WASHINGTON – With less than a week until the 2024 season kicks off at home against Davidson on August 31, GUHoyas.com will take an in-depth look at each position with this edition featuring the team's specialists. 

Georgetown's kicking unit will be led by senior Patrick Ryan. Last season, the New Jersey native made seven field goals off of eight attempts, including a 49-yard field goal at Penn that is tied for fifth in program history. 

"The 49-yard field goal Patrick made last year has elevated his confidence," said Special Teams Coach Trey Henderson. " He has told me he feels so much more relaxed on the field and you can see it in the way he is performing."

The Hoyas added sophomore transfer from SMU Josh Leff and freshman Thomas Anderson to help spread out kicking responsibilities. Junior Stephen Mayer is also returning to compete for an opportunity on the kickoff and punting units.

"The goal when we were recruiting was to have Thomas and Josh take some of the kicking load off of Patrick. We expect Thomas to contribute on kickoff because that is his forte. Josh is a combo guy but can really help us out as a punter. We also wanted to bring in Josh to push Patrick and add a little bit of pressure on him and it has greatly increased Patrick's consistency."

Additionally, senior Sebastian Alonso will return for his third season on The Hilltop, serving as the team's starting long snapper. The Hoyas also gained depth in the position by adding senior Brendan Mariani to the roster. 

"Sebastian is a great long snapper and earned a well-deserved preseason all-conference honor. He has a great attitude, especially considering he has probably one of the most difficult majors on the team but he is doing both well. Brendan joined our team after playing with the Georgetown baseball team for his first three years. He is good friends with all the guys and has proven himself at the position. He will be a great backup to Sebastian but with his athleticism, we will probably get him involved in other special teams areas."