James Shibest's reputation as special teams guru on display with Purdue football
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WEST LAFAYETTE − After two failed attempts to field a kickoff in the air at Northwestern put Purdue football‘s offensive unit deep in its own territory to start drives, maybe the best idea was to just fair catch and guarantee starting at the 25.
James Shibest believes in being aggressive.
“I’m not a fair catch guy. I look at it totally different than a lot of people,” Purdue’s special teams coordinator said. “Do I think fair catching is good in some situations? I do. I am kind of old school. We need to do a good job fielding the ball, No. 1, then having a chance to advance it every time.”
Aside from one costly shanked punt at Michigan, Purdue’s special teams units have been a major reason the Boilermakers nearly pulled off wins against Rutgers and Michigan the past two weeks.
Barry Odom believes in the value of special teams and the edge it can provide. When Odom was hired as Purdue’s head coach in December, he knew the Boilermakers needed Shibest, who spent the past two seasons alongside Odom at UNLV.
Odom invested not only resources, but time, into developing a unit run by who Odom has referred to as the best special teams coach in the country.
“We practice special teams probably more than anyone in the country,” Purdue kicker Spencer Porath said. “At some point, that’s got to show up on game day, and I think that’s what we’ve started to show.”
Last season, Porath was 7-for-11 on field goal attempts. This season, he’s 11 of 12, including last week’s career-long 50-yarder.
Purdue brought Jack McCallister to West Lafayette through the transfer portal. Purdue leads in net punting with a 42.5 yards per average. McCallister has booted a Big Ten-best 68-yarder this season, one of his 12 punts of at least 50 yards.
Purdue’s punt return defense ranks 12th nationally, allowing just 2.7 yards per return.
“You can feel the energy from the special teams unit coming off the field when they make a play that transfers directly to our defense. Kickoff the same way,” defensive coordinator Mike Scherer said. “Special teams and defense go hand in hand. It’s huge what they’re doing.”
At Michigan, Winston Berglund blocked a punt and Jaxon Ott got his hand on another that was not credited as a blocked punt.
In the last two games, Michael Jackson III has five kickoff returns for an average of 34 yards per.
“As a return man, all of us we all want to return the ball and make a big play and make a big explosive for our team and create an environment where everybody is excited and we have more energy,” kick returner and running back Malachi Thomas said.
Odom’s stance on Shibest being a special teams savant has validation.
Shibest was twice named NJCAA Coach of the Year after leading Butler to junior college national titles in 1998 and 1999. He’s twice been recognized as Football Scoop’s Special Teams Coordinator of the Year since making the move from junior college to major college football.
In 2000, when he joined his alma mater Arkansas, there was an opening for a tight ends coach, but the Razorbacks also needed a special teams coach. Shibest assumed multiple duties.
The special teams role became his calling card.
“Over time, I thought it’s a pretty cool deal,” Shibest said. “The one thing I like about it is I get to get involved with more players on the team and not just eight or 10 guys, which makes it really fun.”
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue football receiving boost from special teams units
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