By PATRICK BROWN / Times Free Press

KNOXVILLE — There's been a change in the rules.

That doesn't mean Tennessee wants to change its ways.

The NCAA tweaked its rules regarding kickoffs for next season, but Charlie Coiner, the Volunteers' special teams coordinator, said after Wednesday morning's practice he'd like to keep most of UT's schemes the same.

"My observation from the outside coming [is we] had an extremely good kickoff team here last year. Really good," he said. "That's a credit to coach [Derek] Dooley and the guys that were coaching here. We want to build on that and try and keep as many things the same so that we can carry that over.

"There's enough things broken in this profession to where you have to fix them. If that's not, we want to keep as much the same as we can. We've addressed all the rule changes and spent a lot of time on that this spring."

The NCAA's playing rules oversight panel adopted two major changes in February. Teams will now kick off at the 35-yard line instead of the 30, and following touchbacks on free kicks, offenses will start on the 25 instead of the 20. Players on the kickoff coverage team also can't line up behind the 30, which will limit how much of a running start they could get.

The changes are aimed at increasing players' safety after the NCAA found that injuries occur during kickoffs more than any other time during games.

The Vols were seventh nationally in kickoff-return yardage allowed last season, despite totaling just six touchbacks. UT was 41st national and fifth in the SEC in kickoff-return yardage.

"It affects us, but it affects everybody," Coiner said. "Coach Dooley and I have spent a lot of time on kickoffs." You start not only looking at how it affects you, but you look at how it's going to affect your opponent and how they're going to handle it.

"Maybe you've got a better chance of kicking the ball deep every time into the end zone. Maybe you don't. Maybe what you want to do is pun that thing back in the corner."

RANA L. CASH / The Sporting News

Kickoff return guys have to be gutsy and a bit daring. An entire coverage team is gunning for them, each aiming to unleash a violent collision that will make the returner think twice—maybe more—about doing something outlandish.

It’s that element of danger the NCAA playing rules oversight committee has tried to blunt with changes that go into effect this season. Kickoffs will be made from the 35-yard line instead of the 30. The kickoff coverage team only gets a 5-yard running start, and touchbacks will be placed on the 25-yard line instead of the 20.

If the NFL’s recent rules changes are an indication, the college game is likely to see fewer jaw-dropping returns.

The NFL implemented before the 2011 season the same rules for kickoffs (excluding the change in touchbacks). The results were dramatic. In 2010, there were 23 kickoffs returned for touchdowns, compared to only nine last season. The disparity in touchbacks was just as revealing: 416 in 2010; 1,120 in 2011.

Similar trends could be found in college football this season. Still, there are a handful of teams based on their 2011 production that could have a distinct advantage because of the changes.

They are teams with double weapons—a nearly impenetrable kickoff coverage team, and a dangerous kickoff returners.

There were 18 teams with 20 or more touchbacks last year. Of those, only four—Purdue, Nebraska, Auburn and Oklahoma State—have kickoff returners back who were ranked in the top 25. But, each of those teams also gave up more than 22 yards when they did allow a return.

To get a better assessment, look at teams like Cincinnati, UCF, Oregon, North Carolina and Western Kentucky for the types of special teams units that stand to gain the most leverage in field position. Each has one of last year’s better kickoff returners back for 2012, and each was ranked among the top 25 in yards allowed per return.

It’s safe to say that more time than usual is being spent this spring thinking about and working on return strategies.

“Last year we found ourselves covering every kick,” said Allen Mogridge, the first-year UCF special teams and tight ends coach who spent the past three seasons at North Carolina. “You didn’t have that extra 5 yards (on touchbacks). Now as you game plan and you look at opponents, you have to ask, ‘Do we want to cover every kick? It will be interesting to see what the strategy is going to be. Do we feel like we can get down there and corral the guy inside the 25 or 20?

“It’s definitely going to change the return game.”

For the rules oversight committee, that was the point.

When former Rutgers player Eric LeGrand was paralyzed as a result of an injury sustained during a kickoff in 2010, then-Rutgers coach Greg Schiano advocated for the removal of kickoffs from the game completely. He found some support in the coaching community for eliminating kickoffs. The committee didn’t go that far, but the safety concerns were paramount.

“If they feel like it’s making the game safer, they have a right to change the rules,” said Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah. “I don’t think there was a problem with it.”

Abdullah finished his freshman season in 2011 ranked ninth in the nation with 29.35 yards per return, including one taken back for a touchdown against Fresno State. He’s among a group of players capable of turning the mundane into something exhilarating.

In addition to New Mexico State senior Taveon Rogers’ national-best three returns for touchdowns last season, there were 10 others who took two all the way. Time will tell if those results plummet. And if players are better protected.

Temple senior kicker Brandon McManus said the changes will “prevent a decent amount of injuries.” Still, there’s no way of eliminating them entirely. For his part, McManus said he has worked this spring on more directional kicks and on pinning the ball in the corners inside the 20.

He acknowledged not all kickers are capable of consistently putting the ball in the end zone and instead rely on the coverage team to make a play after sky kicks. Poor coverage teams must decide whether to just give away 5 yards on a touchback brought to the 25, or to try and defend the return.

The worst-case scenario, though, is the same as it has always been: a standout and determined return guy facing a suspect return team. When that happens, you get results like Cincinnati’s.

The Bearcats, with kicker Tony Miliano, yielded only 18.90 kickoff return yards per game, which ranked 16th. And their returner, Ralph David Abernathy IV, as a freshman was seventh in the country with a total of 1,034 return yards. The odds of a field position advantage gained on special teams would seem to be in Cincinnati’s favor. That doesn’t mean Abernathy’s going to defy common sense.

“You have to stay within what you’re taught,” Abernathy said. “Do what you’re supposed to do and don’t try to make something out of nothing.”

Regardless of the new rules, the competitor in guys like Abernathy and Abdullah will see a wedge and want to bust through it. With the coverage team having less of a running start, but 5 fewer yards to cover, the chances of making something special happen on returns are sure to be fewer.

The chance to try, though, isn’t any less enticing.

“I pride myself on making a play each time I step out there on the field,” said Abdullah. “I feel like I can come out and do something with it. We’ll see. I’m not going to be afraid to bring it out by any means.”

By Ron Kroichick / San Francisco Chronicle

As the football soars through the sky, often forcing him to retreat into the end zone, 49ers kick returner Ted Ginn Jr. does not contemplate the wisdom of NFL rules changes on kickoffs.

He does not fear the 11 players racing toward him, intent on crashing into him and knocking him to the ground. He does not bemoan the possibility of reluctantly taking a touchback.

Ginn simply covets the tantalizing sight of the ball sailing his way. That means he's about to run the show, if only briefly.

"It's one thing I can control," Ginn said of returning kickoffs. "I feel like I'm the quarterback, the running back, the snapper - everybody who touches the ball on a play from scrimmage."

Kickoffs offer distinctive mayhem, a curious blend of speed, grace and brutal, bone-rattling violence. Ginn showed off his speed and grace in the 49ers' season-opening victory over Seattle, dashing 102 yards to score a touchdown (he added a punt-return touchdown 59 seconds later).

Ellis Hobbs, then Philadelphia's kick returner, absorbed the brutal violence in a November 2010 game against the New York Giants. Hobbs got crunched on a kickoff, temporarily lost feeling in his body and was carted off the field. He sustained a serious neck injury, the second of his career, and retired from football this summer.

By then, the NFL had adopted rules changes designed to make kickoffs safer. The league moved the kick from the 30-yard-line to the 35 and required players on the kicking team to line up no more than 5 yards back (previously, there was no limit on how far back they started).

As expected, the result has been a steady parade of kickoffs flying deep into the end zone or out of play. Nearly 50 percent of kickoffs in the season's first two weeks ended in touchbacks, compared with only 21 percent through Week 2 last season.

At the same time, Ginn, Green Bay's Randall Cobb and Minnesota's Percy Harvin returned kickoffs for touchdowns in Week 1, all covering more than 100 yards. Ginn doesn't think the new rules changed kickoffs as much as widely expected, beyond forcing return men to make more decisions on whether to run out of the end zone.

"You still have an opportunity to make plays," he said.

It's a small sample size, but the average kickoff return increased in the first two weeks of the season, from 22.4 yards last year to 25.4 in 2011 (boosted by those three long returns). That doesn't translate to improved field position: The average drive this season has started at the 22-yard line, compared with the 25.5 through Week 2 last year.

Clearly, it pays to have a kicker with a strong leg. Look no further than the Raiders' Sebastian Janikowski, whose 11 kickoffs have resulted in 11 touchbacks. David Akers of the 49ers is 7-for-13 on touchbacks.

Akers, at 36, counts as a seasoned observer of the kicking game, with 13 years in the league and five Pro Bowl appearances. He stood at his locker in Santa Clara one day last week, scholarly glasses in place, and thoughtfully answered a wave of questions about the reshaped world of NFL kickoffs.

His first, salient point: All these touchbacks will dwindle to some extent as the weather worsens and the ball stops carrying. Or, put another way, he's not expecting ideal kicking conditions when the 49ers play at Washington and Baltimore in November and Seattle on Dec. 24.

"Ultimately, we need to wait the full year to see the true impact, because the weather has been warm," Akers said. "It doesn't really get windy until later in the season, and then it gets really nasty. You're not going to see balls flying nearly as far (later). Weather is a big factor."

Akers, not surprisingly, echoed the sentiments of many NFL players since the rules were changed in March. They argued the league is watering down one of the game's key elements - and high entertainment for spectators, through electrifying returns or jarring collisions.

The league didn't offer statistics illustrating an increased injury risk on kickoffs, but it requires no sixth sense to spot the lurking danger. Players - bigger, stronger and faster than in previous generations - collide at extraordinarily high speeds on kickoffs. The competition committee previously sought to reduce the risk in 2009, limiting the blocking wedge to no more than two players.

The NFL's efforts hardly diminish Blake Costanzo's unbridled enthusiasm for throwing his body into the middle of the fray. Costanzo is a 27-year-old backup linebacker for the 49ers, known throughout the locker room for his special-teams zeal.

He, like Akers, sees nearly as much risk in wide receivers crossing the middle on pass plays, exposing themselves to waiting defensive backs.

"I don't think kickoffs are that much more dangerous than other plays," Costanzo said. "Obviously, they're a little more high-impact - but they've been playing football for, what, 100 years? Football is football, man. It's a physical game. There's risk and danger on every play."

Costanzo zooms toward the danger from both sides, on kick coverage and returns. The mind-set is dramatically different.

"Kickoff coverage, you're going down there 1,000 mph, everything is a blur and you're trying to get to that ball - you can let loose," Costanzo said. "Kickoff return is a lot different, because you're trying to stop those guys from penetrating and making plays. So you have to be a little more patient and relaxed."

The patience of Ginn and other swift return men will be tested in the weeks ahead, especially if the weather holds. They will station themselves near the goal line, hoping for the momentary control Ginn relishes, and then the ball will float overhead into the end zone.

That will leave them with the choice: Take a knee or take a chance. As the season unfolds, Akers figures more and more return men will come out, hoping to weave their way downfield.

"I just think you're going to see guys taking them out from farther back," Akers said. "They don't want a touchback. They want to play."

The NFL's new rule moving kickoffs up five yards result in an increased number of touchbacks during the opening weekend, yet a record-matching three kicks were returned for touchdowns.

The league moved kickoffs up to the 35-yard line hoping to address safety concerns, and that produced nearly triple the number of touchbacks from last year, according to STATS LLC.

In other words, Cribbs could still be effective, though he'll have fewer opportunities. That, of course, could change when kickers have to blast the ball through wintry weather at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

"I really think by the end of the year, you'll see a lot of kick returns, especially in cold-weather places where the ball doesn't travel quite as far," Browns special teams coordinator Chris Tabor said. "Do I think the touchbacks will be higher at the beginning of the year? I do."

The Browns also were exceptional while covering kickoffs last season. They held opponents to a league-best average of 17.8 yards on kickoff returns. They ranked fourth in average drive start allowed after kickoffs (24.1 yards).

BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. - Competition results from the Ray Guy Prokicker.com camp in the Kansas City area last weekend.

Long Distance Field Goal High School: Alejandro Dominguez, 50 yards

Long Distance Field Goal Middle School: Jesse Barnes, 42 yards

Long Distance Kickoff: Michael Mesh, 67 yards

Hang Time Punt: Cameron Owens, 4.2

Out of Bounds Punt: Josh Wondra

Fastest Single Snap: Wilson Alexander, .80

Most Accurate Snapper: Kendall Schmitt, 13 of 30

TOP PROSPECTS

Wilson Alexander, long-snapper, 2012

Ryan Ahlgren, kicker, 2013

A.J. Brown, kicker, 2012

Lucas Guifoil, kicker, 2012

Michael Mesh, kicker, 2013

SEATTLE - Competition results from the Ray Guy Prokicker.com camp in the Seattle area.

Long Distance Field Goal HS: Chavo Camargo, 45 yards

Long Distance Kickoff: Trevor Merritt, 68 yards

Hang Time Punt: Nathan Suyematsu, 4.51

Out of Bounds Punt Right: Tyler Gilmore

Out of Bounds Punt Left: Matt Longnecker

Fastest Single Snap: Wesley Rosotomily, 0.78

Most Accurate Snapper: Wesley Rostomily, 15 of 30

TOP PROSPECTS

Wesley Rosotomily, long-snapper, 2013

By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Combo kicker Brian Franklin came away from the Ray Guy Prokicker.com camp as a top prospect with a perfect performance.

Franklin, a rising senior from Chandler, Ariz., charted 10-for-10 during charting on field goals. camp coordinator Matt Reagan said it’s the first such performance he’s seen this summer.

“He’s in the 100 percent club,” Reagan said. “He’s a good punter and he’s got a leg. He’ll be fine at the next level.”

Franklin also launched a 69-yard kickoff to win the Long Distance Kickoff competition. However, his consistency is what sold Reagan.

“There was a lot of wind today and to be that consistent in the wind is good,” Reagan said. “We were real impressed with him. He’s not a big guy but that doesn’t matter. He’s all about leg speed and he’s got it.”

Franklin missed on his first attempt in the Longest Field Goal competition but he had already booted a kick from 60 yards out on the first day of camp.

Reagan said he won’t be surprised to find Franklin on somebody’s college roster in 2012.

“He needs to have a good senior year but I believe he’ll be kicking somewhere,” Reagan said.

The camp at Cocoino High School was a first for Prokicker.com. The facilities were top-notch, Reagan said.

“It’s the first time we’ve had a camp here and I hope we come back,” he said.

Franklin kicked for Dobson High School last year where he connected on a pair of field goals. He also had a 60-yard punt for the Arizona team.

By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com

ARLINGTON, Tex. – Ryan Parker’s kick was pure Texas-sized.

Parker, a rising senior from Houston, Tex., bombed a Ray Guy Prokicker.com 82-yard kickoff at a camp at the University of Texas-Arlington last week.

Parker’s blast also had a 3.7 hang time. He had campers and camp staff oohing and aahing after the booming kickoff.

“It’s the longest one I’ve seen and I’ve been working these camps for nine years,” said Dusty Mangum, the former University of Texas kicker and a staff member for Prokicker.com. “Ryan is doing well and continues to get better. He’s still got a few things to work on.”

Mangum worked with Parker earlier in the spring at the Prokicker.com at Woodlands High School, where Parker will be a senior this fall.

“The first time I worked with him in the Woodlands we tweaked one or two things and the next day he already fixed it,” Magnum said. “Then he went out and won the (camp) competitions. This week I see him working on those things and getting better.”

Parker’s 82-yard kickoff set the Prokicker.com national record that was previously held by Nick Pollard four years ago. Pollard, a kicker for University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, is a Prokicker.com staff member and actually charted the record-breaking kicker at UTA.

“What can I say? He got me by a yard,” Pollard said.

Parker was thrilled to have the record. He said that was “my longest by like five yards.”

There was a slight wind but not really enough to make a big impact.

“ I hit it pretty solid,” Parker said. “Dusty is really good. He’s getting my contact better. He gets my plant leg in position to swing through the ball. The drills have really helped me. I’ll take those home and keep working with them.”

Parker said he improves every time he attends a Prokicker.com camp. He hopes to follow in the footsteps of staff members, many who are currently on college rosters and some who enjoyed careers in college.

“Those guys went to (Prokicker.com) camps and now they’re in college,” he said. “My goal is to get a scholarship next year to kick in college.”

If Parker keeps busting 82-yard kickoffs, that shouldn’t be a problem.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Ray Guy Prokicker.com camp competition results from Memphis.

Long Distance Field Goal High School: Boone Frederick, 45 yards

Long Distance Kickoff: Reece Everett, 67 yards

Hang Time Punt: Codie McMahon, 42 yards, 4.2

Out of Bounds Punt Right: Christian Troxler

Out of Bounds Punt Left: Zach Weir

Fastest Single Snap: Patrick Williams, 0.81

Most Accurate Snapper: Shawn Smith, 9 of 30

TOP PROSPECTS

Reece Everett, kicker, 2013

Patrick Williams, long-snapper, 2013