The job will be DJ Taylor’s again in the return game for Arizona State this season.

Head coach Herm Edwards told reporters on Monday the third-year defensive back will be the starter at both punt and kick returner. “He’s a very fast and instinctive guy,” Edwards said of Taylor, according to Sun Devil Source.

Taylor had 14 punt returns for 191 yards last season, averaging 13.6 yards a return. He also handled kickoffs, logging 25 returns for 525 yards. Among Pac-12 players with at least 10 return attempts last season, Taylor earned the fifth-highest grade in the league from Pro Football Focus.

This season, the preseason All-Pac-12 selection as a kick returner will look to try and find the end zone. Taylor got close last season, breaking off a 64-yard kick return, but he didn’t house one. In Arizona State’s 70-7 win over Arizona back in 2020, Taylor took the opening kickoff 100 yards for an immediate score.

As for the other key special teams job up for grabs, Edwards said they’re not ready to make a decision at kicker yet. Carter Brown and Jace Feely are competing for the job.

“The kicking situation, it’s still competitive,” he said, via Sun Devil Source. “We know who the punter is (Eddie Czaplicki, a 2021 starter). Now, it’s the guy that’s got to kick it through the poles.”

The Sun Devils begin the new season on Thursday, Sept. 1, against Northern Arizona.