New kick rule sets off debate in ACC

It looks like Atlantic Coast Conference coaches will be tinkering all season with strategies on how to best tackle the new kickoff rule. After one week, some said their approach could change game to game.

While Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher likely plans to utilize his team’s return and coverage ability at all times, other coaches might let the other team start at the 25 rather than risk a big return.

Fisher said the Seminoles will attack constantly because they have a kicker who can boot it high and inside the 5. And with reliable, speedy coverage teams, he added that the Seminoles are likely to gain anywhere from 8-15 yards a kickoff.

“With our athleticism and our ability to kick the football, I think it’s something we’ve got to take advantage of,” Fisher said.

Not everyone in the ACC shares Fisher’s approach. Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe is hoping for a steady dose of touchbacks.

“Last year, we didn’t kick off very well and we had several kicks returned against us out to around the 35,” Grobe said.

North Carolina State coach Tom O’Brien felt Grobe’s pain. O’Brien said giving the opponent the ball at the 25 would be an improvement over what the Wolfpack did last year. But just as kicking the ball in play has risks, so does banking on being able to eliminate returns. O’Brien will gladly accept starting a drive at the 25.

“Pretty much, if the ball’s kicked into the end zone, I was told to just down it,” kick-returner Tobias Palmer said of the Wolfpack’s approach.

He knows the rule is safety-oriented, but doesn’t like it. In the Wolfpack’s game against Tennessee, the Vols kicked off seven times and got three touchbacks. Palmer had three of the four Wolfpack returns, including one of 43 yards.

Clemson has two dynamic kickoff returners in Sammy Watkins and Martavius Bryant. Like Palmer, they will factor greatly into the risk-reward discussions.

“I want them to kick it to us,” said Tigers coach Dabo Swinney, quickly adding that would not do that.