2024 Spotlight: Top 5 Punt Returners

<span style="font-weight: 400;">In the game of football, punt returns are some of the harder things to do. Not only is it a challenge due to the punt coverage on the other side of the ball, but it can also be viewed as a challenge due to the fact that punters tend to be improving year after year. They seem to be getting good hang time, and even better distance, making it more of a challenge for players to gain incredible yards after each return. Nevertheless, there are still prospects who are elusive, and quick enough with the ball in their hands, who manage to get in and out of their cuts fast enough to total a large amount of yards for their teams. Some of these players even manage to score TD’s as well. Below, we have listed some of our favorite punt returners out of the 2024 class, who we think are certainly worth the watch.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="230899" first="Jaden" last="Cofer"]- Jackson County</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Out of the entire 2024 class in Georgia, Cofer managed to be second in the pack when it came to total punt return yards. By the end of the year, he managed to accumulate around 210 yards, on only 10 attempts. This put him at about 20 yards an attempt, which is impressive for a young player. With this, out of each of these attempts, he managed to have a return long of 56 yards out of all of the games he played last season.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ali Dargan- Southwest Dekalb</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Last season, Dargan had the most punt return yards out of every 2024 prospect in the state of Georgia. By the end of the season, he had managed to accumulate around 230 return yards, which came in only 7-8 games. With this, he managed to do so while averaging around 16 yards a return, with his longest return being that of around 50 yards.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="227215" first="Jordan" last="Triplett"]- Frederica Academy</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Perhaps the biggest reason why Triplett had such a high level of success as a punt returner is due to the fact that his natural position is RB. The skills of being able to change direction on a dime, and accelerate most definitely translated to special teams, as Triplett was able to total around 122 return yards by the end of the season. More impressively, he managed to do this in only 9 attempts. Next season, look for him to continue to step up in this role, and for his average to go from around 13-14 yards a return, to 16 or more.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Nic Hester- Chattooga</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Last season, Hester had a solid year for a 2024 player, as he managed to total around 107 total punt return yards for his team within the 9 games he played. Out of these 107 yards, Hester managed to average around 13-14 yards a return, with his longest return of the year being 30 yards. While his total amount of returns was 8 last season, we certainly expect this total to rise next season, as he has proven his worth in this role for his team.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Jensen Goble- Union County</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">While Goble may not have the most gaudy numbers on this list, he still managed to total an amount of yardage that was solid for a player of his age who has started to take over return responsibilities. Within the 6 games that he played in, Goble totaled around 80 return yards on only 8 returns. Out of each of these returns, he managed to have a long of 40 yards, which is electrifying for any offense.</span>