Newsstand: Marty Biagi named FootballScoop’s Special Teams Coordinator of the Year
Brian Mason was hired by Notre Dame for the 2022 season and won FootballScoop’s Special Teams Coordinator of the Year honors, leading a group that posted a whopping 7 blocked punts and ranked first in the country in average starting field position (33.4). This excellent year for the Irish specials teams landed Mason the same position with the Indianapolis Colts, where he remains to this day.
Marcus Freeman hired Marty Biagi to replace Mason, and Biagi received major honors Monday. He, too, was named FootballScoop’s Special Teams Coordinator of the Year honors.
“Marty has made a great impact in our program with his innovative approach to special teams,” Freeman told FootballScoop. “He consistently finds ways to put us in a position to win that phase of the game.”
According to FootballScoop, prior winners of the award vote on who the selection would be, and Biagi was the choice for 2024. Indiana’s Grant Cain, Vanderbilt’s Jeff LePak, Baylor’s Mark Scott and Toledo’s Stanton Weber were the other finalists, and per FootballScoop, those coaches were picked based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directors, and athletic department personnel.
Biagi has certainly been creative with fakes, which had to have caught the eye of the past winners who picked him.
In Week 8 against Georgia Tech, the Irish lined up in punt formation and snapped the ball to senior tight end Davis Sherwood. He tossed it to graduate student wide receiver Jayden Harrison, who flipped it on the reverse to Jeremiyah Love, who picked up the first down.
Later in that game, Notre Dame lined up for a field goal but swapped its typical holder, senior Chris Salerno, with speedy walk-on wide receiver/ex-quarterback Tyler Buchner. Buchner, who shares Salerno’s No. 26, darted toward the right sideline and picked up the first down.
“I didn’t even know they wear the same number,” Biagi said later that week, with a smile.
Notre Dame tweets of the day
Quote of the day
“We say blood is thicker than water, right? His daddy wore a gold helmet, and we were somehow, some way able to convince him this was the right opportunity for him. But I think his dad wearing the gold helmet had a factor; but, also, he knows he’s going to create his own path. He’s a great player, going to do some great things.
— Irish head coach Marcus Freeman on On recruiting Jerome Bettis Jr. to ND
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