Ryan Switzer can make guys miss at a prolific clip with his speed, size and shiftiness, a combination that proved difficult to stop in the return game a season ago.

He just kept going, and going and going, all the way to an NCAA-record tying five punts returned for touchdowns. It was easy to take what Switzer did for granted, because he made it all look so effortless.

Yet Switzer knew it would be nearly impossible to match those results in 2014. It is exceedingly difficult to return one punt for a score. Nearly everything has to go perfectly, from the trajectory of the kick, to the blocking up front, to making the right decision on which running lanes to take.

Excellent returners sometimes get two or three in a season. Five? Only one other player in NCAA history had ever done that.

Switzer entered the season as a marked man. Teams started game planning for him in the return game, either punting to him in the boundary so they can try and pin him, or launching sky kicks with good hang time to allow the coverage to converge on him.

He has had between four and five new faces trying to block for him up front, including several who are playing special teams for the first time. Switzer himself has missed a few opportunities with the ball in his hands because of mistakes he says he has made.

To date, Switzer has not returned a punt for a touchdown and is averaging just 6.4 yards per return -- down from the 20.9 yards he averaged a season ago.

But he is not alone. Return units across the ACC have struggled five weeks into the season, somewhat surprising considering the All-America talent returning.

“Obviously people are excited now when I’m back there, as they should be because we did great things last year,” Switzer said in a phone interview. “It’s eventually going to happen. That’s all I can really say about it because we are getting a lot better at it, and I do think we practice it more than anybody else in the country so it will eventually come.”

So far, the ACC is the only power 5 conference without a punt return for a score. Over the first five weeks of 2013, the league had three -- including two from Jamison Crowder at Duke.

Overall, punt return average is down across the league. Last season, teams averaged 10.1 yards per return. This season, that average is down to 8.7. Crowder, an All-ACC selection as a return specialist a year ago, is averaging nearly 10 yards fewer per return. No ACC player with nine or more punt returns is averaging more than 9.7 yards per kick.

“What you have to realize is every return is not going to be a touchdown,” Crowder said in a phone interview. “Sometimes, you catch yourself forcing the issue a little bit and that throws off your decision making. Sometimes when you do that, you may fumble or muff a punt and that will ultimately hurt the team. So you can’t force the issue.

“You have to be patient and just go out there and play each play and if a return happens to open up and break, then that’s all good, but if a return doesn’t open up and break, I want to be able to make the right decisions so I can put the offense in a good position.”

Kickoff returners who had big performances a year ago also have struggled in the early going. Kermit Whitfield, who led the nation in kickoff return average a year ago, is not even listed among the ACC leaders. He is averaging 16.8 yards fewer per return than 2013.

Coach Jimbo Fisher specifically pointed to missed blocking assignments on kickoff returns last week against NC State, saying, “It’s nothing to do with the returner. You give him a crease and he’ll get out of there.”

Returning punts and kicks takes a true team effort, and it requires great deal of fortitude as well. The good news is the season is still young. Switzer did not return his first punt for a touchdown last year until the Virginia game on Nov. 9. He also has more return yards now than he did a year ago at this time.

As the season wears on, the units should get better, and that should open up more opportunities for the highlight-reel returns we have come to expect.

“It’s only a matter of time,” Switzer said. “You just learn how to be patient and pick the right time to try and make something happen.”