Of all the new assistant coaches that joined [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] at Notre Dame, none may be having a bigger positive impact on their season than special teams coordinator [autotag]Brian Mason[/autotag]. His unit leads the country in punt blocks with an absurd six on the year. Those six punt blocks broke a Notre Dame team record that dates back to the early 1930s when the game was played quite differently. This is an incredibly impressive feat. “Fair Catch U” no more, Notre Dame has become “Punt Block U” under Mason.
Under many recent coaching regimes, Notre Dame special teams have been treated like a “neutral unit”, meaning that they were expected to essentially do the basics and do no harm. This has all changed. Notre Dame’s special team units are being deployed as weapons, and it has paid off.
Let’s analyze what goes into making Notre Dame the country’s most dangerous punt block unit.