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There are some guys who make it impossible for you to head to the fridge during a punt return or not be back from the bathroom in time for the kickoff.
There’s no doubt that these guys have probably had you rushing back to the TV set or back to your seat at the stadium asking your friend why the crowd just went hysterical.
We all eventually learned our lesson not to go anywhere with these five guys as the spotlight fell squarely on them, and the juice in the stadium picked up while they stood back there waiting for the kick.
The top three punt returners from last season in Florida’s Antonio Callaway, Georgia’s Isaiah McKenzie and Tennessee’s Cam Sutton can add to stellar performances this season if they stick with those duties.
Meanwhile, one kickoff returner we’ll talk about below already set records as a sophomore, and everyone is anxious to see what he does for an encore.
Here’s our top five kick returners (punt and kickoffs) of the last five years.
5. Ace Sanders, South Carolina
In a way, a punt return TD is like a hole in one, so the name Ace is very fitting.
Sanders led the SEC and was 6th in the FBS in punt return average (15.3) in 2012 while returning two for touchdowns. He already had one score under his belt from the previous season.
But in 2012, No. 6 South Carolina was hosting No. 5 Georgia, and the Gamecocks had all the early momentum with a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Sanders added to that by leaving four would-be tacklers in his wake, including punter Collin Barber in a one-on-one undressing, on the way to a 70-yard touchdown.
That only contributed to the stunning 35-7 rout of the Bulldogs in Columbus.
Sanders’ other score that season also came in the first quarter, and that was against Michigan in the Outback Bowl traveling 63 yards.
4. Cyrus Jones, Alabama
Here’s a player who topped off his collegiate career in 2015 with four punt returns for touchdowns in his final season in Tuscaloosa.
That tied the SEC record held by the next player we’ll talk about, Arkansas’ Joe Adams in 2011, and Kentucky’s Derek Abney in 2002.
Of course, Jones has the stellar Alabama defense to thank for all the opportunities as his 42 punt returns were the most by any SEC player since Ole Miss’ Mike Espy in 2003. Jones made the most of them, though, especially late in the season.
He had a 69-yard score at Mississippi State on Nov. 14, then followed that up with two in one game against Charleston Southern. Then, Jones brought his skills to the College Football Playoff semifinal against Michigan State.
Yet another punter was left looking silly in this clip as Jake Hartbarger was victim of Jones’ right plant foot on a nasty jump cut on the sideline.
3. Joe Adams, Arkansas
It’s all punt returners so far, but we’ve got a couple kick returners coming.
Like Jones, Adams also took a quartet of punts to the end zone in 2011 as a senior after recording another as a junior.
Two of them came against Southwest Missouri State, but the other two came late in the season against Tennessee and then Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl.
His 60-yard return against the Vols was quite possibly the play of the year in college football as the entire Tennessee team somehow couldn’t manage to bring “Houdini” down.
That jumpstarted No. 8 Arkansas’ 49-7 win over Tennessee. Adams finished the year with a punt return average of 16.9, second in the FBS.
Adams’ five career punt return TDs is tied for third-most in SEC history as only two players (Alabama’s Javier Arenas 7, Kentucky’s Derek Abney 6) have more. His first career punt return in 2010 as a junior, a 97-yarder against Ole Miss, is the SEC’s third-longest since 1970.
2. Marcus Murphy, Missouri
We’ve seen some outstanding returners over the last two seasons in the SEC. Murphy returned punts and kicks during his time at Missouri, and he was extremely dangerous in both.
Murphy returned seven combined kicks for touchdowns (4 punts, 3 kicks). Four of those seven came in Missouri’s first season in the SEC in 2012 that saw three go to the house in the punt return game. His punt return average of 13.9 in 2012 was second only to the aforementioned Sanders.
He’d go on to make a mark on kickoffs as well, leading the SEC by a wide margin in 2014 with an average of 29.7 yards per return to go with two touchdowns.
Florida fans know Murphy quite well from that season.
After returning the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, Murphy added an 82-yarder near the start of the second half in The Swamp.
That was a tremendous season for Murphy, who led the SEC with his 1,714 all-purpose yards and was the only player in FBS to score via kick return, punt return, rushing and receiving.
1. Evan Berry, Tennessee
How do you top what Murphy did? Well, you take three kickoffs for touchdowns and come within a hair of the all-time NCAA record for single-season kickoff return average.
Last season, Berry averaged 38.29 yards per return, just shy of UAB’s J.J. Nelson’s mark (min. 1.5 returns per game) of 38.32 set the previous year.
Still, that average obliterated the SEC record (min. 20 returns) of 29.6 set by Arkansas’ Felix Jones in 2007. His three TDs in one season has only been matched by three other players in league history: Vanderbilt’s Warren Norman (2009), Georgia’s Brandon Boykin (2009) and Tennessee’s own Willie Gault (1980).
Speaking of Gault, Berry can tie the SEC record for career kickoff return TDs that Gault shares with Murphy and three others if he scores one more, and he can break it with two more.
Here’s a look at Berry’s third return that went the distance of the field.
He’s eyeing another one of Gault’s places in the UT record books as Berry’s 1,217 career kickoff return yards are just 638 short of passing him in that respect.
Born and raised in Gainesville, Talal joined SDS in 2015 after spending 2 years in Bristol as an ESPN researcher. Previously, Talal worked at The Gainesville Sun.
