A case could be made that plays made by BYU’s special teams — field goals, punt and kickoff returns for touchdowns, and blocked kicks — have won a half-dozen or so games for the Cougars over the course of the past three years.
Utah, Colorado and Kansas State in particular were burned by big plays from that particular phase in their losses to BYU.
Former BYU linebacker and assistant coach Kelly Poppinga, who was hired back to Provo in 2023 as the school’s special teams coordinator and edge rushers coach, did a marvelous job with that group.
It’s one of the reasons the native of Evanston, Wyoming, was promoted to defensive coordinator in January to replace Michigan-bound Jay Hill.
“K-Pop is a really good coach,” said offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick. “He’s been coaching a long time, and he knows what he’s doing. He was outstanding as a special teams coordinator, and he’s going to be fine as a defensive coordinator. Those guys are squared away, and they have great players.”
For BYU, the question now becomes whether new special teams coordinator Justin Ena can pick up where Poppinga left off. This much is certain, however: Ena is pretty much starting over, as BYU faces the task of replacing kicker Will Ferrin, punter Sam Vander Haar and punt returner Parker Kingston.
Last year’s holder was Vander Haar and the long snapper was Garrison Grimes, who was waived Aug. 1 by the New York Jets, so Ena must find replacements for those spots, too.
Ena told the Deseret News on Tuesday that the specialists “are on the right track” after performing reasonably well in last Saturday’s scrimmage and in Tuesday’s practice. Presumed starting kicker Matthias Dunn made a 54-yard field goal and recently returned missionary Brody Laga made a shorter kick.
Does BYU have a reliable kicker?
Ena said that Dunn, who has been in the program for five years after a church mission to Argentina and Michigan, has patiently waited his turn and is ready to fill Ferrin’s role.
“I feel good about our kicker situation right now. Matthias and Brody are both doing a really good job,” Ena said. “They’re a good one-two combo. I know they’re gonna push each other throughout the year. … Matthias has great character, and it is cool to see the wisdom being passed down to the freshman.”
A freshman from Herriman’s Mountain Ridge High, the left-footed Laga returned from a church mission in May and is probably the highest-rated prep kicker BYU has ever landed. Ena said it wouldn’t be out of the question to have Dunn be the placekicker and Laga be the kickoff guy.
“Brody has a super strong leg. He has a whip that goes forever and ever and ever,” Ena said. “You watch him on kickoffs and he’s getting hang times at 4.3, 4.4 (seconds) and they go into the back of the end zone, which is almost unheard of. So he’s got a monster leg, and now it’s just about being exact and getting everything honed in.”
Ena said when he shared special teams coordinator duties with Sharrieff Shah at Utah (2015-18), they used Matt Gay as the placekicker and Mitch Wisnowsky on kickoffs.
“So you can totally do it that way,” he said. “But make no mistake, Matthias Dunn has a great leg for kickoffs, too.”
BYU has been blessed with great punters
The aforementioned Vander Haar and his predecessor, Ryan Rehkow, have ensured that BYU has had a reliable punter since 2020. But Rehkow is in the NFL and Vander Haar’s quest to get another year of eligibility was denied.
So BYU will turn to redshirt junior Fuller Shurtz, a product of Katy, Texas, who was athletic enough to start at cornerback for his high school team. Shurtz appeared in one game last year and got off a 41-yard punt against TCU.
“Right now, Fuller is locked in for the punting situation,” Ena said.
His backup is freshman Cole Shulman of Nashville, Tennessee. Shulman got a chance to shine in the aforementioned media viewing portion of practice last Tuesday, but shanked a punt.
“That’s why we practice,” Ena said. “That’s why it is such a blessing that Kalani allows us to do that in front of the whole team, truly do it when you have everybody watching.”
Cannon DeVries emerges as primary punt returner
Parker Kingston gave BYU fans a lot of thrills, and a few scary moments, during his three-year run as a punt and kick returner. He is the only player in BYU history with a passing touchdown, a rushing touchdown, a receiving touchdown and a punt return touchdown.
Kingston was kicked out of BYU last February after being charged with felony rape in St. George. While the case was dismissed without prejudice in June, his attempt to get back into BYU has been unsuccessful.
Who will take his place?
Ena said sophomore Cannon DeVries, a cornerback from Ogden’s Weber High, returned a few punts last year and is in the lead to be the main guy in 2026. He said Tiger Bachmeier and freshman Legend Glasker could also get shots.
“I am excited to see what Legend can do for us,” he said.
Those three players are also in line to return kickoffs, along with freshman running back Devaughn Eka.
