How Vanderbilt football's special teams can improve in 2026

Brock Taylor set records in his first year playing college football.

The Vanderbilt kicker, as a redshirt freshman in 2024, set a school record for most career 50-plus yard field goals. Expectations were high in 2025, but the Commodores' offense was so good that Taylor barely needed to do much. He went from 21 field goal attempts in 2024 to 14 in 2025. He performed well on those attempts, making 13 of 14 as well as 60 of 61 extra points.

Vanderbilt still believes Taylor has more in the tank entering the 2026 season.

"The things we work on with Brock now are kind of back to the fundamentals," assistant special teams coordinator Shane Gallant said April 16. "I think some things we focus on with Brock have been those short space field goals in tight … so balls on the six-yard line, on the left hash, those are kicks that often get lost in the shuffle."

Taylor is also working on developing chemistry with a new long snapper, Kaden Schickel, a transfer from Michigan State. His expected holder, transfer punter Tyler Ebel, hasn't arrived on campus yet while he finishes up classes at South Dakota.

He's also healthier. He's dealt with knee tendinitis in past offseasons and has been limited, but this spring, he's full go.

"This spring, the biggest emphasis has been working with Kaden, our new snapper, and then obviously, Tyler's going to get here in summer. … Just re-iterating with my consistency, making sure that when I do go back, it stays in the same ball flight and everything, and just trying to make sure my swing and body keeps it going."

How kick, punt return game is progressing for Vanderbilt football

Vanderbilt's primary punt returner last year was Martel Hight and its main kick returner was Tre Richardson. Hight is back, but Richardson transferred to Louisville.

Hight is again in the mix to return punts in 2026 after having 10 returns for 76 yards. That wasn't as productive as his 2024 season, when he had 18 returns for 265 yards and was named second team All-SEC.

Junior Sherrill could return to his old kick return role that he had in 2024, but others in the mix include Alabama transfer Cole Adams and returnee Tristen Brown. With the Crimson Tide, Adams returned 19 punts for 156 yards and one kick for 20 yards in 2025.

"The punt return game is fluid right now," Gallant said. "You've got Martel, you've got Cole and another guy we trust a lot is Tristen Brown. … Martel was an all-conference SEC returner last year, we didn't have the best success on punt return, so our primary focus is right now, we know Martel and Cole can both do it for us at a high level. Our primary focus this offseason has been on just evolving our techniques in the blocking game."

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt football looks for special teams step in 2026