Biggest Needs for Hobart Going into 2017 - Part III

So we've covered the Statesmen's offensive and defensive needs, but last and definitely not least, comes special teams. This was an unit that had some exceptional stats and performances in certain games and areas in 2016, but there were also struggles and needs for improvement in others.

In the kicking game Sean Kirshe's '17 graduation means Hobart will either need JR PK Will McCool and/or JR P Rio Schmidt to expand their current roles, or the coaching staff will need to bring in some new talent (which they apparently have based on the expected enrollment of Ridgewood HS SR PK Wylie Sherman as noted on 2/2/17 and Worcester Academy's SR PK Kyle Hackett as noted at the end of this post). Kirshe averaged 53 yards on kickoffs (KOs) last season, handling all but one of the 62 KOs of 2016. Schmidt had one kickoff for 54 yards against Saint Lawrence which was a good showing, but a very small sample size. The preseason will tell us if KOs is a job he takes on fulltime or an as needed basis.

Speaking of Schmidt, he earned 1st Team All-LL and Co-STPOY awards for his excellent work in 2016. Schmidt averaged 40.9 YPP on the season as a whole with a long of 68 yards. He hit 32 of his 48 punts either for touchbacks, fair catches or inside the opponent's 20 yard line which was a huge help to the Statesmen defense.

Another offseason focus will be to find a replacement for Sean Cunningham '17 who did an outstanding job handling punt returns for Hobart last season and over his Statesman career. Overall Cunningham returned 63 punts for 478 yards with a long of 59 that ended up as a TD against Endicott in 2015. In 2016 he handled all but two punts for Hobart, gaining 180 yards on 18 returns. One of Hobart's punt "returns" was a block that Marcus Jemison '17 returned for a 25 yard TD against WPI. FY WR Jake Catalioto returned the one other punt last season against Springfield for eight yards.

Kickoff returns were primarily handled by a number of new Statesmen players such as FY WR Isaiah Hill (19-339 or a 17.89 YPR average), FY RB Brian Haeffner (10-163 or a 16.3 YPR) and FY RB Coron Bromfield (3-53 yards or 17.67 YPR). I imagine additional incoming FY players from the Class of 2021 will get opportunities here as well. Hobart finished last in the LL on KORs so that should be an area of focus to improve upon in 2017. The Statesmen were better on KO coverage (albeit a breakdown in the RPI game was a huge momentum shifter), allowing an average of 16-17 YPR on kickoffs, given 10 went for touchbacks, two went out of bounds and the other 50 kicks netted 851 total return yards.

Probably the biggest area of improvement the Statesmen need to focus on in the offseason and in 2017 is doing a better job of converting FG and PAT attempts. Kirshe and McCool only converted three of seven FG attempts (one blocked) combined last season. Kirshe converted more extra points overall going 26-32, but McCool was more accurate making 13-14. Kirshe ended his career tied for first in Hobart history with the most PATs made (123) and first in PAT attempts (142). He's ranked fifth all-time with 13 FGs made and tied for ninth with 162 total points in his Statesmen career.

Worcester's Hackett Coming to Hobart

Speaking of kickers, the Worcester Telegram reports that Worcester Academy SR PK Kyle Hackett plans to attend Hobart College this fall. Hackett is from Charlton, MA, near Sturbridge, and he plans to study economics at Hobart.

Worcester Academy hasn't sent a football student athlete to Hobart in some time, but the Hilltoppers have sent players to rival schools such as Union and SLU, notably SO RB Rod Payne (who attended as PG) who gained 897 total yards and scored four TDs in 2016 for the Saints.

In the Telegram piece Hackett said he was looking forward to playing football for Hobart and said that "Worcester Academy has been great, athletically and academically. My coaches, teachers and teammates have been very supportive, and I use that as motivation to be the best that I can be, on and off the field."

Kyle looks like he could be the understudy to JR PK Rio Schmidt as a punter based on this highlight reel, but he will probably be also looked at for other duties such as kickoffs, FGs and/or PATs.

His SR YR highlights can be seen here.

Please join me in welcoming Kyle to the Hobart Football Family!

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!