Once again last season, Iowa had one of the top special teams units in the country. That was due to talented players making up the core of the special teams unit, but also having an outstanding leader in special teams coordinator LeVar Woods.

Woods spoke to the media on Wednesday to discuss what the state of the race to replace Caleb Shudak, who would be his holder this season, if there are some gunner possibilities, and much more.

Q: Is that seemed like it seemed like the communication with Colton Rastetter and Keith especially, was so ongoing that they were almost in the same tune with what they want to do it. Is that a little bit too high for a new holder to go in with it with a kicker or do you think that they have the potential to kind of hit that same sweet spot?

WOODS: Definitely. It takes reps right? It takes it takes constant communication and it takes chemistry.

Those are the things that it takes for a kicker and holder and a snapper to work a clean operation. I promise you guys we all watch tape now and watch games to see you watch the NFL guys do it. It is it's marvelous. It's unbelievable. Right because it looks like snapper snaps the ball bang there's laces and hold a dime.

You snap the dime right to him back perfect. Holder doesn't have too many but put the ball down. It's not like that. It’s not like that in college. In high school. It's like hard to watch for me the guy that's into it right? But you're in college, there's more spinning and twisting of the ball to get the ball away the kicker wants.

Back to your question. I think there's chemistry that's involved as part of the deal with a player that's not a specialist right? Because they're worse off physically getting yelled at by a partner. He's trying to make tackles and interceptions and all that stuff. And then oh, by the way, a field period you know, so there's it's not as easy to do it that way as is working with a specialist.

Keith and Caleb and held for each other in practice. Two kickers they held for each other at one point, right because they felt the kickers knew who had the better hold and this is the hole that one so it's just a fine little art that I knew nothing about before I started coaching, especially the now I see how it makes or breaks up a unit and comes down to points.

Q: Would you like to have that resolved by the end of spring to get kind of that communication going in the fall?

WOODS: Can be done yesterday? It's not gonna happen. We're working on right now and trying to figure out who it is and then you know how we're operating. Then just go from there. Those are the three guys that have been working there and I think I'm pleased with all how all three of them are working.

Q: What about the kicking part of it, you lose an All American caliber kicker and can shoot it. You got an incoming freshman. You got a couple of guys who were here for a few years. Where do you see the breakdown? Is this one that's going to go to the last possible week like you think a few years ago?

WOODS: Yeah, I would see it going into camp. Firstly. I think they're all three guys have not played a college football game. Right. So that's, that's part of it. Right? That's part of getting them ready to that point. Frankly, I can't tell you who I don't see anyone leading or trailing right now. I see them all kind of the same. I think they will tell you that the same thing. But I see the competition coming into the summer, and probably in the fall camp.

I'm pleased to where everyone's at. We're all on a different journey. We're all in. We're all trying to figure out.

Any you get to play golf. Well, if the guys that do play golf, well what happens to play golf? Well, it takes a long time to get your swing and be consistent. It takes work and it takes reps it takes driving range of takes. Now can we put you on the course now we got to play you in conditions?

But we work on that with like last year with Aaron and Lucas, Amaya and Drew was in high school. He should still be in high school right now. I always remind him like you should be passing notes to your friends and texting each other. You know what I mean? He should be going prom. He's here right?

So my point is like we're working trying to get all these guys to the point where they're comfortable with their slang. They're competent and they can replicate it over and over and over.

It’s no different than the Masters was last week. But I don't know if I've ever been more intrigued with golf swings and this Masters and watching and seeing like how consistent guys can be in how they strike the ball.

It's really all kicking comes down to you and then having the confidence to like you saw two guys last two guys we had were Keith and Caleb I'm not sure I've seen two more confident kickers going out and making a kick can succeed when the whole world is on top of them. Those guys are phenomenal at it. It takes a long time. It takes reps it takes like I said it takes confidence to get to that point.

Q: If you look at the past five, six years of Iowa football they are probably the most consistent kicking team in that country. How do you sort of, I guess not lower their expectations but keep them confident and not get, you know, make sure they're not nervous when they're stepping into such a big role that's been so vital over the past few years?

WOODS:I think the expectation is the expectation. It is what it is. The standards are the standards so that part isn't going to change.

However we're trying to do we will work on consistently and constantly. It starts by putting guys in situations. It starts getting off the drive again, using golf driving range right getting them off the driver is to the point where they can go on the hole one. So now we get into the practice routine ad nauseam. To the point where there will be a time when we go over and practicing Kinnick the team practice in the Kinnick we'll go over before and work on pregame routines.

Because only knew how much we've worked on pregame routines. Like what's your pregame routine how how few balls is it going to take you to get warmed up to perform in Kinnick?

Because what's what happens throughout the game? You may hit about 80 to 100 balls. You don't hit that many in practice but in a game situation. It takes you 20 or 25. Sometimes 30 balls or 30 swings to get warmed up to go into a game.

So we practice that part of it. We practice the routine of going into the first quarter, and then we'll practice the routine of coming out of halftime and how many balls it takes to get warmed up. Okay, now we're in competition. We have different scripts we call it simulations, right so we have what we call a sideline sim where will simulate coming from the sideline into a kick or to a punt. We have we call a game data sim and we're simulating a game we'll give them a script. Sometimes we'll take a script from an old game, and our team against team B you guys are against each other. They're two kickers on each kick on each side and punter on each side of snapper on each side. And we go through and play a game this time, right? Because one thing about being a specialist, there's plenty of idle time. And if you've ever played golf, you have idle time. You're playing golf, usually bad things go through your head and you have to work through that stuff as a as a player. So those are things that we're constantly trying to get to get to the point where they're confident enough to do it, do it for other teammates and then do it in front of fans.

Q: It'd be tough for a lot of people to go as long as Tory is gone without seeing his family. How would you see him overcome that?

WOODS: You know, I'm glad you asked that because that's the personal side of Tory that I don't think people it's hard to imagine, right?

It's hard to imagine there's never been a foreigner going to live in a foreign country leaving my family for multiple years. It's definitely something that he's had to work through his family's had to work through. But I think he's handled it extremely well.

I think to have an he's a little bit older, right that a little bit more emotionally mature. I think that helps. But, it cannot be easy to think of your teammates as roommates. Those guys definitely helped. His family is tremendous and I can't wait to come in here for more than six weeks or seven or eight, but to be here to watch their son, I can't wait for him to come here because he's done great things since he's been here and they're phenomenal family, tremendous family.

Q: You bring back the Big 10 return man of the year in Charlie Jones. What are your expectations for him this year? Beyond doing what he did last year, which we did so well?

WOODS: Yeah. I'm glad you brought that up. Charlie's a great kid. I think everyone I call him a kid. He's an adult, but a really good guy and a really good football player. Charlie gives us a chance to score anytime he has the ball in his hands, so that's what we're trying to get right he looks at it and you look at it as an offensive play.

Another opportunity for him to go score. You look at games where as a kick returner, Illinois game we were really in a little bit I think we're down 10 or 14 I can't remember. Then bang he brings him right back. Now we're right in the game. You look at other games where as a punt returner, he's constantly trying to get his hands on the ball and trying to go. That is a huge, huge weapon.

His confidence is a huge weapon in some of the things we're working on is being fundamentally sound when he fields it, which he is, now decision making. Last year we returned 37 I believe 37 punts, which is like way above average way above anyone else in the country. Okay so then you look at the average is average wasn't great, but a lot of that if he's trying to turn balls and maybe be better off fair catching or or let him die. But that's not Charlie. And that's what we have to know about. When's he going to take the risk? When's the risk worth the reward? How much how much juice is in that squeeze?

On a return so, but again, I love Charlie, I think we all do and we've all been benefactors of Charlie and his playmaking ability. So we're just trying to get him to do that more obviously, as many times as he can and then pick being picky and choosey when he does.

Q: You got some really good returners over the years, like 10 years ago and Micah Hyde was doing it basically had to catch everything. And he had Desmond King who did it a lot. And then there was a year you had an All American cornerback who didn't do as well. What is that mentality more than anything as far as whether or not you're going to fair catch it all the time where you're going to take off and how do you treat that mental game?

WOODS: It’s decision making right? So decision making risk versus reward, but glad you brought up Micah because he fell on one and I can’t remember which game they were playing. I was watching the Bills and he caught one to turn it and fell down. I said it reminded me of one because Michigan State 2012 where he should have scored. He fell and slipped down. We were both laughing back and forth.

But it takes it takes confidence. You have to have nerves of steel back there. And you also have to have that mentality. You want to make a play. Otherwise, it's really easy. A lot of teams just do this, Hey, we'll take the ball wherever you put it to us. There's plenty of teams that we face that way but you know, for us the way we were built as a team, you need to make something happen. So with Charlie, I think you have that and Charlie's not the only one. We have other capable returners that are raring to go to so that's that part is fun. You get to work with guys like that.

Q: Who else do you think could step up in the return game?

WOODS: I think the guys have been working on doing well. Arland Bruce, he’s doing well. I think of all the names that Cooper DeJean looks good back there that’s partly because we end up playing him last year. And Jason played them because I felt confident when I saw him do every day last year and give them back. They're building balls over time. But I told him, Hey, there's something happened here and go back and catch I don't care if you just catch it but I feel good about him making a decision back there.

Those three guys the other guys back there. Jamison Heinz and Terry Roberts constant trying to refine back there. Some other guys young freshmen incoming get should be in high school TJ Hall is impressive back there. Allen Wick who has been a pleasant surprise for me in spring, and then also Caden Wetjen a transfer in from Iowa Western, who was really good, returning the ball in junior college.

So those are the names that there's more names that we had in the past, which is which was a good thing. I think part of that speaks to the culture here. And kind of how Coach Ferentz runs this program that there's opportunity out there for everybody. And we're looking for guys to step up. Obviously I think Charlie has the job right now because of his past experience. But, you know, someone goes out there they nothing's not that no one's hurt by having more options or more availability. But we'd like to at some point get two returners, that kind of return game as well.

Q: Going back to last year. The plays against Ilinois and Nebraska, those were plays that we're successful, in part because of the things that you saw on film going into the offseason. How much of them are you watching not just the Big 10 but across the country to continue to create those type of opportunities?

WOODS: Right now we're focused on spring football. We did do that back in February and early March and will continue that in the summer. You're glad you brought that up because two of those plays were really huge, huge plays came from a guy Henry Marchase, a guy who really embraced his role as a leader and then also as a special teams player. Those are guys that really helped propel us as a football team and we're looking for more guys like that. Is Henry seen it the way I see it? Do you see it? Do you see the short side? Can you block this pile? It do. You say yeah, and then practice it right. But my point is, it really comes down to players seeing it the way you see it as a coach, and then how much can we put our play our best players in those positions?

Q:I think it's impossible to quantify how much Terry Roberts has meant just on special teams and on defense. Is he is going to pick on pace to play gunner this season and if so, and, and who also is working there. So alongside him?

WOODS: Another thing I think we've got a good group of guys, right?

So he's talking about gunner, talking about Terry, I think Terry and we've all seen Terry over the last few years and I personally feel like I personally feel like the best football for him is still in front at all positions. I think he's I think he has a chance to be a really good football player. But we're working on cleaning up some footwork, some of his techniques a little bit, maybe not so much always using just as flat ability to run.

But also Moss is in that mix. Moss is really good. Cooper DeJean really came on last year for us and he hadn't played that position. We threw him in there and we had a need. We had some guys that went down. But to his credit he paid attention in the meetings and he like I said it gave me confidence because he worked every day is the first guy feeling constant every day, every practice as a freshman so that kind of just let me know his mindset. We're talking about gunners and coverage but that gave me mindset know the guy's a football player. So those three in there think Jameson Heinz is come on a young a young guy, young name that that maybe you hasn't been talked about very much in the past. Hos or Brenden Desfernandes really stepped up this spring. He’s been fun to watch. You can tell he wants to play and he's been kind of itching but I think he's really taken the steps this year this spring to push himself forward. another guy and that makes it it's been a pleasant surprise. I don't I can't tell if he can tackle yet, but as Alec Wick, you don't know the guy like that. We're also working Charlie Jones back there as a gunner as well.

Q: With the holder position, no disrespect to Tory or Nick but Cooper might bring some other dimensions to this position. Does that factor in to any decision you would make with the holder?

WOODS: Yeah, of course it starts with it starts with holding the ball and putting it through the uprights. So if that's you know, that's what we're that's what the field will unit is on the field for us to put the ball for the upright. If he's the best option for that, then that's the way we go. If he's not, then we'll go the route that puts the ball with the uprights but he certainly adds a different dimension.

Tory and Nick are going to kill me for this right they're going to coach him such a good athlete to just see how fast I ran. You know, I hold the shotput record, because Nick will tell you but but Cooper's a different guy, different athletes. I think we all have seen that and know that. But my point is that a point is it's gonna come down to who's gonna help us put the ball in the uprights.

Q: We'll spend August writing about the kicking derby but what how far away like are they from being Shudak? Like, in realistic kickers? Yeah, like this right now?

WOODS: A long way. You guys if you guys were out there yesterday, right. And I saw a couple of you guys. Caleb had a workout. With a couple of NFL teams. Guy was tattooing the ball and looked phenomenal.

So like, I don't think it's fair to say three guys that haven't played the game to compare him to Caleb. They're not at that point right now. They know it. I know it. We all we all know it. But Caleb was at that point a year a year ago. But he is right now. And so don't think Caleb is an NFL kicker. And whoever gets this guy is going to be lucky as all get out have him, you know, whatever that that future holds for him, but I don't think it's fair to compare our guys right now to that.

I think that I think it's comparable to maybe work Caleb was as a freshman, where he was as a second year player. I think it's fairly comfortable. I think the guys, Caleb will tell you the same thing as far as leg strength.