2023 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 2023, Tristian Vandenberg (0.0) topped college football kickoff specialists in average kickoff return allowed, ahead of Caleb Krockover (0.0) and Chase Carter (0.0). 152 kickoff specialists qualify (minimum 10 returns). The median qualified kickoff specialist had 6.2.

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.

Final 2023 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Avg ret	Kickoffs	Avg dist	TB%	Returns	Points
1	Tristian Vandenberg	Memphis	0.0	56	60.1	27%	41	+0.6
2	Caleb Krockover	Purdue	0.0	35	60.5	31%	24	−7.1
3	Chase Carter	Utah	0.0	26	62.1	23%	20	+2.7
4	Atticus Sappington	Oregon State	0.0	53	62.2	64%	19	+0.3
5	Nathan Kirkwood	Navy	0.0	18	57.2	17%	15	+0.6
6	Eddie Czaplicki	USC	0.0	30	62.7	53%	14	+1.2
7	Drew Stevens	Iowa	0.0	53	63.8	75%	13	+7.6
8	Marlon Hauck	Mississippi State	0.0	18	63.8	44%	10	+3.0
9	Ben Falck	Hawai'i	0.1	52	63.2	63%	19	+0.3
10	Henry Helms	Northwestern	0.5	30	54.6	3%	29	−7.9
11	Alen Karajic	Jacksonville State	1.0	64	63.3	58%	27	+2.4
12	Jude McAtamney	Rutgers	1.2	54	60.8	67%	17	+3.5
13	Scott Payne	Middle Tennessee	1.2	58	61.3	36%	37	+6.2
14	Braeden McAlister	Georgia State	1.2	34	63.4	47%	18	+1.4
15	Kyle Cunanan	Charlotte	1.3	45	60.3	47%	24	−7.0
16	Jack Howes	Maryland	1.4	66	63.2	64%	24	−7.1
17	Max Morgan	Liberty	1.5	84	59.2	31%	58	−0.9
18	Chris Tennant	Kansas State	1.6	87	60.9	41%	50	−9.6
19	Gabriel Nwosu	Penn State	1.7	66	63.4	62%	25	+5.8
20	Elliott Nimrod	Utah State	1.8	56	59.8	46%	30	+1.5
21	Brendan Farrell	South Florida	1.8	67	59.8	30%	47	−4.1
22	Jonathan Kim	Michigan State	1.9	42	63.5	67%	14	+3.2
23	Taren Schive	San José State	2.0	66	53.8	23%	51	−1.0
24	Jack Van Dyke	Wisconsin	2.1	30	62.8	47%	16	+3.8
25	Jared Zirkel	Georgia	2.1	95	62.7	66%	26	+12.8
26	Dominic Zvada	Arkansas State	2.4	16	48.1	6%	15	−6.6
27	Chance Poore	Kentucky	2.4	56	62.0	64%	17	+3.2
28	Blair Zepeda	Texas A&M	2.5	21	62.4	48%	11	0.0
29	Ben Sauls	Pittsburgh	2.5	52	63.6	71%	15	+6.4
30	Harrison Mevis	Missouri	2.6	77	62.2	58%	31	+6.3
31	Buzz Flabiano	UTEP	2.7	46	60.2	41%	26	−4.7
32	Chris Van Eekeren	Temple	2.7	34	60.9	32%	23	−0.7
33	Reagan Tubbs	Air Force	2.9	57	61.9	49%	29	+13.6
34	Zach Long	Troy	2.9	76	63.6	62%	29	+1.9
35	Evan Warren	Navy	3.0	27	56.4	15%	23	−6.8
36	Connor Madden	James Madison	3.0	71	62.8	52%	34	+5.5
37	Camden Lewis	Oregon	3.0	89	63.2	72%	25	+4.6
38	Michael Lantz	Georgia Southern	3.2	59	63.9	73%	16	+5.5
39	Tate Sandell	UTSA	3.3	70	62.8	57%	30	+4.0
40	Alex Kasee	Ohio	3.7	56	55.2	20%	45	−11.9
41	Jack Martin	Houston	3.7	52	61.6	42%	30	−4.6
42	Isaiah Hankins	Baylor	3.8	20	59.0	15%	17	−0.7
43	Ben Freehill	Purdue	4.0	17	55.5	29%	12	−8.3
44	Dylan Lynch	Fresno State	4.1	66	62.8	50%	33	+8.0
45	Ethan Albertson	New Mexico State	4.2	77	62.0	64%	28	+7.6
46	Connor Gibbs	Southern Miss	4.3	57	60.7	25%	42	+0.3
47	Buck Buchanan	Louisiana Tech	4.3	61	63.8	82%	11	+6.5
48	Tommy Doman	Michigan	4.4	88	63.6	70%	26	+11.3
49	Spencer Shrader	Notre Dame	4.4	80	63.5	64%	28	+5.9
50	Joshua Karty	Stanford	4.5	50	64.8	80%	10	+7.9
51	Liam Gray	Coastal Carolina	4.6	64	63.1	67%	21	+4.0
52	Michael Hayes II	West Virginia	4.8	61	61.2	30%	43	+3.0
53	Nathan Hawks	Cincinnati	4.9	30	62.3	37%	19	+3.9
54	Laith Marjan	East Carolina	4.9	49	61.9	41%	29	+3.7
55	Ozlo Rigby	Old Dominion	4.9	37	61.7	19%	30	−10.8
56	Colton Theaker	Washington State	5.0	69	63.9	68%	22	+6.3
57	Clune Van Andel	Arkansas State	5.1	43	59.3	16%	36	+1.1
58	Everett Hayes	Oregon State	5.2	20	61.6	45%	11	+4.5
59	Luke Pawlak	Toledo	5.2	29	56.7	28%	21	+0.9
60	Luca Lombardo	Boston College	5.3	37	59.8	32%	25	−4.2
61	Keegan Shackford	Iowa State	5.5	63	61.3	43%	36	0.0
62	Luke Drzewiecki	New Mexico	5.5	47	57.4	40%	27	−0.7
63	Mason Shipley	Texas State	5.6	15	44.5	0%	15	−8.6
64	Trey Smack	Florida	5.6	69	63.2	81%	13	+7.8
65	Denis Lynch	USC	5.6	57	60.7	28%	41	−1.3
66	Rory Bell	Cincinnati	5.6	30	61.2	43%	17	−3.9
67	Gabriel Plascencia	San Diego State	5.9	16	62.0	13%	14	+0.8
68	Collin Rogers	SMU	5.9	99	62.6	54%	46	−2.6
69	Michael James	Texas State	5.9	38	58.0	18%	31	−2.4
70	Rece Verhoff	Marshall	5.9	57	58.5	56%	24	−1.8
71	Derek McCormick	UL Monroe	5.9	36	62.0	64%	13	−4.5
72	John Hoyland	Wyoming	5.9	60	63.3	53%	28	−2.3
73	Alex McPherson	Auburn	6.0	63	61.7	52%	29	−0.3
74	Jayden Fielding	Ohio State	6.1	75	63.3	57%	32	+9.4
75	Michael Luckhurst	California	6.2	57	59.8	19%	45	+3.1
76	Blake Glessner	UCLA	6.2	52	62.9	50%	24	+7.8
77	Cory Munson	Western Kentucky	6.3	62	63.7	61%	24	+8.8
78	Kyle Lowe	Virginia Tech	6.3	67	63.1	75%	17	+2.6
79	Colton Boomer	UCF	6.4	68	62.0	56%	30	−21.9
80	Jack Stone	Baylor	6.4	40	62.4	35%	26	+3.4
81	Will Reichard	Alabama	6.5	82	63.7	57%	33	+13.7
82	Thomas Leo	Louisiana	6.9	67	58.0	16%	56	0.0
83	Kanon Woodill	Northern Illinois	6.9	13	57.4	23%	10	−0.7
84	Will Faris	Vanderbilt	7.0	54	62.6	43%	30	+3.1
85	Enock Gota	Rice	7.3	42	63.7	64%	15	+0.2
86	Dario Longhetto	Arizona State	7.4	45	62.5	53%	21	+7.1
87	Gavin Lahm	Wisconsin	7.6	25	60.9	44%	14	+1.8
88	Tanner Gillis	Memphis	7.9	27	59.7	26%	19	−1.8
89	Michael Hughes	App State	8.3	82	60.4	41%	47	+14.5
90	Chase Meyer	Tulsa	8.3	10	58.8	0%	10	+1.3
91	Tyler Loop	Arizona	8.3	76	63.8	87%	10	+5.7
92	Reese Burkhardt	Texas Tech	8.3	63	63.5	63%	23	+8.8
93	Caden Davis	Ole Miss	8.4	70	64.4	84%	11	+9.6
94	Logan Ward	Oklahoma State	8.5	78	62.4	56%	31	+9.2
95	Jack Olsen	Northwestern	8.8	16	53.8	19%	13	−2.3
96	Bryan Hansen	Colorado State	8.8	44	63.5	61%	17	−0.9
97	Matt Ganyard	Virginia	9.0	55	59.9	36%	35	−0.4
98	Joe McFadden	UConn	9.0	44	60.0	43%	25	−0.3
99	Andre Meono	UNLV	9.0	82	60.9	34%	54	+6.2
100	Grady Gross	Washington	9.3	89	62.5	54%	40	+14.1
101	Mitch Jeter	South Carolina	9.3	60	63.1	68%	18	−4.1
102	Jonah Delange	UAB	9.4	65	56.9	22%	51	−16.3
103	Jacob Meeks	South Alabama	9.5	72	58.8	43%	41	+3.6
104	Brock Travelstead	Louisville	9.6	59	61.8	63%	19	+1.8
105	Griffin Kell	TCU	9.8	69	62.6	67%	23	−4.7
106	Kenyon Bowyer	Eastern Michigan	9.9	16	49.9	13%	14	−4.8
107	Collin Smith	NC State	10.0	57	61.7	58%	24	+0.6
108	Palmer Domschke	Western Michigan	10.0	55	59.1	38%	34	−7.2
109	Charlie Ham	Duke	10.3	44	60.5	45%	23	+3.8
110	Tim Horn	Rice	10.3	23	60.4	35%	15	−0.9
111	Jack Sauder	Bowling Green	10.3	63	58.5	16%	53	−4.5
112	Cole Talley	Army	10.4	51	63.9	73%	14	−1.1
113	Jonah Dalmas	Boise State	10.4	81	61.5	51%	40	−15.3
114	Chris Freeman	Indiana	10.7	50	61.1	48%	26	−2.4
115	Cristiano Palazzo	Colorado	10.9	15	54.6	27%	11	−6.9
116	Zach Schmit	Oklahoma	11.1	89	62.2	58%	37	+0.3
117	Graham Nicholson	Miami (OH)	11.1	70	63.8	74%	18	+10.5
118	Matthew Killam	Nevada	11.2	42	63.1	64%	15	+4.5
119	Michael Denning	Toledo	11.3	45	56.9	27%	33	+3.8
120	Tabor Allen	Kansas	11.4	76	62.1	75%	19	+5.6
121	Will Ferrin	BYU	11.5	55	62.5	62%	21	+8.9
122	Tristan Alvano	Nebraska	11.6	32	61.6	44%	17	−0.2
123	Ryan Kingston	Eastern Michigan	11.8	31	59.2	19%	25	+2.8
124	Lucas Matias	Florida International	11.9	46	61.8	39%	28	−9.3
125	Andrew Glass	Kent State	12.0	41	60.0	27%	29	−4.9
126	Christian Pavon	Sam Houston	12.1	41	59.7	32%	28	−3.8
127	Andres Borregales	Miami	12.3	70	62.1	67%	18	+4.7
128	Carter Davis	Florida Atlantic	12.5	54	63.6	65%	19	+4.8
129	Cole Becker	Utah	12.7	33	62.1	48%	16	−2.2
130	Will Stone	Texas	12.8	91	63.6	52%	43	+6.9
131	Michael Slaba	Tulsa	12.8	42	60.7	24%	32	+4.5
132	Jake Seibert	Northern Illinois	12.9	46	57.9	17%	36	−3.1
133	Jace Feely	Colorado	12.9	43	62.7	56%	19	+4.6
134	Tristan Mattson	Central Michigan	13.2	53	60.9	47%	28	+1.2
135	Casey Glover	Tulane	13.6	70	62.6	51%	30	+11.2
136	Gavin Stewart	Georgia Tech	13.7	53	62.5	64%	19	−6.6
137	Tyler Black	Wake Forest	14.1	43	63.2	72%	12	+3.6
138	Josh Turbyville	Tennessee	14.1	74	63.3	74%	18	+2.4
139	David Olano	Illinois	14.6	43	63.5	47%	23	+2.1
140	Dante Jackson	Akron	14.8	40	59.3	25%	30	−1.1
141	Caleb Griffin	Illinois	15.6	15	59.0	33%	10	+1.1
142	Liam Connor	Boston College	16.0	17	62.5	24%	13	+3.3
143	Alex McNulty	Buffalo	16.1	42	62.5	69%	13	−2.3
144	Liam Boyd	North Carolina	16.3	63	60.6	75%	13	−5.6
145	Nathan Dibert	LSU	16.5	93	60.6	54%	35	+2.8
146	Matthew Velasco	Texas State	17.9	26	63.3	42%	15	−3.8
147	Jack Browning	San Diego State	18.1	37	63.0	43%	21	+2.3
148	Jack Drake	Ball State	18.5	46	57.2	28%	33	−10.6
149	Randy Bond	Texas A&M	18.6	59	63.3	51%	29	+6.8
150	CJ Kolodziey	Massachusetts	18.8	50	61.1	36%	32	−1.1
151	Ryan Fitzgerald	Florida State	21.6	83	63.8	69%	25	+11.0
152	Mateen Bhaghani	California	26.8	12	53.8	8%	10	−10.1

All 2023 College kickoff specialist rankings

Average Kickoff Return Allowed in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

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