UF football position preview: Specialists
TODAY: SPECIAL TEAMS
What to expect
The 2024 Gators had a 1-2 punch in the kicking game few if any teams could match. Now there is one. Placekicker Trey Smack is back for his final season, while record-setting punter Jeremy Crawshaw is off to the NFL.
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Crawshaw might have been Florida's most consistent, reliable performer through the ups and downs of five seasons, three of them losing ones. He also endured a coaching change from Dan Mullen, who recruited the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Australia native to Gainesville, to Billy Napier.
Crawshaw ended his career averaging a school-record 46.4 yards per punt, including the single-season mark of 48.9 in 2023. The 24-year-old was rewarded. The Denver Broncos selected him in the sixth round to make him the only punter chosen in the 2025 NFL draft.
Michigan transfer punter Tommy Doman has big shoes to fill, but also a solid resumé. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound senior Doman averaged 42.6 yards on 49 punts this past season, including 15 downed inside the 20 and 10 of 50 yards or longer. Crawshaw finished last season with 25 of 59 punts inside the 20 and 19 of at least 50 yards.
Doman will be receiving the ball from one of the best in the business. Former Orlando Boone standout Rocco Underwood returns for his fourth year at UF after he earned the 2024 Mannelly Award, given the best long snapper in college football, and was second-team All-SEC. The 6-foot-3, 231-pound Underwood, a former tight end, also has recorded seven tackles on special teams.
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True freshman Hayden Craig, a 3-star prospect from Quebec, Canada, who attended Bridgton Academy in Maine, will be preparing for his chance in 2026. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Craig was No. 5 player at his position, according to 247Sports composite rankings.
Evan Noel, the No. 1-rated kicker in the 2025 per 247Sports, will be Smack's heir apparent. The 6-foot-2, 155-pound native of Bay Saint Louis, Miss., set a state high school record with 61-yard field goal in 2024. He hit 25 of 40 attempts at St. Stanislaus High, but did miss 10 of 119 extra-point tries.
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What they're saying
'Tommy's gonna be an instrumental part this fall. The experience, being a two-year starter at Michigan, playing in tough conditions — also having a guy from a program that's won a national championship. So he's been on that journey before but the warm weather in Florida was an easy sell. We're very, very fortunate to have him.' — special teams coach Joe Houston on Doman.
Returnees
Trey Smack
Rocco Underwood
Departures
Jeremy Crawshaw
New arrivals
Hayden Craig (Quebec, Canada), true freshman
Evan Noel (Bay Saint Louis, Miss), true freshman
Projected depth chart (offseason)
PK — Trey Smack | Evan Noel
P — Tommy Doman | Hayden Craig
LS — Rocco Underwood
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Specialists
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
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