2024 TCU Football Season Recap: Special Teams

Freshman kicker Kyle Lemmermann and junior punter Ethan Craw anchored the special teams this season.

TCU football lost two veteran players on special teams after the 2023 season in Australian punter Jordy Sandy and former All-Big 12 First Team kicker Griffin Kell. The Horned Frogs used their 2024 recruiting class to address both positions, signing All-American kicker Kyle Lemmermann from Southlake as well as another Australian punter in Ethan Craw, who attended the same kicking academy (ProKick Australia) as Sandy. Both Lemmermann and Craw earned the starting jobs and appeared in all 13 games for the Horned Frogs in 2024.

Lemmermann’s freshman season was a mixture of highs and lows. Rated the nation’s top high school kicking prospect under the 247Sports rankings, Lemmermann went 15-for-22 on field-goal attempts and 54-for-55 on extra-point attempts this season. His 68.2 percent field-goal conversion rate ranked 112th out of 146 kickers, according to ESPN statistics. The true freshman from Southlake Carroll tied for 49th in the country in made field goals and landed in a tie for 14th in the country in made extra points. Lemmermann, whose longest field-goal conversion came from 48 yards out, went 7-for-8 on attempts within 30 yards. He missed his lone attempt from 50-plus and finished 5-for-8 on attempts of 40-to-49 yards.

Craw attempted 42 punts and averaged 42.4 yards per attempt during his junior season this fall. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound left-footer from Tasmania, Australia ranked 81st out of 126 punters in average and 96th out of 150 players in net average at 39.0 yards. Craw, who saw 19 of his 42 attempts downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, finished the season with eight punts of 50 or more yards as well as a season-best punt of 65 yards. Craw had two key performances during the 2024 season, landing five punts inside Utah’s 20-yard line during TCU’s road win over the Utes in October before sending four punts inside Cincinnati’s 20-yard line during TCU’s road win over the Bearcats in November.

Both Craw and Lemmermann are expected to return next season and should make initial claims for the starting punting and kicking roles for the 2025 campaign. TCU will see a change at the snapper position, however, as redshirt senior Brent Matiscik will depart after six seasons with the Horned Frogs. A converted tight end, Matiscik has been TCU’s starting snapper since 2022 and has appeared in 55 games over his six years with the Horned Frogs. It appears TCU has its replacement, though, as special teams coordinator Mark Tommerdahl and the Horned Frogs signed former Northwestern snapper Will Halkyard from the transfer portal last month. Halkyard, who was a Preseason All-Big Ten honoree and was named to the Patrick Mannelly Award Watch List, was Northwestern’s starting snapper for three years.

As far as return duties are concerned, TCU will be losing its starting punt returner, senior wide receiver JP Richardson, who caught 57 passes for 733 yards and two touchdowns on offense this season. Richardson totaled 23 returns and made his biggest highlight against the Kansas Jayhawks in September, bringing a punt back for an 89-yard score. Redshirt freshman wide receiver Jordyn Bailey handled kick return duties this season, leading the team with 11 attempts and averaging 21.3 yards per attempt with a long of 31 yards. Both Major Everhart and true freshman running back Jeremy Payne chipped in on the kick return team as well. Bailey, Everhart and Payne are all eligible to return to the team next season.