Cal Special Teams Coach Zach Tinker Sees Tons of Competition, Tons of Progress

First-year special teams coordinator Zach Tinker likes what he’s seen from an eclectic group pushing toward the finish line of spring ball.

The kicking competition is ongoing, the personalities are loud, and Zach Tinker wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We’re an eclectic group in the spec room. We got a lot of personality in there. The guys support one another. A lot of Saturday nights they’ll send me some photo of them in some cool restaurant in the bay having a great time with one another and fellowship. They’ve been a great group to work with.”

That camaraderie matters because the competition is direct. Kickers aren’t just battling an opponent on Saturdays, they’re battling each other every day in practice.

“It’s similar to maybe a quarterback position where you’re competing directly with that person for playing time. That’s a little bit of a challenge, but that’s part of the world they’re in. The guys have had a great attitude towards each other.”

The place-kicking job remains undecided, with three players splitting reps across all phases. No decision on splitting kickoff and field goal duties has been made either.

“We’re trying to prepare everybody to do everything. All three guys are doing all three phases, from kickoff to long field goal to short field goal. We’ll see where we are once we get to September.”

The group carried some baggage into the offseason after a difficult stretch of results, and Tinker addressed the mental side first.

“What they’ve worked on is really the emotional and mental part of their game. If you’re constantly worried about the results of the kick instead of your process of putting foot to ball, that’s when you’re going to have uneven results. Tons of progress from day one to today, but a ton of growth to do until we hit the field for real.”

Erik Peters, primarily a kicker in recent seasons, has taken on punting duties as well, and Tinker says the adjustment has been seamless in terms of attitude.

“Erik’s had an unbelievable attitude about it, trying to learn the punting game and doing all the things in the kicking game as well. We have guys that are holders or snappers that hold for each other so they can get reps. Everybody’s been eager to participate any way they can.”

Long-snapper David Bird anchors the group, and Tinker says his leadership comes less from what he says than from how he shows up every day.

“David is definitely the leader of the group from an emotional standpoint. Three years as a starter in the Pac-12, then the ACC, then the SEC, and now back to the ACC. That’s a lot of moments in his career that he has reflections on that he can share with the group. He’s not a real storyteller that way, but just his approach every single day is the leadership he really provides. Great demeanor, never too high, never too low, and that’s something we can all learn from.”