Michigan State's special teams has traditionally been a strong suit over the decades. The unit will look to build on the rebound season the unit experienced in 2023 after struggling the past few years.
Here is an in-depth look at the personnel for MSU’s special teams unit ahead of the 2024 regular season.
One note beforehand, though. While this article primarily deals with kickers, punters and long snappers, the returner position is worth mentioning briefly as well. Michigan State will feature a host of players at the position this fall, per Spartans Illustrated sources. The rotation is expected to include Aziah Johnson, Montorie Foster, Angelo Grose, and Alante Brown — plus potentially running backs Nate Carter and Kay'ron Lynch-Adams, although we would not expect to see them as often in return action as the others — fielding kickoffs and punts this season. More names could be in the mix as well.
Kickers
Jonathan Kim returns to East Lansing for another season after earning All-Big Ten honorable mention honors last season (coaches and media). A graduate transfer from North Carolina, Kim led the Spartans in scoring last season with 56 points, averaging 4.7 per game, while going 13-for-18 on field goals and 17-for-17 on point-after attempts.
Kim also broke Iowa's Kinnick Stadium record last season, scoring the longest field goal in the Big Ten and second-longest in the country when he scored a 58-yard field goal as time expired to end the first half. The kick was also the fourth-longest in MSU history. Overall, Kim scored four field goals of 50-plus yards last season, tying for third-most in FBS. He finished the year 3-for-5 between 40-49 yards out and 6-for-6 between 30-39 yards.
Managing kickoff duties will also fall primarily to Kim this year. Last season, he averaged 62.1 yard on kickoffs and totaled 28 touchbacks. His 65.1% touchback rate was sixth in the Big Ten, and increasing that will be his goal heading into this season. Kim finished last season with 12 of his 13 final kickoffs going for a touchback.
Adding depth for the Spartans at placekicker will be redshirt freshman Tarik Ahmetbasic. A native of Clinton Township, Mich., Ahmetbasic was a first-team all-state honoree by the Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News, and The Associated Press in Division 1 along with a member of the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association (MHSFCA) Academic All-State Team.
Ahmetbasic earned several other regional accolades in his high school career, while going a perfect 9-for-9 on field goals and 40-for-40 on PATs with 37 touchbacks his senior year. A multi-sport athlete, he also earned all-state honors in soccer. He committed to MSU in 2023 as a preferred walk-on and redshirted as a freshman last season.
Martin Connington arrived in East Lansing this summer as a true freshman out of Meridian, Idaho. He was one of the top kickers in the Class of 2024, ranked No. 5 by Kohl's Kicking and No. 7 by Chris Sailor Kicking. Originally an Oregon State commit after first committing to Boise State, Connington chose instead to follow assistant head coach/running backs coach/co-special teams coordinator Keith Bhonapha to MSU as he also did when Bhonapha left the Broncos for the Beavers.
Connington was a first-team Class 5A all-state selection and was a perfect 20-for-20 on PATs while going 6-for-7 on FGAs his senior year. He also averaged 57.9 yards per kickoff along with 31.7 yards per punt. He has stated he's excited to learn at MSU under Kim and compete to improve at his position.
Punters
Ryan Eckley returns to East Lansing for another season after a redshirt freshman season saw him earn first-team Freshman All-American honors by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and The Athletic while earning second-team All-Big Ten by coaches and media. Eckley leaped into the MSU record books with the fifth-longest average in MSU single-season history, booming the ball 46.8 yards on average. That was good for second in the Big Ten behind Iowa's Tory Taylor, who is now in the NFL.
Eckley continued to impress throughout the season, saving one of his best performances for last as he kicked a season-high six punts for 50-plus yards versus Penn State inside Ford Field in the season finale. Two punts went for more than sixty yards, including his final that went for 63, finishing the game with a 54-yard average. He enters this season as an All-America and Ray Guy Award candidate along with a preseason All-Big Ten selection by Athlon Sports (first team), USA TODAY (first team), and Phil Steele (first team).
A Western Michigan transfer with two seasons of eligibility remaining, Carson Voss arrived in East Lansing in January as a transfer from Kalamazoo. A native of Dansville, Mich., playing for the Spartans is a dream come true for him.
Voss redshirted as a freshman and did not record statistics in 2022. Last season, he averaged 39.6 yards per punt on 48 attempts for a total of 1,901 yards, appearing in all 12 games for the Broncos last year. When Western Michigan visited Kinnick Stadium, Voss averaged 42.7 yards per punt, including a 54-yarder, and notched a tackle against Iowa on Sept. 16 as well.
Voss was a multi-sport athlete in high school, winning the 2019 MHSAA Division 4 state championship in the long jump while being a four-time all-state honoree in track. Voss was also named the 2021 Michigan High School Coaches Association Rich Tompkins Multi-Sport winner. The award is given to athletes who are letter winners in multiple sports during their high school career and that demonstrate contributions to the sport, school, and community. Voss lettered in football, basketball, track, cross country, and soccer at Dansville High School, which is located just 20 minutes south of East Lansing.
Long Snappers
Kaden Schickel is expected to start at long snapper for MSU this fall after transferring to East Lansing in January 2024 from James Madison. The former Duke played in all 13 games at JMU last season, including against Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl. During the season, he recorded two tackles and recovered a fumble.
Schickel has two seasons remaining of eligibility after redshirting as a freshman in 2021 and did not record a game statistic in 2022. A native of Frederskcburg, Va., Schickel was rated a five-star long snapping prospect by Kohl’s Kicking coming out of high school.
Jack Carson Wentz is a fellow transfer student, joining MSU as a preferred walk-on from West Georgia. The Wolves were Division II during Wentz's time with the team, but join Division I this season. He spent the spring at West Georgia after beginning his collegiate career in 2022 at fellow DII Lenoir-Rhyne where he did not appear in any game action.
Wentz is a native of Canton, Ga. where he played high school football for Cherokee High School. The sophomore was rated the No. 34 long snapper in the Class of 2024 by Rubio Long Snapping and adds needed depth to the position for MSU.
Note: Linebacker Sam Edwards was MSU's starting long snapper on field goals and PATs in 2023. It is unclear if he will continued to be utilized in this role in 2024, but Schickel will be the starting long snapper regardless.
More 2024 football season preview content:
Roster breakdown by the numbers
Breakout candidates on offense
Breaking down Michigan State's schedule
Bold predictions
Positional Preview: Quarterbacks
Positional Preview: Running backs
Positional Preview: Wide receivers
Positional Preview: Tight ends
Positional Preview: Offensive line
Positional Preview: Interior defensive line
Positional Preview: Linebackers
Positional Preview: Defensive backs
Positional Preview: Defensive and rush ends
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