Texas Tech football special teams breakdown: What's known, what's to be determined

Veteran assistant Kenny Perry is a man of many hats on the Texas Tech football staff.

As associate head coach, he's a right-hand man of sorts to Joey McGuire, interesting considering they used to snipe at each other across the field as high-school coaches of rival programs. As Tech running backs coach, Perry led the position room that produced a Doak Walker Award semifinalist when Tahj Brooks rushed for 1,538 yards last season.

More for the resume: As special-teams coordinator, he's had something to do with the successes the past two years of Ray Guy Award semifinalist Austin McNamara , Lou Groza Award semifinalist Trey Wolff , Gino Garcia and Drae McCray.

All of which led to Texas-El Paso interviewing Perry for its head-coaching job last offseason. The Miners went another direction, and Perry stayed at Tech, where he's back alongside McGuire and can still tell the Red Raiders to hand the ball to Tahj.

He's had a few more decisions to make this spring and summer about the special teams, where the punter and punt-return specialist are gone and there's an unexpected kicker competition.

Here's a closer examination.

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Kicker

Projected starter: Gino Garcia, Sr.

Primary depth: Reese Burkhardt, Sr.

In a nutshell: Garcia's a sixth-year senior who's made 48 of 69 field goals in his career. He hit 16 of 22 last year, including a late game winner at Kansas . Burkhardt's never attempted a field goal in a college game.

To be determined: Can Garcia hold off a challenge by Burkhardt to keep his job? That question would seem to be a non-starter, but Tech coach Joey McGuire said at the end of spring practice and through the summer that Burkhardt has offered an alternative. In the spring game at the Sports Performance Center, he made a tying 54-yarder in the final minute of regulation and a game-winning 43-yarder in overtime. In three years at Alabama-Birmingham and last year at Tech, Burkhardt has kicked off 214 times.

Related: Who will be Texas Tech football's field goal kicker? That's still up in the air

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Punter

Projected starter: Jack Burgess, Jr.

Primary depth: Gino Garcia, Sr.

In a nutshell: Austin McNamara was Texas Tech's punter for five years. He set the school and Big 12 records for career punting average at 45.91 yards and set school and conference records for single-season average with his mark of 48.2 in 2021. His replacement is Burgess, a transfer from Weber State whose numbers last year — 47.2-yard average, 20 punts of 50 yards-plus, 21 inside the 20-yard line — matched McNamara's almost exactly.

To be determined: Burgess, from the south Australian state of Victoria, is another product of the Prokick Australia program, whose trainees are usually versatile. How much will Tech use him in the roll-out, rugby style as opposed to the traditional American spiral punting? Burgess estimated he tilted 70% rugby style to 30% traditional at Weber State, but thinks he'll do more of the American spiral style for the Red Raiders.

Deep snapper

Projected starter: Jackson Knotts, Sr.

Primary depth: Rylan Vagana, Fr.

In a nutshell: Knotts is in position to be Texas Tech's man on special-teams snaps for the fourth year in a row. The Floridian was the Red Raiders' deep snapper all 38 games of his career until he suffered torn knee ligaments in the 2023 regular-season finale at Texas, sidelining him for the Independence Bowl. Tech signed Vagana to be his eventual successor.

To be determined: Will Knotts be medically cleared to go for the season opener? McGuire said post-spring and into summer that Knotts was on track to return early in the season. Knotts has been practicing and said he doesn't know any reason the medical staff won't turn him loose beginning with game one.

Related: Texas Tech football's Jackson Knotts has ambitious 'How I spent my summer' story

Return specialists

Projected starters: KR Drae McCray, Sr.; PR Josh Kelly, Sr.

Primary depth: KR-PR Jordan Brown, Sr.; PR-KR Micah Hudson, Fr.

In a nutshell: McCray's 27.6-yard kickoff-return average ranked ninth in the FBS last season and first in the Big 12 among qualifiers. No reason to think he can't be as good or better, having made his first trip through the Big 12. Myles Price handled most punts the past two years, but Price transferred to Indiana, and at least five receivers have been part of the competition to replace him.

To be determined: Who winds up getting the most punt-return duty. McGuire said after spring ball he wanted to see McCray seize the job because of the speed and explosiveness he shows returning kickoffs. About 10 days out from the season opener, though, the Tech coach sounded more confident in Kelly after watching him catch punts more smoothly in practice. Interestingly enough, Kelly never returned a punt in a game in his four years at Fresno State and one at Washington State. Don't be surprised either if Hudson or Brown get a chance to return punts.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football special teams breakdown: What's known, what's to be determined