Special teams at the college level are often a crapshoot. Many of the coverage units have backups or walkons filling them that don’t otherwise play. Kickers can go from automatic to a headcase overnight. Shanked punts are far more common and if you have a speedy return man it is a blessing, but a return man with shaky hands can be a nightmare.
Overall last season Purdue’s special teams were not good. A freshman punter took over in midseason for a senior. Our senior kicker made one field goal beyond 22 yards all season and didn’t even attempt a kick in 6 of 12 games.