FootballScoop is proud to announce that LeVar Woods (Iowa) is the recipient of the 2023 FootballScoop Special Teams Coordinator of the Year presented by AstroTurf as selected by prior winners.
In many ways, Iowa's entire program is built around a single play: the punt. And Iowa's punting game was quite good in 2023.
The Hawkeyes ranked third in FBS, averaging 47.7 yards per attempt on 6.7 boots per game -- the most in the nation. Punter Tory Taylor booted the ball 87 times, more than 30 beyond any Big Ten punter, yet still led the conference by more than a yard per kick. Only 26 of Taylor's 87 punts were returned (29.9 percent).
On the other end, Iowa was one of 26 FBS teams to notch a punt return touchdown and average at least 10 yards per return. The Hawkeyes were also dynamic in the kick return game, placing 21st in FBS at 23.4 yards per return.
Woods's group excelled covering kickoffs. Only seven were returned all season (fifth fewest nationally) for an average of 15.6 yards per return, a figure that put the Hawkeyes ninth in FBS.
Iowa was also one of 29 teams to block at least three kicks or punts on the season.
Kicker Drew Stevens knocked in 19 field goals on the season. He punched in a 53-yard boot to beat Northwestern with 14 seconds to play, and a 38-yarder as time expired to defeat Nebraska to close the regular season.
Taylor won the Ray Guy Award as the nation's top punter, and was also named the Big Ten's Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year. Cooper DeJean won the Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year, and Stevens was named a Third Team All-Big Ten performer.
A former Hawkeye himself, Woods was a team captain, a co-MVP and the winner of the Hayden Fry Extra Heartbeat Award, given to the player who displays outstanding effort on the field, as a senior in 2000. An undrafted free agent, Woods played seven seasons in the NFL before returning to Iowa in 2008. He originally joined the staff as an administrative assistant, then moved on the field as linebackers and special teams coach in 2012. Displaying his versatility and depth of knowledge, Woods switched from linebackers to tight ends in 2015 while maintaining his special teams duties.
A rare two-time winner, Woods was honored alongside Jim Reid as FootballScoop's Linebackers Coaches of the Year in 2013.
The FootballScoop Coaches of the Year awards presented by AstroTurf are the only set of awards that recognize the most outstanding position coaches in college football. The finalists (Jeff Banks [Texas], Jacob Bronowski [Miami of Ohio], Ricky Brumfield [Georgia Tech] and Woods) were selected based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directors, and athletic department personnel. The prior winners selected this year's winner.
Previous winners of the Special Teams Coordinator of the Year award are James Shibest (Ole Miss, 2008 and Virginia Tech, 2017), Mike Tolleson (Texas, 2009), Joe Robinson (LSU, 2010), John Baxter (USC, 2011), D.J. Durkin (Florida, 2012), Jeff Ulbrich (UCLA, 2013), Robby Discher (Oklahoma State, 2014), Sean Snyder (Kansas State, 2015), Andre Powell (Pittsburgh, 2016), Jeff Banks (Alabama, 2018), Blake Gideon (Houston, 2019), Zac Alley/Winston Venable (Boise State, 2020), Jay Harbaugh (Michigan, 2021) and Brian Mason (Notre Dame, 2022).
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