Following the 11th practice of spring camp, special teams coach Chris Haering, along with specialists Jack Van Dyke, Collin Larsh, Conor Schlichting and Andy Vujnovich, met with the local media.

Haering touched on his kick and punt return units, the competition at kicker and the transition from Adam Bay to Peter Bowden at long snapper.

The return of senior Danny Davis not only marked some much needed depth at wide receiver, it also bolstered the punt return unit, which has seen a rotation of different bodies receiving reps during spring practices.

Special teams coach Chris Haering mentioned that Davis, along with Devin Chandler, Jack Dunn, Dean Engram and Stephan Bracey, have all fielded punts.

This past season, Engram, a cornerback, saw time after Davis went down with an injury early in the season. On the kick return unit, Chandler, Bracey and running back Brady Schipper shared the duties. Chandler, who received six opportunities to return a kick in 2020, received work returning punts as well.

"He’s been working with the punt return part of it," Haering said. "It’s a little bit different than returning kickoffs. It happens a little bit at a different pace, but he’s been working at it. I think he can do it. We're putting some time into getting him ready to be back there."

Haering also mentioned the potential impact of wide receiver Stephan Bracey, who appeared in only three games this past season. He has not suited up in any of the practices open to reporters.

"The return of Steph Bracey will be really important to both of our return games," Haering added. "He’s going to offer a lot of competition at both punt return and kick return.

"Right now, knock on wood, we have great depth there, which will create great competition."

For the first time in four years, Wisconsin will be looking for a new long snapper after Adam Bay held down the position as a multi-year starter. Next man up this spring: redshirt sophomore Peter Bowden.

"Adam left some big shoes to fill, but Pete can do it," Haering said. "Pete has the advantage of being two years into the program and he’s gotten a lot of reps, even though he hasn’t been on the field on Saturdays. Pete checks all those boxes right now. We have to keep him healthy and keep him progressing, but excited about what he’s going to bring this fall."

Bowden is set to take over the reins of the position, but the unit will likely have to pick up another body this summer. Haering mentioned that early enrollee Duncan McKinley tore his ACL early in the spring, leaving walk-on linebacker Marty Strey to take reps as the emergency long snapper.

Snapping, however, isn't completely new for Strey. In fact, Strey, from nearby Sun Prairie, has spent some time working with Larsh, from Monona Grove, in the past.

"Me and Marty were actually good friends before we got to Wisconsin, but I’m pretty sure he snapped in high school for a little bit, even if it wasn’t varsity. Me and him would mess around and he’d send me snaps," Larsh said. "He’s what we’ve got right now and he’s embraced it. He’s done a good job and it’s impressive, honestly. Everyone on the outside of the specialists world would like to think that the specialists job is super easy, and then they go do it and they can’t. Marty is an athlete so he’s really figured it out."

When it comes to working with Bowden, it's been a seamless transition, according to Larsh.

"Peter steps in and does a great job," Larsh said. "His snaps are just as good as Adam. You can’t really tell a difference between the two of them. Pete’s a great long snapper and I know he’s been ready for his time to step up, so it’s good to see him out there. You can tell he loves what he’s doing."