STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford prides itself on special teams play and devotes as much time to this area as any college team in the country. The added attention continues to pay dividends.
Stanford ranks first nationally in net starting field position (+9.2). That's simply the product of special teams making special plays.
The Cardinal ranks first among Pac-12 teams and sixth nationally while gaining 25.66 yards/kickoff return. Stanford is first in extra point pct. (1.000), second in net punting (41.8) and field goals (.833). Stanford ranks first among Pac-12 teams and 11th nationally while allowing 17.3 yards/kickoff return. Stanford has not surrendered a kickoff return of 30 yards or more.
Junior Cameron Scarlett leads the Pac-12 in kickoff returns with a 26.0 yards per return average and ranks 18th nationally. He posted three 30-plus yards returns in the Pac-12 Championship against USC and has 11 on the season, the top figure in FBS. Scarlett is 116 kick return yards away from becoming the fourth Cardinal with 1,000 in a season, joining Chris Owusu (2009), Ty Montgomery (2013) and Christian McCaffrey (2015).
Junior Jake Bailey has developed into one of the top two-way kicking threats in college football. Also a wide receiver and defensive back in high school, he handles Cardinal kickoff duties and 64 of his 76 efforts have gone for touchbacks. Of the 12 returnable kickoffs, only one return has crossed the 25-yard line.
As a punter, Bailey averages 45.11, eighth-best in the country. Of his 53 boots, 18 have measured 50 yards or longer and 23 have been downed inside the 20. Bailey's single-season average ranks second in Stanford history behind Doug Robison (45.70).
Bailey had a monster game in the regular-season finale win against No. 8 Notre Dame. He averaged 50.4 on seven punts, with five surpassing 50 yards, including a career-high 65-yarder. Bailey kicked off seven times and five went for touchbacks.
At USC, he averaged 51.2 on four punts, placing three inside the 20, and boomed all four kickoffs for touchbacks. Bailey also had a remarkable game in the snow at Washington State, averaging 47.0 on eight punts -- three of 50-plus yards -- and none of his four kickoffs were returned.
Bailey also holds for sophomore placekicker Jet Toner. In his first year as a starter, Toner has converted 20 of 24 field goals and all 50 extra point attempts to lead the squad in scoring with 110.
An All-Pac-12 honorable mention performer, Toner made his first 34 career kicks -- 10-of-10 on field goals and 24-of-24 on extra points. He kicked three field goals against UCLA, Utah, Oregon State and Washington, and his career-long is 46 yards.
Due to Bailey's prowess, Stanford has allowed only 23 returnable kickoffs and 15 returnable punts. Even with just 38 coverage opportunities, senior Brandon Simmons has made a group-high 11 tackles, followed by Isaiah Brandt-Sims with five and sophomore Curtis Robinson with three.