Courtesy of Norfolk State Athletic Communications


NORFOLK, Va. – The coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of not just all collegiate spring sports seasons, but also all off-season practices and team workouts for the time being. That includes spring football practice and intrasquad scrimmages.

In lieu of reports from spring practice, NSUSpartans.com will instead give a breakdown of each position grouping for Spartan football. This week concludes the series with a glance at the Spartan special teams.

By most any measure, NSU's special teams units performed very well in 2019. The Spartans ranked first in the MEAC in net punting (which subtracts return yards from the punt yardage), second in field-goal percentage and third in extra point percentage. NSU also ranked in the top 30 nationally in both kickoff coverage (12th) and punt return defense (29th).

The Spartans' kicking game is in good hands as both placekicker Josh Nardone and punter Ryan Richter return. Nardone is entering his fourth year as the Spartans' field goal and extra point man and has progressed each season. Last year, Nardone connected on nine of his 11 field-goal attempts and 40-of-43 extra-point tries. 

Nardone, who has scored 152 career points, is 19-of-22 on field goal tries dating back to the start of his sophomore campaign.

"Josh had a very solid year for us and continued to prove that he is a dependable kicker," head coach Latrell Scott said. "It's been a pleasure to watch his growth and maturation. Being a returning senior, he's taken a leadership role as well."

Richter was a revelation in his first season at NSU. A former junior college recruit who transferred in last summer, Richter earned third-team All-MEAC honors as a sophomore. He averaged 39.7 yards per punt, the fourth-highest average for a single season in school history. Richter also handled kickoffs last year.

"Ryan has an explosive leg and did a tremendous job punting last year," Scott said. "He's a talented young man who is versatile enough to kick long field goals and also did a gob job kicking off as well."

The Spartans also have an experienced snapper returning in Zac Denton. Denton, who will be a redshirt junior in the fall, has served in his role since arriving on campus in 2017. He was NSU's primary punt snapper last year and can also handle snapping for extra points and field goals. 

"Zac is very consistent and a selfless member of the group," Scott said. "He's also proven to be very reliable."

If there's one area Scott wants to see improvement in the special teams, it's in the return game. The Spartans ranked fifth in the MEAC in kickoff return average and eighth in punt return average last year. Scott welcomes competitions for those positions this fall, while mentioning wideouts Justin Smith and Tremayne Talbert and running backs Kevin Johnson, Rayquan Smith and J.J. Davis as a few of the players with the ability to contribute.

"Our kicking units were much improved last year and were some of the top units in the league," Scott said. "We didn't make many mistakes on out return units, but we want to find ways to get more production out of them. That will help us take the next step."