oregon): 11.5 8 returns
Zak Zeman (Western Michigan): 11.5 6 returns

Full Average Kickoff Return Allowed leaderboard

Kickoff Points Added

Nick Keller (Louisville): +5.3 48 kickoffs
Lorcan Quinn (Alabama): +5.1 47 kickoffs
Nathan Dibert (Eastern Michigan): +5.0 37 kickoffs
Ethan Head (Troy): +5.0 31 kickoffs
Zac Yoakam (Houston): +4.9 49 kickoffs

Full Kickoff Points Added leaderboard

Average Kickoff Distance

John Hoyet Chance (TCU): 65.3 29 kickoffs
Nick Reed (SMU): 65.3 19 kickoffs
Max Gilbert (Arkansas): 65.2 25 kickoffs
Aidan Birr (Georgia Tech): 65.0 31 kickoffs
Brody Laga (BYU): 65.0 23 kickoffs

Full Average Kickoff Distance leaderboard

Kickoff Out of Bounds Percentage

Patrick Durkin (Florida): 0.0% 0 of 49
Peyton Woodring (Georgia): 0.0% 0 of 49
Zac Yoakam (Houston): 0.0% 0 of 49
Nick Keller (Louisville): 0.0% 0 of 48
Lorcan Quinn (Alabama): 0.0% 0 of 47

Full Kickoff Out of Bounds Percentage leaderboard

30+ Yard Return Percentage Allowed

Daniel Porto (Coastal Carolina): 0.0% 0 of 17
Seth Turner (Purdue): 0.0% 0 of 15
Tucker Smack (Delaware): 0.0% 0 of 15
Ethan Head (Troy): 0.0% 0 of 13
Colton Boomer (Boise State): 0.0% 0 of 12

Full 30+ Yard Return Percentage Allowed leaderboard

All 2026 College Kickoff Specialist Leaderboards

Kickoffs by Points Added

146 kickoff specialists qualify.

Rk	Player	Team	Kickoffs	Avg dist	TB%	Returns	Points
1	Nick Keller	Louisville	48	64.4	85%	6	+5.3
2	Lorcan Quinn	Alabama	47	64.8	87%	5	+5.1
3	Nathan Dibert	Eastern Michigan	37	64.2	76%	8	+5.0
4	Ethan Head	Troy	31	61.8	35%	13	+5.0
5	Zac Yoakam	Houston	49	63.0	63%	15	+4.9
6	Seth Turner	Purdue	43	62.5	51%	15	+4.8
7	Cole Byrd	Virginia Tech	46	64.3	80%	4	+4.7
8	Elijah Slibeck	Virginia	43	64.2	72%	11	+4.3
9	Joe McFadden	Nevada	27	62.9	56%	9	+4.0
10	Dillon Curtis	Utah	40	64.1	78%	6	+3.9
11	Will Hryszko	Ohio	40	63.8	60%	8	+3.9
12	Ryan Kobzeff	Fresno State	37	63.1	54%	10	+3.8
13	Jack Scullion	Rutgers	33	61.6	70%	5	+3.6
14	Zak Zeman	Western Michigan	22	60.3	45%	6	+3.6
15	Gavin Lahm	Wisconsin	33	63.1	45%	12	+3.6
16	Lawson Thorn	South Florida	17	63.4	41%	6	+3.6
17	Grant Glasgow	New Mexico	22	64.2	68%	4	+3.5
18	Beckham Sunderland	Minnesota	36	64.5	78%	8	+3.4
19	Stone Harrington	Texas Tech	27	64.9	89%	3	+3.4
20	Aeron Burrell	North Carolina	27	63.7	59%	10	+3.4
21	Carson Smith	Arizona State	32	63.7	69%	6	+3.3
22	Paddy McAteer	Indiana	37	64.9	89%	3	+3.1
23	Liam Boyd	Michigan State	31	64.0	74%	7	+3.0
24	Marlon Hauck	Tulsa	44	61.6	41%	16	+3.0
25	Cooper DiLeva	San Diego State	31	63.2	65%	9	+2.8
26	Carter Cremascoli	Air Force	37	64.9	97%	0	+2.7
27	Emmet Kenney	Stanford	34	63.2	56%	14	+2.7
28	Peyton Woodring	Georgia	49	64.2	73%	6	+2.7
29	Kyah Francone	New Mexico State	22	62.5	27%	16	+2.7
30	Adam Zouagui	Kentucky	40	64.7	80%	1	+2.6
31	Abram Murray	UL Monroe	24	63.5	71%	6	+2.6
32	Lance Gossett	Navy	30	62.0	30%	10	+2.4
33	Andy Quinn	Boston College	20	63.0	45%	8	+2.4
34	Patrick Durkin	Florida	49	63.7	84%	8	+2.3
35	Max Kelley	South Carolina	34	63.2	62%	9	+2.2
36	Ethan Moczulski	Illinois	32	63.5	75%	7	+2.2
37	Robert Hammond III	Kansas State	29	63.5	66%	8	+2.1
38	Erik Sandvik	Wyoming	24	64.5	75%	4	+2.0
39	Enock Gota	Rice	17	64.2	82%	3	+1.9
40	Charles Steinkamp	New Mexico	20	64.3	85%	3	+1.8
41	Scott Starzyk	LSU	46	64.8	85%	6	+1.8
42	Tarik Ahmetbasic	Memphis	43	64.1	84%	5	+1.8
43	Gavin Strange	Duke	19	62.3	32%	7	+1.7
44	Andrew Conrad	East Carolina	24	64.5	83%	3	+1.7
45	Zechariah Duke	Kennesaw State	19	64.9	89%	2	+1.6
46	Max Gilbert	Arkansas	25	65.2	88%	3	+1.6
47	Nico Gramatica	South Florida	19	56.9	47%	9	+1.6
48	Tucker Smack	Delaware	26	60.6	35%	15	+1.5
49	Robert Czeremcha	Florida International	33	61.3	39%	14	+1.5
50	Connor Gibbs	Auburn	28	63.9	89%	2	+1.5
51	Jack Cassidy	West Virginia	46	62.5	76%	5	+1.4
52	Gage Hurych	Oregon	34	61.4	53%	8	+1.4
53	Justin Dewers	Vanderbilt	16	64.8	88%	1	+1.4
54	Carlos Arreola	UTEP	22	64.3	73%	6	+1.4
55	Kanoah Vinesett	NC State	29	59.6	41%	14	+1.3
56	Cooper Helmke	Tulane	26	63.3	69%	1	+1.3
57	Aidan Birr	Georgia Tech	31	65.0	94%	2	+1.2
58	Baylen Woodman	James Madison	49	62.7	61%	11	+1.2
59	Brock Taylor	Vanderbilt	18	64.9	89%	1	+1.2
60	Blake Ford	Georgia Southern	34	63.8	71%	10	+1.1
61	Miguel Arenas	Washington State	21	61.6	33%	7	+1.1
62	Riley Sullivan	Baylor	37	63.8	57%	8	+1.0
63	Marcello Diomede	Ohio State	48	63.1	79%	5	+1.0
64	Daniel Porto	Coastal Carolina	27	59.9	26%	17	+1.0
65	Michael James	Texas State	38	63.0	74%	7	+1.0
66	Brendan Baird	SMU	17	64.7	94%	1	+0.9
67	Ian Kelly	Charlotte	19	63.8	84%	3	+0.9
68	Jordan Westrich	Akron	15	64.7	73%	3	+0.9
69	Caleb Carlson	Wake Forest	48	62.9	69%	11	+0.9
70	Braydon Doane	UTSA	44	60.3	45%	13	+0.8
71	Owen Simpson	UAB	35	64.0	77%	4	+0.7
72	Tate Sandell	Oklahoma	25	64.2	84%	3	+0.7
73	Collin Rogers	Florida Atlantic	37	64.3	81%	6	+0.6
74	Garrison Rippa	Jacksonville State	38	63.1	63%	12	+0.6
75	Robert Gunn III	Clemson	31	64.4	65%	8	+0.6
76	Wyatt Joyce	Middle Tennessee	17	60.8	41%	8	+0.5
77	Conor McAneney	Florida State	41	64.8	83%	7	+0.5
78	Drew Klein	North Dakota State	37	63.4	76%	6	+0.4
79	Eli Ozick	Iowa	37	61.9	49%	10	+0.4
80	Josh Turbyville	Tennessee	39	64.7	85%	5	+0.4
81	Sean Olvera-Harle	Hawai'i	31	60.5	35%	15	+0.4
82	Landon Rehkow	Utah State	18	64.1	83%	1	+0.4
83	Reed Harradine	Southern Miss	27	60.6	26%	15	+0.3
84	Will Stone	UCF	33	62.8	79%	7	+0.2
85	Noah Sur	Northwestern	38	61.7	42%	18	+0.2
86	Mike Baker	UConn	42	63.5	71%	7	+0.2
87	Oliver Hautanen	Buffalo	18	59.1	78%	3	+0.2
88	Dominic Bourgeois	Middle Tennessee	16	60.6	38%	7	+0.1
89	Derek Morris	Massachusetts	45	64.4	80%	8	+0.1
90	Jake Weinberg	Miami	38	64.5	87%	4	+0.1
91	Ryan Short	Northern Illinois	19	63.6	68%	4	+0.1
92	Elliot Arnold	Colorado	18	64.8	67%	6	+0.1
93	Kyle Konrardy	Iowa State	35	64.9	89%	4	0.0
94	Peter McStravick	Ole Miss	15	64.4	60%	4	0.0
95	Mateen Bhaghani	UCLA	40	63.3	75%	6	−0.2
96	Peyton Argent	South Alabama	15	61.2	20%	8	−0.2
97	Erik Schmidt	Notre Dame	15	62.5	40%	1	−0.2
98	Brody Laga	BYU	23	65.0	96%	1	−0.3
99	Karl Campbell	Western Kentucky	26	59.4	42%	10	−0.3
100	Oisin Flynn	Mississippi State	29	63.5	45%	8	−0.5
101	Ian French	Arizona	39	62.4	77%	4	−0.5
102	Mathias Brown	San José State	33	63.8	58%	11	−0.5
103	James London	App State	41	64.9	90%	3	−0.6
104	John Hohl	Nebraska	45	59.8	42%	13	−0.8
105	John Hoyet Chance	TCU	29	65.3	90%	2	−0.9
106	Lucas Tenbrock	Penn State	23	62.0	57%	8	−0.9
107	Hunter McKee	Washington	19	61.9	53%	4	−1.0
108	Logan Klotz	Louisiana	40	60.3	25%	22	−1.1
109	Tyler Black	Liberty	32	61.3	53%	12	−1.1
110	Andrew Nelms	Old Dominion	27	63.8	74%	7	−1.2
111	Sam Hunsaker	Pittsburgh	25	63.6	44%	11	−1.2
112	Nick Reed	SMU	19	65.3	95%	1	−1.2
113	Sean Leonard	Kent State	21	59.0	24%	9	−1.4
114	Jacob Baggett	Michigan	26	63.6	65%	7	−1.4
115	Brody Boehm	Ball State	28	62.4	50%	11	−1.4
116	Joseph Kim	Oklahoma State	45	63.4	73%	5	−1.4
117	Eli Fulcher	Maryland	17	59.6	35%	10	−1.5
118	Hunter Rioux	Louisiana Tech	34	62.6	76%	3	−1.5
119	Clayton Amaya	Arkansas State	39	60.4	54%	12	−1.6
120	David Olano	Texas A&M	30	64.8	87%	3	−1.6
121	Gianni Spetic	Texas	37	62.7	59%	12	−1.8
122	Ryon Sayeri	USC	46	63.3	61%	8	−1.9
123	Carl Hardin	Temple	36	62.5	56%	11	−2.0
124	Dylan Freebury	South Alabama	18	60.1	17%	8	−2.2
125	Daniel Leahy	Maryland	21	61.4	33%	9	−2.5
126	Antonio Chadha	Pittsburgh	16	64.9	75%	3	−2.6
127	Micah Drescher	Notre Dame	39	63.4	64%	13	−2.6
128	Grant Meadors	Sacramento State	15	50.9	7%	8	−2.9
129	Kellan McLaughlin	Miami (OH)	39	63.9	62%	13	−3.2
130	Cosme Salas	Duke	21	63.8	81%	4	−3.4
131	Brunno Reus	Missouri	39	64.8	82%	6	−3.4
132	Brayden Baker	UNLV	32	63.0	44%	14	−3.4
133	Tripp Woody	Syracuse	23	61.3	61%	7	−3.5
134	Stephen Rusnak	Cincinnati	38	61.8	53%	12	−3.8
135	Balint Vorosmarty	Georgia State	39	63.2	38%	20	−3.9
136	Colton Boomer	Boise State	42	61.1	60%	12	−3.9
137	Michael Taylor II	North Texas	43	61.9	56%	15	−4.3
138	Dane Efird	Kansas	37	62.3	59%	8	−4.4
139	Reice Griffith	Toledo	44	61.1	45%	19	−5.2
140	Lucas Carneiro	Ole Miss	25	62.4	60%	8	−6.3
141	Jadyn Oh	Oregon State	55	62.6	64%	16	−6.4
142	Samuel Guiden Krebs	Marshall	24	62.0	46%	12	−7.2
143	Cavan Craig	Colorado State	35	63.0	43%	16	−7.7
144	Dawson Jones	Army	39	58.4	26%	24	−9.5
145	Stewart McDonald	Missouri State	31	61.7	19%	17	−9.6
146	Towns McGough	California	30	60.3	40%	13	−11.4

Points compare each kickoff's expected-points result with the league-average kickoff (for college, expected points come from where the receiving team started its first play). Onside kicks are listed separately and left out of points. Average distance is measured from the kicking spot to where the ball was caught or reached the goal line; a touchback counts the full distance. Returns exclude touchbacks, out-of-bounds kicks and fair catches. Minimum 15 kickoffs.

Kickoff Specialist Rankings in Other Seasons

2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011

Other 2026 College Rankings

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