I think it was honestly because we were truly that scared to **** up. I love Matt Campbell but I think that's been such a horrible move. I think the 2019 Iowa game got into his head and he has said "**** it" we're not allowing that to hurt our field position, which analytically I'd say that it's actually killed our field position because lack of aggression has caused us to not field balls (2021 vs Iowa) and you literally don't gain any yards either.
I returned punts in HS my junior and senior year. It's not that hard. Rule #1 is catch the ******* ball no matter what. You're back there because the coaching staff trusts you, and only you, to stop the ball from going behind you. Essentially the ball has to be shanked for you to not catch the ball. When you do catch the ball, just make one guy miss and go up the field. If you literally just do that simple thing, it's positive.