The last piece of the Panther puzzle is their special teams (here are the previews for the offense and the defense). If every thing goes according to plan, we'll see the UNI special teams on the field a lot; specifically the punt team and the kickoff return team.
Punter:
UNI will be sporting a true freshman at punter this year, Kyle Bernard. Bernard was actually primarily a quarterback in high school (watch for the fake punt!) but also handle the punting duties for Cedar Falls last year.
Place Kicker:
The Panthers have a good place kicker in Billy Halgren. In 2008, Hallgren accounted for 108 points going 19-28 on field goals and 51-53 on PATs. He also handled most of the kickoff duties and had 11 touchbacks.
Kick Returners:
The Panthers also have 2 veteran kick returners. Return specialist Jarred Herring averaged over 25 yards on kickoff returns with a long of 70. This year he will also be asked to do field punts. The other return man is Josh Collins. Collins averaged 22 yards per kickoff return last year.
Overall Outlook:
Bernard may be busy as the Hawkeye defense smothers the UNI offense. If he struggles to reverse the field position, Iowa should be able to take advantage of a short field all day. Kickoff returns may be one place that UNI can gain some momentum with Herring and Collins, but only if Murray can't boot it into the endzone.