DENTON -- UNT football made a whole bunch of national headlines after destroying Arkansas 44-17. But easily the signature play of the day wasn’t on offense or defense – it was on special teams.
Punt returner Keegan Brewer pulled off what became known as the “fake fair catch,” though both Brewer and special teams coordinator Marty Biagi take issue with the name. UNT legend “Mean” Joe Green even called it the greatest play he’s ever seen.
Those plays don’t just happen by accident. UNT is meticulous with its preparation on special teams, treating it just like both other phases of the game. The “fake fair catch” is only the culmination of that investment.
“Special teams ia a big part of this program,” Brewer said. “We practice thousands and thousands of reps to make sure that we can win that phase. It has to do with trust too, because trust plays a big part between the players and the coaches here.”
The attention to detail in the play was astounding. Biagi communicated with the refs that Brewer would not be signaling for a fair catch, so to not blow the whistle. Quarterback Mason Fine said his job was to keep the offense off the field so the group wouldn’t be penalized. Biagi coached Brewer to keep his feet moving, even after he settled, so that he could switch into running mode as quickly as possible and potentially avoid defenders.
Ultimately, it ended with a huge punt return for a touchdown to take a 14-0 lead in Fayetteville and steal the momentum.
Littrell has preached special teams since he arrived in 2016. The Mean Green jumped from No. 96 in S&P+ special teams efficiency under Dan McCarney to No. 34 in one offseason.
“It’s huge. There’s three phases of football: offense, defense and special teams. You gotta win two out of the three phases in order to win a football game,” Littrell said. “Our guys work extremely hard – just like they do on offense and defense – to perfect special teams.”
In 2017, Littrell decided to invest even more in the third phase. He hired Biagi away from Notre Dame to be a dedicated special teams coach. Only four other FBS programs in the state have a dedicated special teams coach. Four programs don’t have special teams coaches at all.