Kicker: Joseph Petrino, Mike Shinsky, Paul Inzerillo,

Punter: Bentley Faulkner, Anthony Pecorella, Colton Spangler

Long Snapper: James Rosenberry, Paul Mouring

Kick/Punt Returner: Javon Leake, Rayshad Lewis, DJ Turner, Tahj Capehart, Brian Cobbs, Dino Tomlin

Last season Maryland’s special teams were solid, but not spectacular. Since-departed Aussie punter Wade Lees booted nine balls 50 yards or more and pinned 28 punts inside the opponent’s 20 yard line. Lees was as solid as it comes from a punting standpoint, and then-freshman kicker Joseph Petrino provided the same kind of consistency when it came to field goals.

Petrino made the first 11 field goal attempts of his career and was the last kicker in the country to miss an attempt last season. He finished his freshman year 12-for-14 on field goal attempts, but didn’t show off a huge leg with his longest field goal coming from just 40 yards out. He returns to sure up the kicker position in College Park, but Lees has transferred to UCLA for his final season of college football, leaving a major void at punter for the Terps.

The punting in spring ball wasn’t pretty, as several legs on the roster gave it a go. But in the fall, the Terps will welcome freshman punters Anthony Pecorella and Colton Spangler, who will compete for the starting gig. Spangler is the one to watch here. The Chesapeake High School (Pasadena, Md.) grad was an All-County punter as he helped his team win the 2018 Class 3A East Region title. Spangler also showed his versatility as an athlete in high school, nailing five field goals with a long of 47 yards and catching 35 passes for 558 yards and four touchdowns as a wide receiver.

In terms of returning kickoffs and punts, the Terps are in good hands with Javon Leake, who has recently been named to the 2019 Paul Hornung Award Watch List as one of college football’s most versatile players. Leake led Maryland with 17 kickoff returns for 409 yards and a touchdown last season, highlighted by a 97-yard score on a kickoff against Illinois.

Leake will be the Terps’ primary returner, but as his role in the offense continues to grow, he’ll be complemented by others who fit the mold of return men such as Rayshad Lewis, DJ Turner, Tahj Capehart, Brian Cobbs, and Dino Tomlin.

With an incumbent kicker and several solid kickoff/punt return options, Maryland’s special teams is shaping up nicely entering the fall, but there remains one lingering question: who will be the Terps’ punter?

The freshmen Pecorella and Spangler will likely have equal opportunity to earn the starting job in fall camp and each bring a strong leg to the table. A New York native, Pecorella averaged 43.8 yards per punt and had a long of 72 yards over the course of two seasons with Chaminade High School (Mineola, N.Y.). He also showed off his leg power with 37 touchbacks on kickoffs. Pecorella graduated high school as a two-time All-Long Island and two-time All-State punter.

Spangler is an All-County punter from nearby Chesapeake High School, where he made significant impacts on offense and special teams. The versatile athlete who chose a chance to punt at Maryland over offers such as Auburn, Nevada, and Towson, also played baseball and ran indoor track at Chesapeake. It appears Spangler is someone who could help the Terps in a number of ways if need be.

This will likely be one of the tighter position battles in fall camp and could come right down to the wire.

It’s entirely possible that Maryland could have numerous All-Big Ten selections for special teams in 2019. Between Leake, Petrino, and whichever freshman wins the punting job, there’s a lot of potential in this area for the Terps this fall.

If Leake isn’t asked to scale back his returning duties because of an increased role in the offense, he’ll very likely finish as one of the top kickoff returners in the conference. Petrino still hasn’t shown much leg power, but his accuracy so far in his college career can’t be denied. If he can continue to hit kicks at a high clip, he’ll be in the discussion for the Big Ten’s best kicker.

The punting game is the biggest question mark this unit has, but the competition between both freshman should bring out the best in each of them. It will be hard for either of them to take home postseason hardware in their first college season, but punter will likely not be as weak of a position as it appeared it could be during spring ball.