JK Scott is locked in at punter for Tide

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- JK Scott is locked in at punter, Adam Griffith will be the starting kicker and Cole Mazza is the long snapper with Cooper Bateman serving as the holder on field goals.

But what about the return men? Christion Jones was a three-year starter for the Tide on both the punt and kick return teams. As of now, Cyrus Jones will likely be the main return guy this season after serving as the backup last year.

"Cyrus has done it before and has done a really nice job in the fall, he's got really good judgment, really good hands, running ability, fast and explosive," Saban said. "So after that we're looking at 3-4 guys to be backups, probably Chris Black is one of those guys that's done it in the past. But that's an area that we definitely need to develop some guys. (Wide receiver Richard) Mullaney is a very sure-handed guy, so we feel good about that part of it."

Then there are the gunners on the punt team and other players on the kickoff team. Along with being a star safety, Landon Collins was one of the best special teams players in the country over the past three seasons. But he's gone so others must step up.

Saban mentioned Tony Brown, Bradley Sylve, Robert Foster, Shaun Dion Hamilton, Dillon Lee and freshmen Minkah Fitzpatrick and Shawn Burgess-Becker as guys who could play big roles on special teams.

"So we've got kind of a group that's got some experience," Saban said. "Obviously it's important that we get a lot of people involved on special teams so we don't play starters. I think it's good for team morale when you have a lot of different guys with roles. But those are some of the guys I've been impressed with. Shawn Burgess-Becker is even a guy who's done a nice job on special teams so far."

This story was originally published August 22, 2015 at 10:11 PM with the headline "JK Scott is locked in at punter for Tide ."