Parker Fleming dealing with turnover at key special teams positions
COLUMBUS, Ohio –– It might not be a topic that inspires much debate in Columbus sports bars and barbershops this offseason, but in crucial moments during the 2021 football season, it could be an important one.
The Ohio State special teams unit is dealing with quite a bit of change this offseason, both from a coaching and personnel perspective.
Luckily for the Buckeyes, early reviews on former Urban Meyer intern and recently promoted special teams coordinator Parker Fleming seem hopeful that he can keep the ship sailing smoothly, even with several important positions requiring replacement.
“The tradition and history and all the work everybody’s put in before me, I just hope to keep that going and enhance it as best I can,” Fleming said April 16. “I’ve been around here for a little bit of time, know the system, know the ins and outs of the place. And so one of the main goals is to just keep some continuity and enhance what we’re doing without huge turnover and huge change, and that’s one of those things, I’ve very fortunate to be in this position that I feel like I’m capable of doing that.”
In moving former special teams coordinator Matt Barnes to a new role as secondary coach and pulling Fleming up to fill Barnes’ void full-time, head coach Ryan Day preached the importance of continuity within his program.
RELATED: Barnes to become secondary coach, Fleming promoted to full-time position
However, Fleming’s first year in full control of the unit will not take place with the assistance of long-time kicker Blake Haubeil or punter Drue Chrisman, as both are pursuing NFL futures.
In fact, a number of other departing Ohio State veterans who most Buckeye fans may not even associate with special teams also made Fleming’s list of key cogs in last season’s group that will be difficult to adjust without.
“We’re losing some guys. On that punt team, Luke Farrell and Pete Werner and Tuf Borland and Baron (Browning) and all the guys that have a lot of experience, and Drue Chrisman obviously,” Fleming said. “So we’re replacing a bunch of those key personnel in certain spots, but we’ve had a great spring and we’ve got a bunch of really tough, accountable guys that I think will be able to step in and do a really good job for us.”
Second-year kicker Jake Seibert is not brand new, having filled in for an injured Haubeil on several occasions last season, including the national championship game. However, the No. 1 kicker in last year’s recruiting class took just two attempts in 2020 and missed one of them, and missed his first Spring Game try on Saturday.
Jesse Mirco, the freshman prospect out of ProKick Australia in Melbourne expected to replace Chrisman, booted more than one punt that netted less than 30 yards in his Scarlet and Gray debut.
“Jesse, obviously, if he wins the job and everything works out, he will be new. New to a lot of things,” Fleming said. “His development and Jake’s development has been really good. Had a great winter to get stronger and work through tough –– there’s a lot of things specialists need, mentally, physically, all that.”
The Buckeyes returning the ball on special teams for Fleming should not be much different than the faces we saw last year though, he said. Sixth-year senior Demario McCall has been the primary kick returner for the past couple seasons, and wideouts Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba handled most of the punt return duties.
Despite banking reps with innumerable different options last season due to the COVID-19 circumstances, Fleming said there’s “not a lot of new development” as far as who will be returning kicks and punts in 2021.
Given that it’s been more than a decade since Ohio State had a kick return touchdown though, Fleming added that “we’ve gotta get some guys hitting some home runs.”
Fleming’s promotion appears to be a home run in its own right this offseason based on what Day and Barnes have said, but results on the field remain to be seen.