Special teams get it done

Most cornerbacks coaches probably would cringe if they looked up and saw their two starting corners sprinting down the field covering kickoffs. VanceBedford doesn't. He wears a satisfied grin instead.

"You know what, that's part of it," said Bedford, Florida's cornerbacks coach. "Every place I've been, in order for us to win, we have to be great on special teams.

"I said on day one when I walked in here, 'If you're not on special teams, there's something wrong, because that's where games are won.' You get a little bit nervous, but for us to continue to have success, those guys have to be out there and they have to contribute that way."

Bedford isn't the only UF position coach who gets a little nervous watching special teams. The Gators have starters playing in all phases on special teams, from the kickoff cover and return teams, to the punt return, punt cover and punt block teams.

Bedford's guys, Joe Haden and Janoris Jenkins, are two of several starters on the kickoff coverage team. Joining them are safeties Major Wright, Ahmad Black and Will Hill, meaningUF's entire starting secondary is out there smashing into blockers and trying to run down speedy returners.

It shows the importance and emphasis UF coach Urban Meyer places on that phase of the game. It's also obvious by the fact Meyer coaches the special teams.

"We take a lot of pride in it," said senior wide receiver Cade Holliday, one of the top players on the kickoff cover team the past three seasons. "We understand the importance of pinning the other team inside the 20 or 15 and force them to drive the whole field on our defense.

"Oh, yeah, Coach Meyer is real intense. Everybody understands the importance of it. Everybody understands it's a big deal."

It's maybe even a bigger deal than usual this season because the Gators have faced some real home-run hitters in the return game.

In the last three games, UF went against players who returned kickoffs for touchdowns earlier in the season.

The latest challenge was Georgia's Brandon Boykin, who came into last Saturday's game with two kickoff returns for touchdowns.

The next challenge is Vanderbilt's Warren Norman, a speedy true freshman who has returned three for touchdowns.

"This is the year of the kickoff returner in the conference," Meyer said.

That's OK with the Gators, because so far it's been the year of the kickoff cover team at Florida. The Gators have pretty much locked down some of theSEC's most dangerous returners.

UF had perhaps its best performance of the year in Jacksonville, pinning Boykin inside his own 20-yard line twice in six returns. On seven kickoff returns, UGA's average starting point was its own 20.

"We have good players on kickoff cover right now," Meyer said. "We've got a really good kickoff cover team, the best one we've had in five years."

The Gators work extensively on special teams every week. And they have some of their best players playing on special teams.

The kick cover team can vary slightly from game to game, with a weekly competition going on for jobs. Holliday said there are many starters fighting to earn a spot.

"Everybody wants to get in there and make plays on that team," Holliday said. "Everybody knows the importance of it."

Haden, one of the SEC's best corners, is the safety on the kickoff cover team.

"Coach Meyer basically put me out there and said, 'Joe, as long as you don't let them score, you've done your job,' " Haden said. "He trusts me enough that if they break it, I'll go catch him.

"But we have really good players down there and doing a good job. We have players who can make plays on the kickoff team."

It may make him a little nervous watching, but Bedford said he's proud of the work his guys (Haden and Jenkins) do on the kickoff cover team.

"I'll tell you what, Janoris has made a couple of plays," Bedford said. "And when someone breaks, Joe runs them down. They've made quite a few plays for us (on special team) the past two years."

Contact Robbie Andreu at 352-374-5022 or at andreur@gvillesun.com.