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Louis Hedley Is the Answer to Miami’s Special Teams Woes

Miami finished 115th in the nation in punting average a season ago.

NCAA Football: Orange Bowl-Wisconsin vs Miami Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Jack Spicer and Zach Feagles shared starting reps in 2018. Unfortunately, they didn’t share success.

Their inconsistency often killed momentum for the Hurricanes, who were already struggling through their 4-game losing streak. Now, with a new staff and new punter, Miami looks to rebound in a monumental way.

Some of the hype surrounding Louis Hedley was created due to his encounter with Miami and Hollywood legend, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Johnson congratulated Hedley on signing with the Hurricanes on Twitter — also acknowledging his jersey number choice of 94 — the same number he wore during his time with the team.

While Hedley seems primed to be Miami’s starting punter by the beginning of the season, his punting average of 38.6 yards isn’t exactly astonishing. This is something he’ll have to work on with new special teams coordinator Jonathan Patke, who also serves as Miami’s outside-linebacker coach.

His attitude has made him a fan-favorite though, also expressing that he wishes to work out with ‘The Rock’ someday.

Ultimately, the importance of special teams is often overlooked, but Miami fans are all aware of the inconsistency that plagued the team last season. With kicker Bubba Baxa hopefully improving during the offseason as well, fans should look forward to a solid kicking corps in 2019.