The Pioneer Press’s Andy Greder is reporting that special teams coordinator Bob Ligashesky will not return to Minnesota next season. He has spent the last two years with the Golden Gophers.
Kicking was
a persistent sore spot under Ligashesky, who inherited the Big Ten’s Bakken-Andersen Kicker of the Year in his first year with the program, only to see him struggle in his senior season. Dragan Kesich started the 2024 season 7-for-13 on field goal attempts before rebounding after a bye week to go 12-for-13 over the Gophers’ final five regular season games. This year, no kicker in the Big Ten missed more field goal attempts this season than Brady Denaburg. The Syracuse transfer was 14-of-21 (66.7%) on field goal attempts, ranking 14th in the conference in field goal percentage. Worst of all, Denaburg was 2-of-7 on attempts of 40 yards or more.
30-year-old punter Mark Crawford ranked in the middle of the pack amongst his Big Ten brethren in Ligashesky’s first season. He punted 52 times this season and averaged 43.5 yards per punt, which ranked him ninth in the Big Ten and tied for 53rd nationally. His average of 40.8 net yards per punt also ranked ninth in the Big Ten. 19 of Crawford’s punts were downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.
This season, first-year starting punter Tom Weston was the bright spot on special teams. He led the Big Ten with 23 punts downed inside the 20-yard line, and finished second in the conference with 15 punts of 50+ yards.
For the first time in years, the Gophers’ return game showed signs of life once Koi Perich took over as the primary return last season. He ranked fifth in the Big Ten in both kickoff return yards (314) and punt return yards (188). Perich never found the end zone as a true freshman but his 60-yard punt return to set up the Minnesota offense inside the red zone in the fourth quarter against Michigan was a season highlight.
Unfortunately, Perich did not become the game-changing returner Gopher fans were hoping for this year. Even though he never found the end zone, he ranked second in the Big Ten in kickoff return average (26.3 yards per return). But the Gophers’ punt return unit was abysmal, as Perich averaged 6.6 yards per return on 18 returns.
We will keep you posted as news breaks regarding Ligashesky’s replacement as special teams coordinator.
