Ty Bryant is taking over on punt returns after Kentucky 'lost some critical yardage' last season

ty-bryant-kentucky — Ty Bryant before Kentucky-Tennessee game - Mont Dawson, Kentucky Sports Radio

Mark Stoops is switching up a key aspect of his special teams operation.

Among the most notable surprises on the Week 1 depth chart, which was released Monday morning, had to do with Kentucky’s return group. Ty Bryant, who will start at safety this year, was listed as the Wildcats’ starting punter ahead of Saturday’s season-opener against Toledo. That’s a significant change from last season, when wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin was the man returning punts.

Stoops pointed to Bryant’s baseball background as a reason why the junior was given the nod as punt returner. Bryant was a five-year letterwinner on the Frederick Douglass baseball team as a middle infielder before committing himself solely to football in college. Stoops sees those skills translating.

“(Running backs/special teams coach) Jay (Boulware) wasn’t around when Ty was playing baseball back in the day. He’s a good baseball player,” Stoops said Monday. “He gets a good beat on it and he’s done a nice job of fielding the punts. A year ago, we lost some critical yardage from time to time, not fielding those things. Ty’s done a nice job, and he has that baseball background, which helps.”

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Maclin, who came to Kentucky last offseason after an excellent year at North Texas, returned 14 punts a season ago for the Wildcats, accumulating just 103 yards for 7.4 yards per return. He struggled to put himself in a position to make explosive plays. Barion Brown and Quay’Sheed Scott also returned one punt each in 2024, but nothing came of it. Stoops is hoping Bryant can give Kentucky more opportunities to gain extra yards and put his offense in favorable starting field position with some consistency.

Bryant won’t be brand-new to returning punts, either. In high school, he spent time as the Broncos’ kickoff and punt return man. His experience locating baseballs as an infielder should give him an edge on the gridiron. The last time a member of the Kentucky defense returned a punt for a touchdown was David Jones’ 99-yarder in the 2009 Liberty Bowl — will Bryant add his name to the list in 2025?