CHADRON – For the last several seasons the prevailing attitude surrounding Chadron State College’s special teams has been controlled aggression. According to first-year special teams coach Ryan McDonough, that’s not going to change anytime soon.

“We must keep an aggressive mentality but remain in control and play smart,” said McDonough, a graduate assistant in his second year from Estherville, Iowa. “I want guys to make plays, and we have those types of players, but we have to remain in control to set the tone for the rest of the game.”

McDonough is in his first season guiding the special teams units at CSC. He took over for Jas Bains, who left in December to become Western State College’s defensive coordinator.

In five seasons under Bains’ direction, the Eagles blocked 28 kicks and ranked at least in the top 15 nationally at returning kicks four different seasons. Although Bains is gone, McDonough anticipates the Eagles will still excel.

“I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Coach Bains last season and he did a great job of building the belief in special teams here,” he said. “Our older guys have been in the system so long that our schemes are going to remain the same and because of their experience they’ll be able to mentor the younger guys.”

One of the veterans on special teams is senior punter Kevin Berg, who was named to the American Football Coaches Association All-America Team in 2009.

He was superb last season when he booted 44 punts for an average of 41.7 yards and 14 of his kicks landed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. His seasonal average led the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and it is the third best in CSC history.

Berg has been the Eagles’ punter for three consecutive seasons and he averages over 40 yards a punt.

Another seasoned player on special teams is senior punt returner Jed Herblan, who has handled nearly 50 punt returns since taking over the duties during the 2007 season. His career average is 6.4 yards a return.

“I’m very confident in Kevin and Jed,” McDonough said. “Kevin is so smart when he kicks because he understands protection and gets the ball off quickly. The biggest thing with Jed is his confidence. Not too many guys want to return punts, but he trusts himself and the protection. He’s gotten better every year.”

McDonough also said Trelan Taylor, a redshirt freshman from La Mesa, Calif., will back up Herblan at punt returner.

After fall camp, the kick returners appear to be Glen Clinton and Quinell Atkins. Clinton is a redshirt freshman from Cody, Wyo., while Atkins is a sophomore from Fresno, Calif. Both are fast and McDonough said they have the ability to be explosive in the open field.

The biggest change to CSC’s special teams will be its new kicker, Michael Ziola, a redshirt freshman from Columbus. He replaces Travis Atter, a two-time All-American, who handled the placekicking duties from 2006-09 and finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in kicking points with 371.

“Michael certainly has big shoes to fill but we’re not asking him to do the things Travis did,” McDonough said. “He spent a year with Travis last season and learned a lot. He dedicated himself this offseason to improving and he has done that. He has the ability; he just needs to build confidence.”

The Eagles have the luxury of having veterans at the other two key special teams positions – long snapper and holder. Juniors Tim Hiett and Brit Williams will be the primary long snappers, while senior quarterback Garrett Treffer will hold for the kickers.

—Alex Helmbrecht, Sports Information Director