2026 College Onside Kicks Recovered Leaders
Onside kicks the kicking team recovered. Recoveries are rare, so the numbers are small.
Only specialists with at least one recovery appear. In 2026, Aidan Stire (1) led college football kickoff specialists in onside kicks recovered, ahead of Blake Ford (1) and Cosme Salas (1). 14 kickoff specialists qualify. 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.
| Rk | Player | Team | Recovered | Kickoffs | Avg dist | TB% | Returns | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aidan Stire | Akron | 1 | 12 | 63.1 | 33% | 6 | +0.4 |
| 2 | Blake Ford | Georgia Southern | 1 | 34 | 63.8 | 71% | 10 | +1.1 |
| 3 | Cosme Salas | Duke | 1 | 21 | 63.8 | 81% | 4 | −3.4 |
| 4 | Grant Meadors | Sacramento State | 1 | 15 | 50.9 | 7% | 8 | −2.9 |
| 5 | James London | App State | 1 | 41 | 64.9 | 90% | 3 | −0.6 |
| 6 | Morgan Suarez | James Madison | 1 | 11 | 64.5 | 64% | 4 | +2.0 |
| 7 | Reice Griffith | Toledo | 1 | 44 | 61.1 | 45% | 19 | −5.2 |
| 8 | Ryan Kobzeff | Fresno State | 1 | 37 | 63.1 | 54% | 10 | +3.8 |
| 9 | Saul Marks | Sacramento State | 1 | 9 | 62.8 | 44% | 3 | +0.6 |
| 10 | Braydon Doane | UTSA | 1 | 44 | 60.3 | 45% | 13 | +0.8 |
| 11 | Caden VanHuis | Central Michigan | 1 | 10 | 56.7 | 30% | 5 | −2.7 |
| 12 | Cooper Heimbach | Marshall | 1 | 1 | 64.0 | 0% | 1 | −3.4 |
| 13 | Towns McGough | California | 1 | 30 | 60.3 | 40% | 13 | −11.4 |
| 14 | Carson Smith | Arizona State | 1 | 32 | 63.7 | 69% | 6 | +3.3 |
All 2026 College kickoff specialist rankings
Onside Kicks Recovered in other seasons: 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011
More 2026 College kickoff specialist leaderboards
- Kickoffs
- Kickoff Touchbacks
- Kickoff Touchback Percentage
- Kickoff Returns Allowed
- Kickoff Return Yards Allowed
- Average Kickoff Return Allowed
- Kickoffs Out of Bounds
- Onside Kicks Attempted
- Kickoff Points Added
- Average Kickoff Distance
- Kickoff Out of Bounds Percentage
- 30+ Yard Return Percentage Allowed
- Kickoff Points per 100 Kickoffs
Other 2026 College rankings
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