Kicker Dragan Kesich and punter Mark Crawford give Gophers a leg up on special teams

The year 2023 won’t be remembered as a banner one for the Gophers football team. A four-game losing streak in November left coach P.J. Fleck’s squad with a 5-7 regular-season record, and only their strong Academic Progress Rating and the lack of enough six-win teams enabled them to play in the Quick Lane Bowl.

Amid the struggles, however, the Gophers saw a couple of positive developments emerge on special teams. First, placekicker Dragan Kesich, in his debut season as the starter, made 23 of 27 field-goal attempts on his way to being named the Big Ten Kicker of the Year. Second, punter Mark Crawford averaged a career-best 42.5 yards and received All-Big Ten honorable mention.

It’s fitting that Kesich and Crawford would emerge with solid seasons at the same time because you usually can find them working together. The fifth-year seniors are an odd couple of sorts, with the gregarious Kesich, an Oak Creek, Wis., native embracing his “Serbian Hammer” nickname and putting his big personality out there for all to see, while Crawford, a 30-year-old from Perth, Australia, displays a serious, focused approach.

Together, the personalities play off each other for success on the field. Kesich and Crawford will try to build off their solid 2023 seasons in their specialties, and they combine on field-goal and extra-point attempts with Crawford holding for Kesich. When the situation calls for levity to ease the tension, Kesich will deliver.

“One-hundred percent,” Crawford said of Kesich’s ice-breakers. “When it comes to practice and game days, I get tunnel vision. I get locked in. He’s like a perfect balance to that. He’s like ‘switch on’ and ‘switch off,’ while I can be too switched-on sometimes.”

Said Kesich, “I know I like to be silly and loose, but I think being loose helps a little bit. There’s a lot of hard work that goes in it.”

Kesich spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons as the Gophers’ kickoff specialist, using his big left leg to produce touchbacks on 101 of his 137 kicks (73.7%). Even while taking on the place-kicking duties last year, Kesich still improved on kickoffs, with 53 of 62 (85.5%) going for touchbacks.

His 2023 season started on a high note when he nailed a 47-yard field goal as time expired, capping the Gophers’ rally in a 13-10 win over Nebraska.

The Gophers would have more chances to celebrate after field goals by Kesich, and his favorite came Oct. 21 at Iowa. He hit a 31-yarder with 8:33 left in the fourth quarter, supplying the decisive points in a 12-10 Gophers win, their first triumph in the Floyd of Rosedale rivalry since 2014.

“That was my favorite just because we got ‘The Pig’,” Kesich said.

Crawford is part of the wave of Australians who’ve built a stronghold in American college football. The bell cow is Tory Taylor, who averaged 48.2 yards per punt at Iowa last year and now is with the Chicago Bears as a fourth-round NFL draft pick. Crawford just wants to keep contributing and enjoying his experience.

“I always wanted to do four years, but then the COVID year gives us a fifth year,” said Crawford, who arrived at Minnesota as a 26-year-old freshman in 2000. “If I could, I’d probably just keep going.”

Crawford’s role with the Gophers isn’t necessarily to get the most distance on his punts. Rather, placement has been a key. In 2021, he often played what looked like punt and catch with Phillip Howard, who was adept at getting downfield to catch the ball and pin opponents deep. That year, the Gophers ranked fifth nationally in fewest yards per punt return.

In 2023, Crawford put 25 of his 65 punts within the opponent’s 20-yard line. He also forced a career-high 32 fair catches. The Gophers’ hope is that upward trend continues under new special teams coordinator Bob Ligashesky.

“It’s always nice to hit that bomb that travels the length of the field, flips it and puts your team in the best position, but it really depends on who’s back there,” Crawford said.

Kesich and Crawford will try to feed off each other in their final season as Gophers, and the banter already is flowing among special teams players. During the victory over Bowling Green in the Quick Lane Bowl, the Gophers called a trick play on a two-point conversion attempt. Kesich lined up at quarterback in the shotgun formation, rolled to his left, faked a pass to a covered Nick Kallerup, and then leaped for the end zone. He landed a yard short on his backside.

“That took a dent for the camaraderie and athleticism for the group,” Crawford said, laughing.