The 2015 season isn't far away; we can see the light at the end of the offseason tunnel already. It's time for a quick Pac-12 knowledge refresher.

Here's how we do this. Every day features a new position group. We provide three evaluative categories and place each conference team accordingly: "Great shape," "Good shape" and "We'll see."

We'll continue our examination with the special teams units of the Pac-12 South (the North happened earlier today).

GREAT SHAPE

Arizona

The Wildcats turned in solid punt return and kick coverage ranks in 2014, and they should only be expected to improve performance in those facets as their roster matures and deepens. One should never underestimate the value of a dependable punt returner, and Arizona has just that in veteran DaVonte' Neal.

Rich Rodriguez's club should also benefit from featuring a kicker who's been through fire. Remember Casey Skowron's nightmare against USC last year (a miss at the final gun) and his subsequent redemption against Washington. That recovery bodes well for the Wildcats, who also return all-conference punter Drew Riggleman.

Arizona State

Zane Gonzalez made a strong case to be considered the Pac-12's most reliable kicker in 2014, and he'll make another push for the Lou Groza Award this season. Punter Matt Haack ranks in the top tier of league punters, so the Sun Devils are set with their legs.

Arizona State truly excelled in the kickoff return department last season, pacing the conference with their average of 24.1 yards per runback. Although the team must replace returners Kyle Middlebrooks and Damarious Randall, success in the return game is often a product of solid team-wide fundamentals and athleticism, and there's plenty of explosiveness on the roster to replace that duo.

UCLA

This article explains why kicker Ka'Imi Fairbairn has taken an unfair amount of flak. He's actually one of the more dependable kickers in the nation (29 straight from 35 yards or shorter) and the Bruins are certainly happy to have him back in 2015. UCLA also returns two punters (Matt Mengel and Adam Searl) with game experience, so Jim Mora has to feel at ease about both phases of his kicking game.

Any returner with proven touchdown capability is dangerous, and Ishmael Adams is just that -- he housed a kick last year. The Bruins also finished second in the Pac-12 behind Stanford in kick return coverage, a testament to that unit's athleticism and discipline. Fairbairn's league-leading 50 touchbacks certainly helped, too.

Utah

How can a special-teams unit not be in great shape when it features both Andy Phillips and Tom Hackett? The former lives up to his "Automatic Andy" nickname: He booted 12-of-15 field goals from 40 yards or longer last year, while no other Pac-12 kicker hit more than six kicks from that distance. Hackett is the best punter in the nation and the favorite to repeat as Ray Guy Award winner. His 46.7 yard-per-punt average blasted all other league competition away. The Utes also finished second in the conference punt and kick return rankings, but they'll have to figure out a way to replace Kaelin Clay to maintain those levels of success there.

GOOD SHAPE

USC

The one thing keeping USC out of the upper tier of this evaluation is the unproven situation at kicker. A few months from now, concern at that spot may be gone, as the Trojans do have at least two capable legs in Alex Wood and Matt Boermeester set to compete for Andre Heidari's former role.

Otherwise, USC special teams will be blessed with Adoree' Jackson's sensational presence. He nearly exploded out of Qualcomm Stadium during last season's Holiday Bowl and will be expected to give the Trojans a constant big play threat again in 2015. On a side note, the Trojans would like to see their kick coverage numbers improve after finishing ninth in the Pac-12 last year.

WE'LL SEE

Colorado

The Buffs did not see a whole lot of statistical success in 2014, but one area where they did record solid numbers was the kick return department (23.7 yards per try, good for third in the Pac-12). The team's top three punt and kick returners -- Phillip Lindsay, Nelson Spruce, and Shay Fields -- all return, so those facets of the game look solid.

The leg portion, however, remains murky. Colorado must replace kicker Will Oliver and punter Darragh O'Neill. The Buffs are excited about touted punter recruit Alex Kinney, but the field goal situation will make Mike MacIntyre uneasy until either Chris Graham or Diego Gonzalez proves to be dependable.