One of the Longhorns' most potent weapons during Tom Herman's first season as head coach at Texas came at a position that is not normally viewed as being a weapon. 2017 Ray Guy Award winning punter Michael Dickson came up big for Texas during his junior year with his accuracy, consistency and ability to flip the field on the Longhorns' opponents. After he won the Ray Guy—the most prestigious award for his position given annually to the best punter in college football—Dickson followed it up with a record-breaking performance in the 2017 Academy Sports and Outdoors Texas Bowl against Missouri. Dickson booted 11 punts for 452 yards, with 10 of his kicks falling inside the 15-yard line. His efforts in the Longhorns' 33-16 win over the Tigers were so significant that Dickson was named the 2017 Texas Bowl Most Valuable Player, making him the second punter in college football history to be named MVP of a bowl game.

There's no doubt his absence will be felt in 2018, and safeties coach and special teams coordinator Craig Naivar will be the first to admit what Texas has to replace at punter.

"I've never been around or seen a guy, or coached against a guy, that's been that good pinning people inside the 10-yard line," Naivar told ESPN reporter Brady Henderson in a phone interview. "Inside the 20 is automatic.

"There was a lot of times where we had to rein him back and say, 'You can't sit here and rip a 65-yard punt because we've got to cover it,' you know? We really wanted height and we wanted over 40 yards and over a 4-second hang time, and we'll deal with whatever comes with that. But there were times where he'd rip a good one and we would swing the field."

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The special teams coordinator recalled one instance where Dickson's field swinging skills came through when Texas traveled to Fort Worth to face TCU. Dickson finished the game with 457 yards on nine punts, five that sailed for more than 50 yards, including a career-long 76-yard punt that still impresses Naivar.

"We were in Fort Worth, and (the Horned Frogs) have one of the better returners in college football, and (Dickson) really just got ahold of it," Naivar recalled to ESPN. "The wind wasn't significant. It wasn't like he kicked it and there was like a gale-force wind behind him. He has that type of leg where he can do that. The young man misplayed the ball, so he got some roll off of that, as well. I want to say we were punting from maybe the 4-, 5-, 6-yard line, and look up and now the opponent is starting the drive with the field totally flipped."

Though Dickson will without a doubt be difficult to replace, Texas does have another Australian punter on the roster, early enrollee freshman Ryan Bujcevski, who just so happens to be the cousin of Dickson. The Ray Guy Award winner made it a point to spend time around Bujcevski throughout spring practice to help his transition to college football.