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By Sports Information Student Assistant Matt Tully

"Special teams can make the difference between winning and losing in the close games", Snell said. "It is my hope that we can improve on the success of our special teams. Last year, we had outstanding success, and this year we want to improve even more in this aspect of the game.

" I want our special team players to work very hard and take the special teams very seriously", said Snell. "If our veteran players put a great emphasis on special team, our younger players will pick up on that and treat special teams as an important aspect of the program. And, in fact, special teams are one of the places that a younger player can been see more quickly by the coaching staff and where he has a chance to contribute at the varsity level more quickly."

"In Tom and Mark, we return two of the top kickoff return specialists in the OAC," said Snell. "Both have outstanding athletic ability and speed. They can break the game open at any point, and we hope they do it a number of times this year. More importantly is the fact that they have the opportunity to create good, solid field position for our offense."

"I love to compete", said DeLuca, who was fourth on the team with 51 tackles a year ago. "As soon as the ball is kicked, I get focused and ready to play. I know what I can do, but the whole unit makes kickoffs successful. We know that if we all do our jobs successfully that we can make a big difference."

"Kevin gets great height and depth on his kickoffs," said Snell. "Many times they are not returned. And, when they are, our coverage people have the time to get downfield and can make a play. It is an added bonus to our defense."

"Rob could kick the ball pretty well in practice but he was too valuable as a snapper," said Packard, who retired as the winningest football coach in Yellow Jacket history. "Eventually we needed a change so we gave Rob a chance to tryout in practice and he won the job. He went on to kick very well. It was a big bonus to our defense."

"We have a luxury of having two returning kickers with solid ability in Kevin Hille and Cory Kobrinski," said Snell, who also coached the kickers prior to taking over as head coach. "Both young men have the ability to make conversion kicks and field goals. They give us added weapons on offense."

"It came down to a battle in practice," said Packard. "We felt that was the only fair way to do it. Both kicked well and were about equal in every area. So we decided that a decision had to be made so it wasn’t confusing to either Kevin or Cory or their teammates. Kevin won the kick-off in practice and that is how it was decided."

Hille and Kobrinski, who played backed up three-year starter Brian Hegnauer ‘01 as freshmen, learned a great deal from their predecessor.

"It was great having the chance to work with Brian", said Hille. "The best thing that I learned from Brian is that accuracy is all that matters. About 95 percent of all field goal attempts are 45 yards and in, and Brian taught me to focus on the shorter ones. Seeing him do it and working with him on it first hand was very beneficial."

One area that Snell will have to find suitable replacements is in punt returns where graduates Rich Bauman ‘02 and Jeff Hall ‘02 handled duties the past three years. The leading candidates this fall are sophomore defensive backs and return specialists Matt Walker (New Middletown/ Springfield Local H.S.) and Justin Andes (Canal Fulton/ Canton Central Catholic H.S.). A year ago, Andes returned five punts for a 12.8-yard average and Walker ran back a pair at a 9.5-yard pace.

"We feel that both Matt and Justin have the ability to help us this fall," said Snell. "We will also be looking at a number of incoming players too. Like most positions in our program, we expect to see players work for the opportunity to contribute."

Anders	DeLuca

"Bob Packard put a great emphasis on special teams, and so do I," said Snell, who assisted Packard for eight years prior to his appointment as head coach in February. "We work very hard in practice every day on that aspect of the game. We will continue to work hard and hope to have the same success as in past years."

"I don’t think Coach Snell will do anything drastically different," said DeLuca. "We have a good strategy and had good success last year, so why change it."

"Coach Snell has been around the old system and he will find ways to improve it by adding his own nuances", said Hille. "I think he wants to pick certain guys in camp to handle their duties for the entire season and stick with those players. He has told everyone that they will have to work hard and battle for the opportunity to represent Baldwin-Wallace College. With that in mind, we have all work hard to prepare in the offseason and are looking forward to the opportunity in camp."

Becker	Kobrinski

"Special teams can have a big impact on the momentum of the game and I beleive that our special teams will make those big plays," Snell said. "There are student-athletes on this team that can successfully handle the special teams duties. As coaches, we will assign players a task. Then we will let them make the plays for us. We are excited to get started."