2015 College Average Kickoff Return Allowed Leaders

Return yards divided by returns. It shows how well his kicks and coverage contain returners.

Lower is better. Only specialists with enough returns are ranked. In 2015, Alex Howell (12.7) topped college football kickoff specialists in average kickoff return allowed, ahead of Nick Fields (12.7) and Jake Elliott (12.8). 152 kickoff specialists qualify (minimum 10 returns). The median qualified kickoff specialist had 19.8.

College rule from 2012 to 2017: a kickoff touchback started the receiving team at its 25, so a touchback was 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.

Final 2015 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Avg ret	Kickoffs	Avg dist	TB%	Returns	Points
1	Alex Howell	Boston College	12.7	18	55.4	22%	14	+1.3
2	Nick Fields	Bowling Green	12.7	11	45.7	0%	11	−12.0
3	Jake Elliott	Memphis	12.8	95	64.3	76%	23	+15.2
4	Alex Hanks	Georgia Southern	13.2	22	60.2	36%	14	+3.3
5	Carlos Alvarez	Louisiana	13.5	13	53.1	0%	13	+0.7
6	Robert Stein	Akron	14.1	57	57.7	28%	41	0.0
7	Amoreto Curraj	Marshall	14.7	72	62.5	57%	31	+12.8
8	Roberto Aguayo	Florida State	14.9	77	62.9	55%	35	+14.2
9	Christian Hagan	Northern Illinois	14.9	49	58.9	24%	37	+5.7
10	Andrew Endicott	Wisconsin	14.9	36	60.0	25%	27	+7.2
11	Jack Willoughby	Ohio State	15.4	76	61.6	33%	49	+15.3
12	Aleem Sunanon	South Alabama	15.8	23	49.9	4%	21	−11.0
13	Ross Martin	Duke	15.8	65	59.0	31%	45	+8.1
14	Josh Orne	Northern Illinois	15.8	30	56.3	10%	26	−1.6
15	Kaleb Patterson	Miami (OH)	15.9	30	60.4	17%	25	+5.1
16	Chris Gough	Rutgers	16.0	55	59.5	20%	44	+1.2
17	Conrad Ukropina	Stanford	16.1	17	59.5	24%	13	−0.4
18	Cole Netten	Iowa State	16.1	36	59.6	22%	28	+2.7
19	Chris Kirtley	Old Dominion	16.1	27	51.4	4%	26	−10.0
20	Craig Ford	UL Monroe	16.2	56	56.7	11%	49	+0.3
21	Jackson Maples	NC State	16.2	69	61.0	55%	31	−1.9
22	Morgan Hagee	Ball State	16.3	13	54.2	0%	12	−0.7
23	Hayden Lekacz	Vanderbilt	16.3	45	57.8	22%	35	−2.9
24	Aaron Medley	Tennessee	16.3	80	61.5	39%	48	+16.4
25	Jed Solomon	Troy	16.4	61	61.8	59%	25	+7.8
26	Matthew Wyman	Kansas	16.5	42	60.9	48%	22	−2.3
27	Jack Russell	Wisconsin	16.7	20	55.6	10%	18	−3.1
28	Kyle Schmidt	Ball State	16.8	40	60.0	35%	26	+2.1
29	Younghoe Koo	Georgia Southern	16.8	57	63.6	68%	18	+10.4
30	Matt Micucci	Northwestern	16.8	31	57.4	23%	24	−2.0
31	Devon Bell	Mississippi State	16.9	72	62.1	43%	41	+11.2
32	Matt Anderson	California	16.9	76	56.4	20%	60	−12.9
33	Nick Weiler	North Carolina	16.9	97	62.7	52%	47	+5.3
34	Landon Ard	South Carolina	16.9	59	63.2	71%	17	+7.0
35	Luke Ferguson	Arkansas State	17.0	86	62.3	43%	49	+12.2
36	Stephen Brauchle	Southern Miss	17.4	90	59.0	16%	76	−1.3
37	Parker Davidson	New Mexico State	17.5	67	61.7	49%	34	−13.0
38	Drew Brown	Nebraska	17.7	69	60.0	42%	40	−0.4
39	Michael Hill	South Florida	17.7	53	55.1	4%	51	−7.2
40	Jorge Powell	Florida	17.8	18	62.8	33%	12	+2.2
41	Samuel Vucelich	Toledo	17.8	34	59.1	9%	31	−3.7
42	Harrison Butker	Georgia Tech	17.8	60	63.2	68%	18	−0.5
43	Austin Hardin	Florida	17.9	44	64.2	66%	15	−0.7
44	Taylor Bertolet	Texas A&M	17.9	66	62.5	47%	35	+9.0
45	Ryan Santoso	Minnesota	18.0	53	61.9	47%	27	−1.6
46	Ryan Nuss	Western Kentucky	18.0	64	57.0	13%	56	−4.5
47	Daniel Grochowski	Army	18.0	51	61.1	41%	30	+1.7
48	Tyler Rausa	Boise State	18.1	86	61.9	59%	35	+3.9
49	Ian Patterson	Kansas State	18.2	58	60.8	26%	43	+3.3
50	Jon Semerene	Miami	18.2	59	62.6	39%	36	+7.3
51	Adam Greene	Maryland	18.2	19	55.8	11%	17	−2.2
52	Jaden Oberkrom	TCU	18.3	87	61.7	63%	30	+7.9
53	Jake Bailey	Stanford	18.3	64	61.8	17%	51	+4.5
54	Erik Powell	Washington State	18.4	71	56.1	25%	53	−6.6
55	Jack Mitchell	Northwestern	18.4	24	61.0	46%	13	+2.0
56	Josiah Yazdani	Ohio	18.4	65	58.6	11%	58	+1.4
57	Tyler Mayes	Temple	18.5	73	59.8	23%	56	+8.2
58	Taylor Zalewski	Illinois	18.5	58	59.9	34%	38	−2.0
59	Alex Wood	USC	18.7	65	62.0	15%	55	+8.3
60	Lane Saling	Arkansas	18.7	66	61.5	17%	55	+12.9
61	Luke Strebel	Air Force	18.8	42	62.1	57%	18	−0.8
62	Trent Domingue	LSU	18.8	31	58.4	23%	24	−5.8
63	Adam Griffith	Alabama	18.8	79	63.3	52%	35	+16.8
64	Austin Taylor	Florida International	18.9	54	59.6	31%	37	−0.6
65	Nathan Noble	Ole Miss	18.9	86	64.0	55%	39	+16.6
66	Ethan Wood	Wyoming	18.9	43	62.4	37%	27	−1.3
67	Chris Blewitt	Pittsburgh	19.1	64	63.2	64%	23	+6.0
68	Nick Rose	Texas	19.3	60	63.8	77%	14	+2.4
69	Austin Rehkow	Idaho	19.4	65	61.5	54%	30	−0.9
70	Cameron Gamble	LSU	19.5	35	60.6	14%	30	+6.3
71	Donald Delahaye	UCF	19.5	32	61.5	34%	21	−3.2
72	Andy Phillips	Utah	19.5	75	60.3	25%	56	+0.6
73	Kevin Cronin	Michigan State	19.6	74	59.9	28%	53	−1.4
74	Derrick Mitchell	Western Michigan	19.7	72	62.3	40%	43	+12.7
75	Michael Tarbutt	UConn	19.7	25	57.4	20%	20	−4.6
76	Brendan Renius	Eastern Michigan	19.8	57	61.3	49%	29	−5.0
77	Josh Rode	Toledo	19.8	36	57.4	3%	35	−3.3
78	Ty Cummings	Houston	19.9	93	62.5	29%	66	+11.4
79	Stevie Artigue	Louisiana	19.9	50	56.6	14%	42	−9.7
80	Ryan Norton	Syracuse	19.9	58	61.9	36%	37	+2.6
81	Caleb Pratt	East Carolina	19.9	59	62.1	53%	28	−1.8
82	Tyler Newsome	Notre Dame	19.9	78	61.4	23%	59	−1.5
83	Jason Sanders	New Mexico	20.1	66	63.9	70%	20	+9.4
84	Blake Lucas	Massachusetts	20.1	53	61.0	32%	36	−9.0
85	Braxton Davis	Colorado State	20.1	63	63.4	41%	37	+3.5
86	Greg Joseph	Florida Atlantic	20.1	61	62.9	52%	28	+6.1
87	Miles Butler	Kentucky	20.2	25	59.6	8%	23	−14.4
88	Kenny Allen	Michigan	20.2	67	62.1	49%	33	+13.1
89	Casey Skowron	Arizona	20.2	79	60.7	41%	47	−2.0
90	Marshall Morgan	Georgia	20.4	56	62.5	30%	38	−3.8
91	Jonathan Barnes	Louisiana Tech	20.4	78	59.2	24%	59	−13.8
92	Garrett Owens	Oregon State	20.4	46	56.3	15%	37	−10.8
93	Preston Soper	Tulsa	20.4	76	58.2	16%	64	−17.9
94	Tyler Tate	Bowling Green	20.5	85	61.9	48%	44	−4.4
95	Austin MacGinnis	Kentucky	20.6	37	61.5	38%	23	+0.1
96	Colton Lichtenberg	Boston College	20.6	24	60.1	17%	20	0.0
97	Jake Thompson	Utah State	20.7	64	63.7	58%	27	+3.7
98	Ben Grogan	Oklahoma State	20.8	84	59.7	26%	62	−4.3
99	Gavin Patterson	South Alabama	20.8	29	60.8	17%	24	−1.0
100	Ka'imi Fairbairn	UCLA	20.9	79	64.6	71%	23	+6.7
101	Spencer Evans	Baylor	20.9	97	59.5	34%	61	−13.4
102	Griffin Oakes	Indiana	21.0	83	63.5	61%	32	+3.4
103	Chris Francis	Iowa State	21.0	24	59.2	8%	22	−1.6
104	Tristan Vizcaino	Washington	21.0	67	62.3	34%	44	+1.7
105	Austin Brasher	BYU	21.1	69	63.0	43%	38	+6.5
106	Austin Grebe	Navy	21.2	72	61.2	25%	54	+5.5
107	Garrett Swanson	Fresno State	21.2	54	61.8	46%	29	+4.1
108	Brad Craddock	Maryland	21.2	37	62.5	38%	23	+0.3
109	Donny Hageman	San Diego State	21.3	79	63.0	29%	56	+3.6
110	Tyler Grassman	Buffalo	21.3	63	58.8	33%	42	−17.1
111	Joey Slye	Virginia Tech	21.3	62	63.5	66%	21	+4.3
112	Mike Weaver	Wake Forest	21.3	44	62.3	45%	24	−0.9
113	Nick O'Toole	West Virginia	21.4	66	62.4	26%	48	+5.8
114	Nicolai Bornand	UNLV	21.4	65	61.7	35%	42	−2.2
115	Ron Coluzzi	Central Michigan	21.4	59	60.8	36%	38	−8.1
116	Daniel Portillo	UTSA	21.6	41	63.3	39%	25	+1.9
117	Nick Hodgson	Oklahoma	21.6	98	63.4	51%	48	+9.4
118	Jay Mattox	UTEP	21.7	50	63.8	52%	24	+7.7
119	Matt Wogan	Oregon	21.7	91	63.5	62%	35	+10.6
120	Ricky Segers	Old Dominion	21.8	20	60.0	0%	20	−1.3
121	Daniel Carlson	Auburn	21.8	62	64.3	73%	16	+5.8
122	Joey Julius	Penn State	21.8	49	63.2	43%	28	+2.3
123	Ammon Lakip	Clemson	21.9	72	59.3	39%	43	−4.7
124	Taylor Symmank	Texas Tech	21.9	36	64.5	72%	10	+5.4
125	Austin Lopez	San José State	22.1	39	60.4	49%	20	−8.4
126	Zach Matics	App State	22.1	76	62.1	51%	37	−3.8
127	Chad Hedlund	SMU	22.1	59	64.0	68%	19	+5.5
128	Canon Rooker	Middle Tennessee	22.1	72	60.8	25%	54	−10.3
129	Dylan Sims	Virginia	22.2	60	63.3	50%	30	0.0
130	Chris Graham	Colorado	22.4	57	63.1	30%	40	+5.2
131	Matt Boermeester	USC	22.5	18	62.1	6%	17	−0.9
132	Trevor Simms	Tulane	22.6	51	63.3	43%	29	−3.9
133	Andrew Gantz	Cincinnati	23.0	83	62.7	36%	53	−1.7
134	John Wallace	Louisville	23.0	68	62.9	40%	41	+3.7
135	Blake Brewer	Charlotte	23.1	49	61.6	27%	36	−1.9
136	Paul Griggs	Purdue	23.1	52	61.8	33%	35	−7.2
137	Jack Fox	Rice	23.5	41	63.6	46%	22	−1.5
138	Jake Collins	Western Kentucky	23.6	27	56.4	7%	25	−12.2
139	Clayton Hatfield	Texas Tech	23.7	64	61.7	45%	32	−1.5
140	Brent Zuzo	Nevada	23.7	60	61.1	42%	34	−9.0
141	Corey Fatony	Missouri	23.8	43	62.8	42%	25	−1.9
142	Nick Dowd	Miami (OH)	24.0	10	61.7	0%	10	−0.5
143	Marshall Koehn	Iowa	24.2	78	63.5	59%	32	+11.2
144	Zane Gonzalez	Arizona State	25.4	77	64.5	75%	19	+6.1
145	Eric Keena	North Texas	25.4	32	62.6	44%	18	−5.2
146	Emilio Nadelman	South Florida	25.5	19	59.1	26%	14	−11.5
147	Anthony Melchiori	Kent State	25.8	30	60.9	20%	24	−0.5
148	Greg Huegel	Clemson	26.1	22	62.0	18%	18	+1.2
149	Bryce Crawford	San José State	26.9	22	57.4	27%	16	−14.7
150	Bobby Puyol	UConn	26.9	22	59.9	45%	12	−2.2
151	Wil Lutz	Georgia State	27.1	61	62.6	54%	27	−9.9
152	Lumi Kaba	Texas State	32.3	56	63.3	66%	19	−8.5

All 2015 College kickoff specialist rankings

Average Kickoff Return Allowed in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2014 2013 2012 2011

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Other 2015 College rankings

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