A year ago, Syracuse Football found itself towards the bottom of the ACC on both sides of the ball.
Without their starting quarterback for more than two-thirds of the season, the Orange managed just over 20 points per game, a mark good enough for third-to-last in the conference. Meanwhile, an injury-riddled SU defense proved to be uncompetitive, allowing nearly 35 points per game. That's more than any other team in the ACC, including the 2-10 Boston College Eagles, who allowed 30 or more points in six of their nine conference games.
But ironically, in the third and often overlooked phase of the game, Syracuse actually excelled.
Special teams was one of the only highlights in SU’s 3-9 disaster season. Orange kicker Trip Woody nailed 12 of his 14 field goal attempts, earning SU the third best field goal percentage in the ACC. Jack Stonehouse, an NFL-bound punter and All-ACC first-teamer, led the conference with over 47 yards per boot. The Orange finished the season with the third-highest net punting average in the ACC and even went a perfect 22-22 on PATs, something that hadn’t happened since 2022.
In 2024, SU missed an ACC-worst 41% of its field goals and had one of the least-efficient punting units in the conference. First-year special teams coordinator Ricky Brumfield helped the Orange solve that problem in 2025. And yet, Syracuse Head Coach Fran Brown still decided to fire him.
So in 2026, Alex Bayer will become Syracuse’s fourth special teams coordinator in four years. The Bowling Green alum has coached special teams at his alma mater since 2022, spending time at Otterbein, Wake Forest, and Valparaiso prior to that.
“He just loves competing on special teams and he gets the best out of all the players,” Fran Brown said. “I think we haven't been able to do that over the last two years on special teams.”
Throughout his four years at Bowling Green, Bayer established the Falcons as one of the better special teams units in the nation. This past season, Bayer shaped Falcon return man Cameron Pettaway into the nation’s leader in kickoff return average. Bowling Green made history in 2025, becoming the first school to return the opening kickoff of the season for a touchdown in back-to-back years.
Additionally, Bayer has proven that he can develop elite kickers. In 2025, Falcon placekicker Jackson Kleather ranked 23rd nationally in field goal percentage, earning himself a transfer to a power five program in Northwestern.
But the question is, will Bayer’s success in Central Kentucky transfer over to Upstate New York?
For starters, there shouldn’t be too many concerns about placekicker Tripp Woody. The Iowa transfer was refreshingly consistent for the Orange in 2025 after Cornell transfer Jackson Kennedy’s shaky year in 2024. In his redshirt freshman season, Woody was perfect from inside 40 yards and nailed all 22 of his PATs. Plus, he got better throughout the year, converting a career-long 49-yarder in the season finale vs Boston College, which he went on to top with a 50-yard walkoff kick in the spring game. The North Carolina native seems to have locked up his spot for the coming years in New York.
Unfortunately for Bayer, he won’t have the opportunity to work with kickoff specialist Jadyn Oh, who committed to play at Oregon State in January. Back in September, Oh delivered one of the more memorable moments of Syracuse’s 2025 season, perfecting an unexpected onside kick at Death Valley that helped the Orange take down the Tigers. This year, 3-star kicker Shay Barker could take over as the kickoff specialist for SU during his first season in the 315.
Freshman punter Jimmy Gregg certainly has big shoes to fill. It won’t be easy taking over for Jack Stonehouse, who dominated in the Dome for three years and is now fighting to be the Texans’ starting punter in the NFL. But if there's anyone up to the task, it's Gregg, who was ranked as the #1 punter in the class of 2026 by 247Sports. He arrives at SU after averaging just under 45 yards per punt in high school. The West Virginia native had an offer from his hometown Mountaineers, as well as several other power five schools, but ultimately chose SU because of the program’s culture surrounding special teams.
“They (Syracuse) understand that there is three sides of the game and to be a winning team, to win a national championship, you need to have a good punter,” Gregg said.
The one aspect of special teams that the Orange didn’t have much success with in 2025 was the return game. Luckily for SU fans, that seems to be Bayer’s area of expertise, considering the success he had in that department at Bowling Green.
It's unclear, though, who will be Bayer’s Cameron Pettaway at SU. Tylik Hill led the ‘Cuse in 2025 with 12 returns for 262 yards, 119 of which came in one game versus Pittsburgh. He could take on a similar role in 2026, as could defensive back Davien Kerr, who returned six kicks for an average of just under 20 yards last year. There are a lot of athletic newcomers who could contribute on kickoffs as well, including 3-star defensive back Chase Geter, who was a 2024 All-Region kick returner in high school.
While the return game is somewhat of a question mark, one thing is certain: Syracuse has a rich history of producing elite specialists. Tampa Bay Buccaneers punter Riley Dixon, former Lou Groza award winner Andre Szymt, and legendary NFL placekicker Gary Anderson all got their start at SU.
This year, Syracuse’s special teams unit will be led by someone who knows exactly what high-level special teams looks like. Alex Bayer played two seasons in the NFL with the St. Louis Rams and the San Diego Chargers.
“Special teams means a lot to him,” Coach Brown said about Bayer. “He says he got that opportunity in the league because he dominated on special teams.”
Coach Bayer’s first chance to prove himself as the new leader of the Orange’s special teams unit is on September 5th, when Syracuse hosts New Hampshire at noon. Follow @WAERSports on X for more offseason coverage of Syracuse football.