Kingsville - In its totality, the special teams room for Javelina Football returns a large portion of its production heading into the 2024 season.

Headlining the room is senior kicker Gilbert Garza. Last season, Garza was one of the most efficient kickers in the Lone Star Conference. He converted 11 field goal attempts and 19 extra-point attempts as well.

Garza's highlight of the year came against Western New Mexico, where he converted on all three of his field goal attempts including a new career best 53-yard field goal.

Joining Garza for kicker duties is sophomore Angel Lopez and Abilene Christian University transfer Stephen Grocki.

For the punters, LSC all-conference honorable mention Dillon Bredesen leads the way for the Javelinas. Bredesen punted 25 times last season for 1,097 total yards and a long of 80 yards. He was tabbed with seven punts finishing inside the opponents 20-yard line and only one one touchback all year as well.

Not too far behind him, Luke Shaffer had an equally dominated season as well. Also punting 25 times for 1,086 total yards, Shaffer was an expert at the deep punt. Eight of his 25 punt attempts would travel over 50 yards last season.

Moving over to the long snappers, senior Jordan Estes exhausted his eligibility after the 2023 season. The Javelinas will now turn to Luke Rogers and Abraham Hernandez to fill the hole left by Estes.

Players to watch:

Gilbert Garza, Senior, Weslaco, Texas / Weslaco East High School
Garza appeared in eight games last season, finishing with 11 field goals made on 18 attempts for. He converted 19 of 20 extra-point attempts and had a career best 53-yard field goal against Western New Mexico (9/16).

Dillon Bredesen, Senior, Cantonment, Florida / South Carolina State
An all-conference honorable mention, Brededsen was a force last season for the Javelinas. Averaging 43.88 yards per punt and pinning opponent inside their 20-yard line seven times last season.

Luke Shaffer, Junior, Falls City, Texas / Falls City High School
Shaffer was equally dominant for the Javelinas last season as a punter, averaging 43.44 yards per punt last season. Shaffer also pinned opponents inside their own territory at a high frequency last season, having five punts finish inside the opponents 20-yard line.

This is the final part of an eight-part series previewing the 2024 Javelinas football team leading up to the season opener against Colorado-Mesa on August 29th.